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The out of position strategy for continuation betting on wet boards in 3-bet pots is quite complicated compared to the optimal play for dry flops.
Generally speaking, wet boards are harder to play in Texas Hold’em, largely because of all the potential draws out there, requiring a more layered approach.
In this article, we’ll break down the optimal GTO strategy for continuation betting out of position in 3-bet pots on wet boards using several representative flop types.
For all examples, we’ll be using the big blind vs. button setup, assuming standard preflop open sizes and effective stacks of 100 big blinds.
Before we get into particular examples, here are a few main takeaways to keep in mind while going through the article:
- On ace-high wet flops, we are c-betting only about 50%
- We should be c-betting king-high flops at around 80%
- C-betting strategy on queen-high wet flops is similar to that on ace-high boards
- We are checking around three-quarters of our range on low card wet flops
Tip #1: Check Ace-High Wet Flops Half the Time
Even though ace-high boards favor the preflop 3-bettor, we should be c-betting only about 50% of the time in these spots. This is primarily due to the fact that your in-position opponent will have a lot of aces in their range when they call the 3-bet, as you can see in the picture below, which represents button calling range against a 3-bet.
The button player has all suited aces in their range, a couple of off-suite ace hands, and even pocket aces about half of the time. Plus, they have a variety of other hands that coordinate with these types of flops, including middle and bottom sets.
For these reasons, our c-bet percentage isn’t nearly as high as one might assume initially thinking about ace-high flops. Let’s look at an example of A♥9♥8♦:
As is often the case in these spots, our c-betting strategy is split fairly evenly over our entire range, but there are a few hand types that lean more towards continuation betting, namely:
- Our strongest ace-highs (AK, AQ) – c-betting close to 80%
- Gutshot draws – J7s, QTs, QJs, 65s – continuation betting around 75%
- Open-enders – 76s, T7s, JTo – with around 70% c-bet frequency
It is also interesting to note that the solver uses the small (25% of the pot) and the big (60% of the pot) sizing at a similar frequency, with a slight preference for smaller sizings. There are very few hands that use exclusively small sizing, and we should be mixing big and small bets across our entire c-betting range.
Notably, hands that always use the small size, when we decide to c-bet them, are all sets (AA, 99, 88) and middling ace-highs that we use as preflop 3-bets (ATs, A7s).
So, the c-betting strategy in these spots is quite elaborate, but these are very dynamic boards in a situation where the in-position player has solid board coverage, so our game plan must be in line with that reality.
Strategy After Checking
Since we will be checking about half of the time in these situations, it is definitely worth taking the time to consider the strategy after we check and face a bet from the button.
If you look back at the above picture, you’ll notice that we are checking a lot of fairly strong hands at a decent frequency.
Once we check, the button player should be taking over the initiative about 35% of the time, using primarily 60% of the pot size.
Facing that bet, we can continue with just around 60% of our entire range based on MDF, and our default course of action is calling.
The only hands we will be check-raising in this scenario are AKo and bottom two pair (100%), AKs at about 60%, and a few other hands at a really low frequency.
Otherwise, we are calling with all of our strongest hands, middle-strength hands, and solid draws (open-enders, flush draws), and folding hands with no real potential, such as non-heart KQ, KJ, KT, and 65.
Tip #2: C-Bet Frequently on High-Card Wet Flops
Our strategy for high-card wet flops leans towards c-betting at a higher frequency, although percentages vary depending on which high card hits the flop.
King-high boards are the most favorable ones, where we should be c-betting at around 80%, as we can see from the example of the K♠8♠7♦ flop:
We are c-betting pretty much our entire range in these spots at similar frequencies. The only hands that we want to check a bit more (around 35%) are hands like:
- Weak top pairs, i.e., K6s and K5s
- Bottom pairs with some backdoor potential, i.e., T7s, A7s
- Bottom two pair (87s)
- Weakest aces, i.e. A5s, A4s, and A5o
When it comes to sizing, we are using the small bet twice as much as the large sizing. The sizing strategy is split fairly evenly across the entire range, but certain hands gravitate more towards big bets, including:
- Pocket aces
- KQs & KQo
- J9s
This fairly elaborate strategy helps create a balanced range, where we have enough strong hands and draws across both sizes, making it impossible for the opponent to exploit you.
Queen-High and Jack-High Wet Flops
While king-high flops are favorable for c-betting, things change quite a bit when we replace the high card with a queen. For example, our c-betting percentage on the Q♥8♠7♠ drops back to around 55%:
We are once again splitting checking and betting fairly evenly across our entire range, with a few hands strongly favoring c-bets:
- Overpairs (AA, KK) – nearly 90%
- Strongest top pair, i.e., AQ, KQ
- T6s
- 96s
Our strategy on these types of flops isn’t too different from the one we apply to ace-high wet boards, as we are once again in a spot where the opponent will have good board coverage, and we’ll have fewer super-strong hands in our range.
A similar strategy can be applied to J-high boards as well, although it depends on the exact board texture.
Tip #3: Check 75% of Low Wet Flops
Wet flops featuring low cards are not ideal for the preflop 3-bettor, so our strategy here is quite natural. We’ll be doing a lot of checking to control the pot size and avoid difficult spots as much as possible.
Let’s look at the board of 8♥7♥5♠:
As you can see, we are checking almost 74% of the time here, and the only hands that we want to c-bet with 50% or more are overpairs (AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, and 99).
For the rest of our range, we are c-betting some of the time, but the default play is to check a lot to the button player and take things from there.
After checking, we should face a bet almost 60% of the time, at which point we can continue with three-quarters of our hands:
That range includes about 18% of check-raises with hands like:
- Overpairs that we didn’t c-bet
- Sets (99 and 88)
- Two pair
- Some middle pair + straight combos (i.e., 98s, 76s)
- Over-card + straight draw (i.e. J9, K9)
A lot of other hands continue as a call, including many ace-highs, like AK, AQ, open-ended straight draws, and top-pair hands like K8s and T8s.
With this strategy, we have enough hands in our check-raising range to prevent the opponent from betting too frequently, and we also have enough hands that we can continue with as calls and play across different turns.
