Prominence Poker – Betting Principles Guide and Tips

This is the fourth part of a series that’s all about helping people who don’t know much about poker become good at playing with virtual money at low-stakes tables.

In this guide, you’ll learn about why people make bets in poker, how to hide the strength of your hand when you bet, how to gather information from your own bets, and when it’s a good idea to bluff or bet for real value.

Introduction

Now that you’ve got the hang of the basics of the game, you know how to play like a conservative but steady player, understanding which cards and hands are strong enough to be enthusiastic about. You also have some insights into the types of players you can encounter at a poker table, and it’s essential to grasp the principles of betting – how much to bet, when to bet, and strategies to maximize your winnings while minimizing your losses.

This section will be divided into three main parts: betting before the flop, betting after the flop and the turn, and betting after the river card. The reason for breaking it down this way is that the considerations for making betting decisions are fundamentally different at each of these three stages of the game.

Before the Flop

While you’re getting comfortable with the rest of this chapter, it’s a good idea to stick to the star-rated hand ranges outlined in Chapter 2. The focus here is on bet sizing and paying attention to other players’ actions. Adjusting your “pre-flop range” (the specific combinations of hole cards you choose not to fold) will be discussed in later chapters.

One essential adjustment is to break the habit of mainly “limping” (just calling the big blind without raising) before the flop. Many new players fall into this habit, but it has two drawbacks: it prevents you from gaining insights into other players’ hand strengths, and it results in smaller pots and reduced profits from your strong hands.

Now, let’s discuss how much to raise or re-raise with great hands. It’s common for beginners to raise their top premium hands (like K-K and A-A) with larger bets than their other hands. However, it’s crucial not to fall into this habit. You should aim to reveal as little as possible about the strength of your hand through your bet sizes.

Here’s a simple rule of thumb for your initial “open” raise before the flop:

• If you have more than half of 100 big blinds (50 or more), raise to 3 times the big blind.
• If you have less than 50 big blinds but more than half (between 25 and 50 big blinds), raise to 2.5 times the big blind.
• If you have more than 10 big blinds but less than 25 big blinds, raise to 2 times the big blind.
• If you have fewer than 10 big blinds, either fold or go “all in” by putting all your chips in as your opening raise.

For example, if the small blind is 100 and the big blind is 200, you should raise to 600 if you have at least 10,000 chips, 500 if you have between 5,000 and 10,000 chips, and 400 if you have between 2,000 and 5,000 chips.

If you find these calculations daunting, you can use 2.5 times the big blind as a safe standard raise size in most situations, except when you have fewer than 10 big blinds remaining.

For the premium hands with three stars, it’s recommended to re-raise. In this case, a general rule of thumb is to raise anywhere between 2.5 and 3 times the previous raise.

For instance, if you’re the fourth player to act, the first player raises to 400 (with a big blind of 200), the second player folds, the third player calls, you should re-raise to a range of 1000 to 1200.

More advanced adjustments based on your position, the number of players who have called, the size of the raises, and other factors will be discussed in later chapters.

Pre-Flop Betting Summary

• Raise 3 times the big blind if you have more than 50 big blinds (BBs).
• Raise 2.5 times the big blind if you have between 25 and 50 BBs.
• Raise 2 times the big blind if you have between 10 and 25 BBs.
• If the above seems too complicated, just stick to raising 2.5 times the big blind for situations with more than 10 BBs.

For re-raises, aim for a size between 2.5 and 3 times the last raise.

If your chip stack falls below 10 BBs:

• Fold or go all-in, depending on your hand.
• Go all-in with any two-star or better hands.

When you have 5 or fewer BBs, consider going all-in with any hand containing an ace or king as one of your hole cards.

The Betting Lead

Understanding the concept of the “betting lead” is crucial. With the expectation of pre-flop raises, someone will typically have this lead, meaning they are the last to make an aggressive move, such as being the last to bet or raise.

It’s important to observe if this player remains enthusiastic about their hand as more cards are dealt. Therefore, when you call someone else’s raise before the flop, you should mostly just check if it’s your turn to act before they do. If they continue to bet after the flop is revealed, it’s clear they still like their hand. This doesn’t mean you should fold everything except very strong hands, but it does provide you with information about the strength of their hand.

If, instead, they check and don’t continue betting, they are “giving up the betting lead,” and the next player who bets takes control.

Balancing your range by adjusting your play in various situations becomes more important when you’re facing skilled players who pay close attention to your actions. The betting recommendations in the rest of this chapter serve as a fundamental step beyond playing like a rock. They aim to provide value for your strong hands and minimize losses with weaker hands. Following these guidelines is relatively straightforward, although it may make your actions more predictable to others.

