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In previous lessons, we talked at some length about c-betting in position as a preflop raiser, covering different types of boards and scenarios.
Deciding whether to c-bet or not is one part of the equation; however, you also need to know what is the best sizing to use based on the board texture.
In today’s article, we’ll discuss how to pick between small and big continuation bet sizing when playing in position.
As always, we’ll use the button vs. the big blind dynamic, playing at 100 big blinds effective stacks and with no antes, analyzing some of the most representative flop textures.
Before we proceed to specific examples, here are a few main takeaways from this lesson:
- Bet big on dry ace-high flops, but use small sizing on wet textures
- Utilize a big c-bet size on dry K-high boards & a small one on dynamic flops
- Mix between big and small sizing on dry Q-high & J-high flops
- Use the big c-bet size on dry low-card flops
- Stick to small sizing on dynamic boards with low cards
Tip #1: Bet Big on Wet A-High Flops, but Small on Dry Ones
We’ll start our analysis with ace-high boards, looking at both dry and wet textures to see how our GTO strategy for c-betting differs quite a bit.
When it comes to dry ace-high flop, the solver prefers a small sizing pretty much exclusively, as we can see on the example of a A♠7♣2♥:
In this spot, we are using the small sizing of 31% pot pretty much exclusively for our entire continuation betting range, as we have a range advantage and we don’t have to worry too much about equity denial on these types of textures.
However, when we look at wet flops containing an ace where different draws are present, our strategy takes a pretty big shift, gravitating heavily towards big sizing, as we can see on the example of the A♠10♥9♥ flop.
On these textures, our default sizing is 71% of the pot. Our opponent’s range coordinates much better with these board types, as they’ll have many draws and combo draws, so larger sizing helps protect our range and deny some equity to these types of holdings.
Tip #2: C-Betting Strategies on High-Card Flops Vary Greatly
When it comes to high-card boards, our c-betting strategy is much more complicated. Our decision to bet big or small will depend not only on the type of texture (wet or dry), but also on a particular high card (K, Q, or J).
Additionally, there are a few scenarios where we’ll be using a mixed strategy, balancing between big and small c-bets at a very similar frequency.
Sizing C-Bets on King-High Flops
Our c-betting strategy on very dry king-high flops is pretty straightforward. We are c-betting at a very high frequency, using almost exclusively the small (31% pot) sizing, as we can see on the example of the K♠8♣2♦ board.
However, on wet textures containing a king, such as K♥9♦8♦, the preferred sizing switches to big (71% pot), while our overall frequency drops significantly, as we are c-betting only about half of the time.
Once again, the preflop caller’s range coordinates pretty well with these wet textures, leading to more checking, and when we do c-bet, we want to use a bigger sizing to protect our value hands and deny equity to hands that can easily improve on different turns.
C-Bet Sizing Strategy on Queen-High Flops
Queen-high flops represent a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to figuring out the best continuation bet size to use in position.
Unlike previous examples, where the difference between big and small sizes was pretty clear-cut, the solver suggests a lot of mixed strategies on these board types.
Let’s first look at an example of a very dry flop, like Q♥8♦3♣:
We are c-betting around 85% of the time on these flops, but, as you can see, there is a good mix of big (71% pot) and small (31% pot) sizing.
There are almost no hands that use the big size exclusively, but there is a solid selection of hands that gravitate towards the big size, such as:
- K9s – betting big around 90% of the time
- KK – also betting big over 90% of the time
- Gutshot straight draws like TJs, J9s, and T9s – betting big around 60%
- AQo – around 65% of the time
- Some pure bluffs with backdoor equity, like A5s, A4s, 97s, and K5s
The rest of the time, we’ll be using the small sizing here, and, as you can see, there is a decent number of hands that prefer a small c-bet, including sets, decent top pairs, middle pairs, smaller pockets, and the rest of our bluffing hands.
When we switch to wet textures, like Q♠10♥8♥, a big sizing becomes our default. While our overall c-bet frequency drops a bit, the times we do fire a continuation bet, we’ll primarily use the 71% pot option:
Sizing C-Bets on Jack-High Flops
Jack-high flops fall into a bracket of their own when it comes to figuring out the best continuation bet size to use.
When it comes to dry textures, such as J♠7♣2♦, we are c-betting around 75% of the time, balancing between big and small sizing at a similar frequency, with only a slight preference for the smaller sizing:
When it comes to picking what hands to bet big with, the solver prefers hands that would fall into the “bluffing” bucket, such as QTo, T9s, Q9s, and KQo, and K9o. These are balanced out by also betting big with hands like KK, QQ, i.e. strong holdings that can benefit from some protection.
On dynamic J-high textures, like J♥9♦7♦, we are c-betting only about half the time, but when we do continuation bet, we are supposed to use the big sizing pretty much exclusively:
So, if there is one pattern we can discern from all of these examples is that our flop continuation bet gravitates more towards the big size on wet, dynamic textures, while there is a preference for smaller c-bets on dryer flops.
Tip #3: Bet Big on Dry Low Card Flops
Finally, when dealing with low-card flops, our c-betting strategy and sizing changes heavily depending on the board texture.
On dry boards containing low cards, such as 8♠4♥2♣, we are c-betting around 65% of the time and should pretty much always use the big (71% pot) size.
On these types of boards, we have a clear range advantage, as we have all overpairs and strong ace-highs in our range. At the same time, the big blind player will have very few strong hands willing to continue against a big bet, as there are very few draws available to give them additional equity to continue in a hand.
However, if we change the texture to make it more draw-heavy, such as 8♥7♥5♦, our c-betting frequency drops to under 35%, and the preference moves starkly to smaller sizing:
These are types of textures where the big blind player can go for a check-raise a decent percentage of the time, and they’ll also continue as a call with a good part of their range regardless of the sizing.
Since we don’t have a range advantage in these scenarios, using a small sizing when we do decide to c-bet helps us control the size of the pot and allows us to continue more frequently against a check-raise.
