So in previous articles, we have looked at bet sizing in general and also we did an article on when we should be betting small in pots, but in today’s article, we are going to look at the importance of not using half pot sizings.
This is a bet size I see all the time at the tables, there’s 2,400 in the middle and the bettor makes a wager of 1,200 for example. This probably has something to do with the half pot button on many Poker sites these days, but we are going to look at why this is one of the worst bets to make.
Have Fluid Sizings
Different board textures need different tools to treat them, we will want to be very fluid in our bet sizings, we will want to use different sizings for a bunch of different reasons.
In general, when we are betting on more connected boards we will want to be betting less often and when we are betting them we will want to be doing it with a strong range and use a large sizing.
The opposite is true with dry boards, on these types of boards we can just use very small sizings indeed because they will improve our opponents hand less easily so there is less to protect from by using a large sizing.
What About the Middle Ground
So we have learnt about those two polar ends of the scale when it comes to betting before in this article however we haven’t really covered the middle ground too much and this is when we have a good hand the board is not super coordinated, but enough so that we wouldn’t call it a dry board either, so right in the middle.
This is where I often see players betting half pot, but let’s look at why this needs improving.
We are missing out on tonnes of value! Quite often if our opponent is calling a half pot bet then there is going to be little difference in their range of what they will be calling a 75% pot bet for example.
We need to size up against our opponents in order to not only get more value on the flop but then, in turn, the pot is large on later streets allowing us to size up on these streets too and win a much larger pot in the end.
Let’s look at an example of how much extra we earn if we size up 25% on all our bets…
As we can see from this example we can get nearly twice as much value from just a 25% increase in our bet size over the course of a three street hand.
We don’t have to use this exact sizing, as we said earlier be fluid, if you think your opponent in the hand is a calling station then feel free to use a larger sizing than this, even slightly overbet the pot on all your streets to get max value.
On the other hand, if you think your opponent is a good player that might make some conservative folds to a larger sizing then look to bet something like 65% pot.
Sum Up
The important point is this, there are going to be times when betting 20% pot or 35% pot is going to be a good bet size the same is true with using larger sizings like 75% or 90% pot, however, there is not really a scenario that calls for a half pot sizing, this has grown out of laziness and lack of thought about board textures and correct sizings, so if this is something that you are still doing with your Poker games, then look to make a change today and see if you notice yourself winning bigger pots!
Get Some Free Spins!
Sign up today to Slots Heaven and you will get 20 Free Spins with No Deposit just for creating a new account!
