Continuation Betting
Continuation betting is used for an aggressive game of poker. This involves playing with lesser hands as compared to the opponents and hence can miss the flop for the most part. If used properly, the continuation bet can make a lot of difference to the entire game of poker.
A continuation betting process is also referred as ‘C’ betting. This simply means the bet that is placed on the flop by the same player who raised the pre-flop. It is often believed that the continuation bet is interconnected to the flop. Placing a continuation bet means that the player is getting aggressive by actually raising the pre-flop and following it with the bet on the flop. Usually the continuation bets are about half or three-fourth the size of the pot. With the continuation bets, you can actually confuse the opponent and force him to wonder whether the flop has actually hit you or not.
It is important to know when to make a continuation bet since the players do not want to limit these bets, especially to those times where they happen to make their hand. It is a good idea to place a continuation bet for the most time when you were the pre-flop raiser in the hand. As far as the multi-way pots are concerned, decision making gets intricate. It must always be remembered that if the opponents start noticing the raise on the continuation bets, then you must change the strategy immediately.
There are two major things that can happen in a game of poker with the continuation bets. As soon as you start connecting with the continuation bet, you are protecting the stronger hands as opposed to the drawings by your opponents. With the continuation bet, you are offering the opponents some improper odds to follow you down the streets cheaply. Secondly, the continuation bets add a significant amount of deception to the game.
The ideal number of players while placing the continuation bets is just two. When there are unpaired starting cards in the game, there are chances of missing the flop by 66% and if there is only one opponent, the flop would still get you some winnings even if you have raised it by 33%. When there are more than two opponents in the game, continuation bets should be avoided since there are chances that one of them would call the flop.
A few flops are comparatively dangerous and it has to be remembered that the number of draws as well as the high cards must decide on how long to bet after the flop. Given that the opponents would play the high cards and suited cards, a flop with these cards can turn out to be dangerous.
To conclude, the continuation betting is one of the most powerful strategies in poker and is known to take the pot most of the time once there is some strength shown after the flop. Hence it is mandatory to be aware about the number of players involved and the texture of the flop.