{"id":1373950,"date":"2021-03-05T08:12:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T08:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.pokercoaching.com\/?p=1373950"},"modified":"2025-12-29T14:40:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:40:33","slug":"your-continuation-bets-suck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/your-continuation-bets-suck\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Continuation Bets Suck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Okay, I\u2019ll admit something: It\u2019s possible your <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/c-betting-in-poker\/\" title=\"C-Betting in Poker \u2013 How to Build the Optimal Strategy\">continuation bets<\/a> do not suck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But this is the internet. I\u2019m fighting\nagainst videos of puppies playing in a sprinkler. I have no choice but to name\nmy articles with titles like that, otherwise you\u2019ll never click.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the truth is, many of us do struggle to continuation bet effectively. If you use the same continuation bet size for most hands, you\u2019re likely struggling as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNo one ever folds to my continuation bets!\u201d Have you ever said these words? That means you need to tweak your continuation betting <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/ranges-in-poker\/\" title=\"Ranges in Poker \u2013 Analyze Your Hands Like a Pro\">ranges<\/a> and sizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With just a couple of quick changes, we can pick up more pots than we deserve. The padding these orphan pots provide will lead to more profitable cash and tournament sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep It Simple<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The truth is that most people overcomplicate matters when they continue betting in <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-play-poker\/texas-holdem-rules\/\" title=\"How To Play Texas Hold\u2019em \u2013 Poker Rules &amp; Basics\">Texas Hold&#8217;em<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s start with some assumptions we\u2019re\nmaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For one, most of the time, we will not have a hand on the flop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second assumption we will make is that\nwe will want the other player to fold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The third assumption we will make is that we are heads-up. In a multiway pot it is likely that someone hit a pair and they are not folding it. You should not continuation bet bluff in a multiway pot in low-to-mid stakes competition. You\u2019re just not going to get folds. If you have backdoor draws or something you can work with and it\u2019s a real hit-or-miss board (say J-2-2) you can consider it, but otherwise don\u2019t bother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to Beat Small Stakes Poker AND Move UP!\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jNFoiPoTcd4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>So, let\u2019s review. We are discussing heads-up\npots where we\u2019ve missed. How do we get the other guy to fold?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When great players are in higher-stakes <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/mtt-poker-strategy\/\" title=\"MTT Poker Strategy from Proven Winners \u2013 Crush Your Tournaments\">tournaments<\/a>, this is an extremely complex question to answer. There is the matter of balanced ranges to consider. If you overexert yourself in any frequency, your talented competition will notice and begin exploiting you. The game is to feign balanced ranges until you can slip in an exploitative play on your competition. It\u2019s a beautiful cat-and-mouse game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At low-to-mid stakes competition, however, our opponents aren\u2019t as likely to notice if we\u2019re getting out of line. This is especially true if we\u2019re playing online versus players who are massively multitabling or just watching sports in the background. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Live isn\u2019t much different. The next time you play live, pay attention to how many players are on their cell phones during a hand. I\u2019m fully convinced that if you interviewed the players at your table after a hand, six or seven of them wouldn\u2019t be able to tell you the action or the hands revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this environment, it\u2019s best to simplify our strategies until we find more complex competition and need to lean more toward <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/what-is-gto-poker\/\" title=\"What Is GTO Poker &amp; Why You Should Learn Game Theory Optimal Play\">GTO poker<\/a>. At this stage in your poker development, we want to get you winning. We want to get you thinking more clearly during hand, and that\u2019s going to start with simple inputs. Once you\u2019re clear-headed with good fundamentals, we can begin layering more complex considerations on your strategies. You will do this progressively more and more as you move up in levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Building Your Approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To accomplish our aim, we should start with a simple question when you\u2019re playing heads-up without a strong <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/\" title=\"Poker Hand Rankings &amp; The Best Texas Hold\u2019em Hands\">poker hand<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat bet or bets will fold out my\nopponent\u2019s high cards?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s it. That\u2019s the most important\nthought you should have before any continuation bet or series of continuation\nbets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you start with this, you will have a serious advantage when executing the most fundamental bluff in your arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s return to a flop we discussed\nearlier. The J-2-2 board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On almost any board, your opponent\u2019s range\nis going to be comprised mainly of high cards. But on certain boards they will\nhave high cards 60-70% of the time. This is one of those boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On this board, you have a number of\noptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat bet will fold out my opponent\u2019s high\ncards?