Continuation Betting

A “continuation bet” refers to the first bet that a preflop raiser often makes after the flop. In No-Limit Hold’em, a player raising before the flop is going to continue with another bet after the flop quite often. In fact, the continuation bet (or “c-bet”) is itself very often an example of bluffing, since more often than not players miss flops.

The Continuation Bet

Consider again the example discussed in the bluffing tutorial. A player raised with K-Q and the flop came A-8-T. If that player had made a continuation bet on the flop, that would have been a bluff. And if you think about it, it probably would have won him the hand versus the opponent holding 55 -- who would have been looking at having to call a bet with three overcards on the board.

Don’t be Predictable

Of course, the very fact that it is expected that a preflop raiser is going to make a continuation bet after the flop means that players don’t want to become too automatic when making the play. If you c-bet every single time after the flop whether as a bluff or not, attentive players will pick up on that pattern and start playing back at you, responding with raises and pushing you out of hands -- perhaps even bluffing when they do!

Know, then, that after you have raised preflop you will be expected to make a continuation bet, and more often than not that c-bet is going to be a bluff since odds are you’ll miss flops more frequently than you’ll hit them. This means you’ll want to take other strategic factors into consideration -- factors not necessarily related to your specific hand strength -- when deciding whether to make a continuation bet.

When to C-Bet

When up against just one or two opponents, you can c-bet more often as it will be more likely doing so will help you win the hand. You can also c-bet more often on “dry” or uncoordinated flops such as Kh-7s-2c -- flops that are likely to have missed your opponent, and which don’t offer much possibility for flush or straight draws. Also, if you are up against a tight opponent who has shown he or she will often fold to others’ bets, a c-bet is more likely to work.

On the other hand, you might not want to c-bet if up against more than two opponents, if facing a “wet” or coordinated flop like 10h-9c-8h (that has missed your hand), or if up against a tricky and/or aggressive opponent. While a continuation bet is the kind of bluff that nearly always tells a reasonable “story,” there are still plenty of instances where it might be better not to make the bet.