The continuation bet (also known as C-Bet) is a move which consists of betting on the flop after you’ve raised preflop and it’s surely the suggested move in almost any case. Obviously, applying a C-bet against a well-skilled player works better than against a beginner that could follow you holding an 8-9 on a A-K-8 flop. It’s the most obvious move after the flop from a raiser, so, considering that, we can say:
- You’ll have to apply it any flop.
- You’ll have to face it usually.
When you apply a C-bet, you are giving your opponents five kinds of hidden messages. Let’s analyze them.
1. I raised preflop and bet on the flop because I have a good hand and the flop didn’t scare me.
The first “message” is very clear: “I have a high pair or an overpair”. Or, few times, the “C-bettor” is representing a set which he (correctly) doesn’t slowplay. Representing a high pair/set, the C-bettor is forcing his opponents to make a hard decision, challenging them to call his bet which represents a very good hand.
2. I raised preflop and I bet on the flop because my hand improved.
This message obviously works well on A-High, K-High, Q-High flop; that’s cause you’re going raise preflop starting hands such as AK, AQ, KQ, AJ etc. Often the high card on the flop will scare your opponent, making him fold a medium pocket pair (99, 88). This kind of continuation bet works better if you are the first to act.
3. I raised preflop and I bet on the flop because I don’t think your hand improved.
We can consider this message as a “refined” one. It consists in marking opponent’s hand as a “trash hand” or a hand that has few outs to improve. For example, this kind of C-bet works perfectly on a low card flop, such as 8-2-5, especially against an opponent who is playing on the blinds, who, because he’s already put the blind, could have decided to follow your bet with a hand such as K-10 or Q-J. In a similar situation, with a low card flop and just 6 outs, the “follower” will surely pass his hands because even if he could hit one of his 6 outs, you could have a better kicker.
4. I raised preflop and I bet on the flop because you think I have a better hand than yours, so you don’t want to risk to call.
The 4th message works well when you’re playing in early position. This kind of C-bet consists of making your opponents pass better hands than yours.
It’s a great move when we are holding a medium pair such as 77 and the flop is J-8-2; cause in this case, even if we got 2 overcards, applying a C-bet on the flop, would discourage players holding starting hands such as A-8 or 10-8. Even if the flop is quite scary for you, you can play like your hand improved, defending your “medium hand”, making your opponents pass better hands.
5. I raised preflop and I bet on the flop because I’m a very aggressive player and you don’t want to risk your stack all at once.
The last message is influenced more by the psychological factor than the texture of the fop. Neither a player feels happy when he has to play a hand against a very aggressive C-bettor, because he obviously could lose a lot of chips. It’s difficult following a C-bet from an aggressive player, so you’ll do it only if you hit a monster hand on the flop.
Other Considerations
In a tournament (which will take you hours and make you play against the same opponents for a while) I suggest to choose a “standard amount” for the C-Bet that you’ll apply at any time so you’ll give your opponents less information about your style of play.
Defending from a C-bet is quite hard, because we don’t know exactly what our opponent is holding. If on the flop we will act before the player who raised preflop, opening the pot with a C-bet will surely scare him. The best “weapon” against a C-bet is the raise, which probably would make the opponent guess you have a strong hand, if you got called, you’ll probably lose the pot if you don’t really hold a good hand.
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