\u201d you ask yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What bets do you think would accomplish\nthis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you bet half-pot, do you think that will accomplish it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My guess would be probably not. If you\u2019re\ngoing to begin with that bet, you must be prepared to fire again on the turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What if you bet just over the size of the\npot? Would that fold out your opponent\u2019s high cards?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your answer was, \u201cyeah, obviously, but\nthat\u2019s a stupid bet,\u201d well, we must ask ourselves, why is it a stupid bet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Certainly, it is irregular. If it fails, we will be chastised at the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But our bet will need to work 50-55% of the time, depending on how you size it, and our opponent has missed 60-70% of the time, remember? If you truly believe that that bet size will fold high cards, it is a viable option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you notice how much more clearly you\u2019re thinking in this situation now as opposed to, \u201cLet\u2019s bet half-pot and hope for the best?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many players in this situation on this board bet 1\/3rd pot because they saw that on TV, not realizing that the high-stakes pro only makes that bet because he has a nuanced triple-barrel strategy coming up on specific board runouts. The GTO pro is also expecting his opponent to understand what is going on and fold some pairs later in the hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do not have that luxury. You have a guy\nwho needs things spelled out to him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-advanced-heading uagb-block-2d039797\"><h2 class=\"uagb-heading-text\">Another Example<\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s take another board. You raise the button and big blind calls. The board comes Qd-Td-5. You got none of it. It\u2019s checked to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember, what is the important thought\nhere?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What are we trying to accomplish?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Return to the fundamentals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here, you don\u2019t need a large continuation bet.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re going to use a small continuation bet, use it on a board with two cards, nine or higher. That is a board that is far more likely to hit a calling range, but it has a benefit as well. A board with that many broadways or paint is intimidating, so if your opponent misses it, they will fold their high cards to practically any bet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat folds out high cards?\u201d is what we\nshould have asked ourselves on this board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On this board, the answer to that question is \u201cpractically any bet.\u201d Now, you can try the one-third pot-sized bet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This guiding principle for sound <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-strategy-tips\/\" title=\"Poker Strategy 101 \u2013 How to Win in Poker More Often\">poker strategy<\/a> helps you chop out a ton of pots and keep sailing through a tournament. I hope it serves you well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Okay, I\u2019ll admit something: It\u2019s possible your continuation bets do not suck. But this is the internet. I\u2019m fighting against videos of puppies playing in a sprinkler. I have no choice but to name my [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":2516693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,877,16,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1373950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cash-games","category-poker-basics","category-poker-strategy","category-tournaments"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/alex-fitzgerald-pic-2.jpg",660,438,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/alex-fitzgerald-pic-2-373x210.jpg",373,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/alex-fitzgerald-pic-2-633x420.jpg",633,420,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/alex-fitzgerald-pic-2.jpg",660,438,false],"large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/alex-fitzgerald-pic-2.jpg",660,438,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/alex-fitzgerald-pic-2.jpg",660,438,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/alex-fitzgerald-pic-2.jpg",660,438,false],"author_image":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/alex-fitzgerald-pic-2.jpg",100,66,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Alex Fitzgerald","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/alex_fitzgerald\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Okay, I\u2019ll admit something: It\u2019s possible your continuation bets do not suck. But this is the internet. I\u2019m fighting against videos of puppies playing in a sprinkler. I have no choice but to name my [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1373950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1373950"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1373950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2534590,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1373950\/revisions\/2534590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2516693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1373950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1373950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1373950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}