We looked into c-betting on low-card boards in cash games with a full 100bb stack, so today we will dive deeper into tournament strategy for c-betting on connected low-card boards and look into 40bb and 20bb scenarios.

To build a full understanding of these spots, we will look into both in-position and out-of-position spots on connected low-card boards.

C-Betting On Low-Card Boards In Position – 8s7s5d

Here are the assumptions we will be using:

• The hand is played 40 bb deep with 12.5% ante
• We are opening from the button to 2.3bb
• Big blind calls and checks to us on the flop

Let’s firstly look at an example of 8s7s5d.

In this situation, we will be c-betting around 48% of the time. Unlike many examples where we distribute our bets throughout the entire range, there are some hands here that we will be betting all of the time.

For the most part, those poker hands are overpairs, two pair combos, sets, straights, top pair with top kicker, and some combo draws. The only hands we check in all cases are the underpairs.

Many of the hands containing middle or bottom pair will check a big part of the time to preserve the equity and try to get to the showdown without building the pot.

As for bet sizing, we will use two-thirds pot size bets with 31% of our range and stick to a small one-fourth pot size bet around 17% of the time.

Let’s look at how our strategy changes when the stacks get shorter.

In this situation with a 20bb stack, we will be betting a bit more often with 53% frequency. 

The biggest changes come in regard to bet sizing, since here we almost exclusively stick to 25% pot size bets.

Key takeaways

• C-bet around 48% of the time with 40bb 
• Bet two-thirds of the pot as a default
• C-bet a bit more often with 20bb, but stick to a small sizing

C-Betting on Low-Card Boards OOP – 8s7s5d

Let’s see how the game theory optimal strategy changes for the out-of-position situation on the same board texture:

• We are playing 40bb deep with 12.5% ante
• We are opening from the CO 
• BTN calls, and both of the blinds fold

Here is the first example of 8s7s5d with a 40bb stack.

We c-bet this flop 45% of the time, which is a much higher frequency than most board textures when being out of position. These bets are distributed fairly evenly throughout the range, with some Broadway combinations and ace-highs checking more often than other hands. 

It is safe to assume you can stick to small bets of 25% of the pot most of the time. Just mix in occasional bigger bets with hands that need the most protection, such as overpairs or top pair top kicker hands, along with some bluffs to balance things out.

When we move down to 20bb stacks, we c-bet a bit more often.

In this spot, we bet around 53% of the time. The default poker strategy is still a small bet of 25% of the pot, but now we mix it with bigger bets much more often. 

Here is a breakdown for bet sizing:

• 25% of the pot with 36% of your hands
• 60% of the pot with 13% of your hands
• Overbet with 4% of your holdings

The most interesting aspect is the bet sizing, particularly how we are overbetting to almost 3x the pot in a significant number of hands, including some gutshots and overpairs. 

Key takeaways:

• Bet around 45% of the time when OOP with a 40bb stack size
• Choose 25% bets as a standard option with 40bb
• Bet more often with a shorter stack of 20bb and use varying bet sizes including the overbets