Poker is a difficult game that has many intricacies to it. Betting, naturally, plays a huge role in your overall success at the tables as it an essential part of the overall strategy.
Every time it’s your turn to make a bet, you need to decide just how much you want to bet to achieve the desired outcome, i.e. you need to figure out what the best bet size is given the situation.
In this article, I’ll give you top 10 tips to help you master bet sizing and make your decisions easier every time it’s your turn to make an aggressive action and put some chips into the pot.
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1. Use Standard Preflop Sizes
There is absolutely no need to randomize things when it comes to your opening sizes before the flop. Mixing it up to confuse your opponents is really not necessary or required.
It is fine to adjust your bet sizes to take advantage of specific opponents that you have very good reads on. In general, however, without this specific information, you should stick to fixed and fundamentally sound opening sizes.
The table below shows correct raise sizes depending on the stack depth:
| Stack Size | First In | Facing a Limper | Vs. a Raise | Vs. a 3-Bet |
| 60-125 BBs | 2.75 BBs | 4.5 BBs | 3x IP, 4x OOP | 2.75x IP, 3.25x OOP |
| 35-60 BBs | 2.5 BBs | 4.25 BBs | 2.7x IP, 3.2x OOP | 2.5x IP, 3x OOP |
| 22-35 BBs | 2.25 BBs | 4 BBs | 2.7x IP, 3.2x OOP | All-in |
| 12-22 BBs | 2 BBs | 3.5 BBs | All-in | All-in |
| <12 BBs | All-in | All-in | All-in | All-in |
2. Make Your 3-Bets Larger Out of Position
When you’re out position, you’ll want to make your 3-bets larger compared to when you’re in position. The reasoning behind this is quite simple.
When you are the one in position, you want to encourage action from your opponent. Conversely, when out of position, you want to discourage action.
You can see this in the table above – suggested 3-bet sizes are always larger when we are out of position.
3. Keep Your 4-Bets Small
In situations where you’re facing a 3-bet and want to put in another raise, you’ll want to use a smaller size, i.e. smaller multiples compared to when facing just a raise.
For example, if we make it 2 big blinds to go and they raise to 6, we should be making 17 BBs in position and something around 20 BBs when out of position (when playing with deeper stacks).
In shorter stack scenarios, as you can see from the table, we’d rather just move all-in.
It’s important to note that, once you 4-bet, your range of premium hands starts to get very strong. Thus, you don’t really care if your opponent continues. So, in the instances where you’re bluffing, you want to make your bluffs as cheap as possible, so it makes sense to use smaller sizes for your 4-bets.
4. Use Small Bet Sizes on Uncoordinated Flops
I’ve gone through many GTO poker scenarios for uncoordinated boards, and the principle of betting small on these types of textures applies most of the time.
If you’re just starting to pick up poker, your goal is to find simple and effective strategies that will be correct a majority of the time, and this is one of them.
So, on flops like Q-7-2 rainbow or 9-4-2 rainbow, where there are no straight or flush draws to speak of, you should be betting tiny when c-betting, Something like 1.5 BBs or so is in the right neighborhood.
On these boards, you’ll have a decent range advantage, which means you can get away with using small bet sizes efficiently.
5. Bet Big on Connected Boards
Following on the previous tip, when facing a connected board, you should be using large sizes for your continuation bets, using a polarized range of your best made hands and some draws.
The types of boards that have straight and flush draws available, such as Q♠10♥4♥ or 8♠7♠3♦, are sometimes referred to as “dynamic boards.”
On these textures, you probably won’t bet all the time, but when you do bet, you should be using a larger sizing. A bet close to the size of the pot is optimal in these scenarios.
6. Use Bet Sizes Exploitatively
You should be adjusting to your opponents’ tendencies in real-time and change your bet sizes in accordance with what you expect them to do in a certain situation.
For example, if you’re up against a player who’ll fold everything except a middle pair or better and very strong draws on the flop when facing a pot-sized bet, you should use a large sizing with your premium hands (i.e., top pair – top kicker and better).
With everything else, you can use a smaller size, knowing that it will work anyways against weaker hands, while saving you some money when you’re up against strong hands.
7. Use Proper Bet Sizes on Turns & Rivers
Once you bet the flop and get called, your opponent’s range changes, as they lose all of their trash hands. Those would most likely give up to your continuation bet.
Thus, going to the turn, ranges will be much stronger, which means you’ll want to continue betting with a polarized range: your best made hands, some really good draws, and a selection of junky draws.
When you’re betting with a polarized range, you’ll want to use a larger sizing of around 50% of the pot or more.
There are some exceptions here, like situations when a random overcard hits the turn that coordinates with your flop bluffs, where you can continue with a smaller bet. In general, however, when you decide to continue betting on the turn when checked to, you’ll want to use a medium to big bet size.
8. Reduce Your Bet Sizes in 3-Bet+ Pots
In 3-bet and 4-bet pots, you’ll want to reduce your bet sizes across the board. As the pot gets larger, you no longer need to utilize large bets to ensure all the money goes in by the river.
Say you’re a 100 big blinds deep. Someone makes it 3 big blinds to go, you 3-bet to 12, and they call. There are already 25 BBs in the pot. If you bet just 12 on the flop and the opponent calls, the pot goes to roughly 50 big blinds.
So, in 3-bet pots, a “large” flop bet would be something along the lines of 50% or 60% of the pot, rather than the full pot that you’d use in a single-raised pot.
9. Keep the Stack-to-Pot Ratio in Mind
When determining the bet size you want to use, you always have to think about the stack-to-pot ratio (SPR). As stacks get shallower, you’ll want to use smaller sizes.
You might see some of the best poker players in the world betting something like one big blind into pots containing five or six big blinds, and this consideration is why they do it.
If you bet one big blind with a second pair and your opponent calls, you’re probably still ahead – they can call this bet with a wide variety of holdings. Conversely, if you bet the size of the pot and they call, your second pair is probably in trouble.
In shallow stack scenarios, it’s also important to think whether a bet would commit you to a pot before you place any chips in the middle. If you ever find yourself in a spot considering a bet that would commit more than 40% of your chips, you’re probably better off not betting or just moving all-in.
10. Use Over-Bets to Maximize Your EV
The final tip I have for you in this article is to use over-bets to maximize your expected value. Betting larger than the actual size of the pot can sometimes be the best option.
This concept especially applies on very dynamic boards when you’re playing deep stacked.
An example of a board where you should be using over-bets is J♥10♦5♥. As a preflop raiser, a large chunk of your range on this board is made of very strong made hands and draws.
So, when your opponent checks, you can bet something like 1.5 times the size of the pot immediately. If they call and check again on the turn, you can now proceed to bet two times the pot.
This is something that most players don’t do, but boards like J-T-X with a flush draw are very common spots where you can use huge bets, as the board is so favorable to your range as the original raiser or the 3-bettor.
On the river, you can move all-in or use a gigantic sizing with a polarized range of effective nut hands and some total bluffs that cannot win on the showdown. As you bet larger on the river, assuming your range is perfectly balanced, you can have more bluffs in your range.
