Bet sizing on different flop textures

Poker Strategy / Marcus Bateman / 03 May 2010 / Leave a Comment

In all forms of big bet flop poker, it is possible to manipulate bet sizing in line with how the flop has turned out, and this can provide an invaluable tool when considering the best course of action in a hand.

Often weak players fail to consider how board texture should effect their bet sizing, and fall victim to players who are able to manipulate them in situations that they are not spotting.

Very dry boards in flop games, such as a Ks7h2c board, usually require quite small bets to win the pot if you are the pre flop aggressor. As no real draws are available, it is very unlikely that your opponent can have much outside of quite big hands (sets or top pair). As a result, a small bet will nearly always allow you to find out where you are in the hand, either giving you the pot or seeing how much your opponent has.

Conversely, draw heavy boards, such as a KhQh7s, often warrant much more sizeable bets, as not only are you trying to price out hands that may be drawing, but you can typically represent much stronger hands as there are so many more possibilities that hit your likely range.

When thinking about board texture and bet sizing, you need to remember the sorts of boards you want to be trying to build big pots on. With very dry boards, your opponent will either have a hand or not, meaning that you will build a big pot pretty much regardless of your flop bet sizing. As a result, betting smaller makes your life much easier (and cheaper) the times when your opponent does not have a hand. On the flip side, draw heavy boards make it much more likely that your opponent will have something, and as a result provide much better opportunities to bet big and try and force a mistake.

The true beauty of big bet forms of flop poker is in the ability to change your bet sizing. It allows a skilled player to force many more mistakes from their opponent than they ever would be able to in limit games, and understanding where and why to modify your bet sizing is crucial to success in big bet poker.