C-Betting: When, Why & How Big?

Knowing when and how to make a good continuation bet is a key part of poker. A c-bet is when you’re the preflop raiser, and then you continue to be aggressive on the flop with a bet. But, just because you were the preflop raiser, it doesn’t mean you must ALWAYS make a C-bet. Knowing when to do this is important.

A c-bet can be a great way to take down pots nobody else wants, to tell a story about your hand or to get more chips into the pot when you have the best hand.

Here are 5 things to consider, about c-betting:
 

1. Consider your opponent’s style

When deciding if you should C-bet into one person, first think about what sort of player they are. If you are faced with a weak player who folds a lot on the flop and rarely raises, your continuation bet strategy should be to bet with a high frequency and small size, no matter what kind of flop you see.
 
It’s a simple but effective strategy against this type of player in three ways:  
 
1 – They’ll usually fold and let us steal the pot on the flop, without investing much
2 – They could raise, but if they do, we have strong information about how good their hand is.
3 – They could call, and if they don’t improve their hand, we can often steal the pot on the turn with a bigger bet
 
A strong c bet strategy gives us multiple ways to win.