On the Flop and the Turn

Once the flop is revealed, players usually have a good sense of their hand’s strength. Some of this was covered in Chapter 2, where the traffic light system for flops was discussed.

If you have the betting lead:

• C-bet (continue betting) with top pair, two pair, and overpair (a pocket pair higher than the highest card on the flop).
• Check with three of a kind or better, or if you have a weak hand. The aim is to maximize the pot when you have a good hand and minimize losses when you’ve completely missed the flop. Avoid betting the strongest hands, such as straights and flushes, to conceal your strength and avoid scaring off opponents.

If you don’t have the betting lead:

• Check everything if you act before the betting lead. If the betting lead bets again, call with your c-betting hands as they’re likely to be winning, call with strong draws (refer to the pot odds chart in Chapter 2), and re-raise with three of a kind or better hands that you would have checked with when you had the betting lead. Fold all other hands.
• If the betting lead checks, treat it as if you have the betting lead and refer back to the instructions for having the betting lead.

For betting values, aim to bet between half and three-quarters of the pot. This range will be suitable in many situations, making it a reliable rule of thumb. If you’re raising another bet, stick to 2.5x-3x their bet.

Always pay attention to what other players are doing and the possible hands that can be formed based on the community cards on the board. If you find yourself in a situation where you called a raise pre-flop, called a c-bet on the flop, and re-raised on the turn with a straight but were still called by your opponent, consider whether they might have better hands. For instance, three or four cards of the same suit on the board increase the likelihood of a flush, and a pair on the board makes a full house possible. This doesn’t mean you should immediately consider folding your strong hands, but it’s wise to be less aggressive unless you have the best possible hand.

Flop and Turn Betting Summary

If you have the betting lead:

• Bet when you have top pair, two pair, an overpair, or a pocket pair higher than the second pair.
• Check with all other hands. If you are re-raised, only call with the super-strong hands.

If you don’t have the betting lead:

• Always check if the player with the betting lead hasn’t acted yet.
• If the betting lead has checked first, consider yourself to have the betting lead.
• If the betting lead bets, call with your betting hands and re-raise with the super-strong hands.
• Bet between 0.5x and 0.75x the pot, and raise between 2.5x and 3x the other player’s bet.
• Fold everything else to a bet. Never fold if you can check.

Betting on the River

Betting on the river in poker brings a significant change in the game dynamics. While it’s simpler in some ways, many amateur players struggle to grasp how it differs from previous rounds.

On the river, everyone knows exactly how strong their own hand is, and no one will call with draws because there are no more cards to be drawn. The primary reason for betting on the flop and turn with two pair hands, which was to extract value from players hoping for a straight, no longer applies.

Now, you should consider the value of your hand, which is measured by the price that weaker hands are willing to pay to see if they can win the pot. For instance, if you have the third-highest pair (e.g., a pair of nines on an A-Q-9-4-3 board), there’s no point in betting, even if you believe you have the best hand. Weaker hands will fold, and stronger hands are likely to call or raise. Betting doesn’t increase your earnings if you have the best hand, but it can cost you more if you don’t.

The strength of your hand also depends on the possibilities presented on the board. For example, if there are three cards of the same suit on the board, flushes are possible, and if there are four, flushes are likely. If the board shows a potential straight, like 5-2, you need to consider the possibility of someone having that straight.

A simple rule of thumb for river betting is to choose an amount you would call with if you had a weaker hand. For example, if you have top pair, bet the same amount you would call if you had third pair. If you have a flush and the board, like 9-8-7-6, potentially allows for straights or two pairs, you can bet more, not solely based on the strength of your hand but due to the likelihood of other players having strong hands that are weaker than yours.

These river betting strategies can help you make more informed decisions when it comes to the final round of betting in a poker hand.

River Betting Summary

• Don’t bet just because you think your hand is best.
• Bet if you believe you’re ahead of the majority of the other hands players can have.
• Choose your betting size based on the hands you beat, not your own hand.

Betting size guide:

• Call if you have a pair, even if it’s just top pair.
• Bet half the pot if you beat most two pairs.
• Bet the full pot if you beat or match all straights and hands weaker than that.
• Bet any amount you like if you have a strong full house or better.

You can make slight adjustments to your betting size if you have a strong feeling about what other players might have and how much they would be willing to call. These strategies will help you make more calculated and profitable bets on the river in poker.