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Continuing on the previously discussed topic of sizing your c-bets on the flop when playing in position, today’s lesson will look into some turn spots with the aim of showing you how solvers choose between big and small turn bet sizes in different spots.
The analysis will continue on flop examples from the previous lesson, looking at different turn cards and how they influence our decision on whether and how much to bet after c-betting out of position and getting called on the flop.
Like the previous article, in which we covered turn sizing in position, this is an extensive topic, made further complicated by being the first to act. Thus, we’ll try to include some of the most useful examples here, with a caveat that this is a vast area that will require a lot of focused studying if you really want to excel at it.
Before we dive in, here are a few main takeaways from this lesson:
- We are primarily using 60% of the pot sizing on ace and middle-card pairing turns following ace-high dry flops
- Use huge sizing on king turns following ace-high flops
- We are betting small on ace turns following high-card flops
- We are mixing our strategy between small and big bets on lower cards that follow high card boards
- Utilize large sizing on all turn-pairing cards following low-card disconnected flops
- We rarely bet on high card following low cards flop, but when we do we gravitate towards pot size bets
Tip #1: Bet Big on Turn Pairing Cards Following Ace-High Dry Flops
When playing out of position, we are usually not c-betting on dynamic ace-high flops at all. On dry boards, we are continuing at around 13%, mostly using large, 69% of the pot size.
Let’s look at the example of the A♠9♦3♣ flop. Once the opponent calls, we’ll have quite a lot to think about when it comes to turn bet sizing, depending on what card comes.
Board Pairing Cards
On all board-pairing cards, we’ll be utilizing a large (60%) or super-large (100% – 150% of the pot) sizing:
- On ace pairing turns, we are betting around 45% of the time, using primarily 60% of the pot sizing and the mix of other sizes to fill up the rest (25%, 100%, and 150%):
- On middle-card pairing turns, we are betting around 55%, using the 60% sizing almost exclusively, with a small mix of other sizes:
- When the turn pairs the bottom card, we are continuing at a very high frequency of around 65%, using huge sizing, splitting almost equally between 150% and 100% of the pot:
High Card Turns
Our strategy on high cards after a dry ace-high flop will vary significantly depending on the particular card, i.e., kings, queens, and jacks.
- On king turns, we are betting around 65% of the time, varying pretty much exclusively between 100% and 150% of the pot bet. We are using 150% sizing more on non-flush kings, while defaulting to 100% on all kings bringing in a flush draw.
- When it comes to queen turns, we are continuing at around 50%, splitting fairly equally between 60% and 25% sizing.
- Finally, on jack turns, we are betting 10% to 20% of the time, using exclusively a small sizing of 25% of the pot.
Low Card Turns
On low card turns following a dry ace-high flop, we’ll be betting around 60% of the time. When it comes to sizing, solvers employ a variety of mixed strategies, making it challenging to provide an all-encompassing overview of these areas.
Generally speaking, there is a preference for big, pot-sized bets on higher low cards (i.e., 8s, 7s, 6s), gradually moving toward 60% and 25% for the lowest ones.
This isn’t a rule set in stone, though, so this particular segment of the game tree requires a deeper analysis and more studying. Different types of low cards create different types of draws, and our betting strategy is heavily influenced by how these individual cards work with the opponent’s range.
Tip #2: Bet Small on Ace Turns Following High-Card Flops
Let’s now turn our attention to different turn cards following high-card flops. As we explained in the previous article, our flop c-bet frequency changes a lot depending on the exact structure of the flop, so we’ll try to explain turn sizing decisions following the same logic.
Our turn sizing strategy following high card flops is spread across the entire range of bets, so we’ll try to synthesize some of the biggest takeaways, with the caveat that refining this strategy will require more work on specific spots. We’ll be working with an example of the K♠8♣2♦ flop.
- On ace high turns, we are betting about half the time, using primarily a small, 25% of the bet sizing:
- On king-pairing turns, we are betting around 32% of the time, primarily using the 60% of the pot sizing:
- On cards pairing the middle and the bottom card, we are betting around 50%, primarily mixing between 60% and 150% of the pot sizing
- Queen turns, we are betting around 65% of the time, splitting our sizing between 60% and 25% of the equally:
- On Jack high turns, we are betting around 50%, using the same strategy of splitting bets between 25% and 60% sizing:
- On low-card turns, we are continuing 35% to 50% (betting more often on lower cards), and we are balancing all four sizings:
Similar takeaways apply to queen-high flops as well when it comes to frequency and sizing our turn bets on board pairing and different high card turns.
Tip #3: Use Large to Very Large Sizing on Turn Pairing Cards Following Low-Card Flops
When it comes to low-card flops, we don’t have many flop c-bets on wet, connected boards. On disconnected flops, like 8♠5♦2♣, we are c-betting 15% to 20% of the time, which means we’ll be seeing some turns in these spots.
On all turn-pairing cards, we’ll be firing about half the time, resorting to large sizings between 60% and 150% of the pot. On turns pairing the top card, we’ll be utilizing more of the huge bets (100% and 150%), while betting 100% and 60% on middle and bottom pairs.
On ace and king turns, we are betting only at around 20%. Ace-turns gravitate toward large, 100% pot bet, while king turns prefer small, 25% of the pot sizing.
On queen turns following low-card and disconnected flop textures, we are betting at around 55%, balancing equally between 100% and 25% sizing.
Finally, on different low-card turns, we will be betting at around 15% to 30%, using 100% and 60% of the pot sizing. We should bet more often on higher low cards (like 6s and 7s), using primarily the pot-sized bet.
