Continuation Betting
If you want your poker playing experience to be consistently profitable, you should not only focus on taking down the monster pots, but dedicate some of your attention to picking up regular small pots. One of the ways this can be achieved is by using the continuation bet to your advantage.
A continuation bet is simply a bet made post-flop, irrespective of whether the flop has improved your hand. Players witnessing your continuation bet will calculate that if you raised (say) 3x the big blind pre-flop, and are making the same sized bet again, it will cost them a further three big blinds to call your bet in this round of betting, three more after the turn and a further three following the river – effectively, it is going to cost them nine big blinds to see your hand.
The continuation bet works best when you have been the last person to raise in the previous round of betting, and consequently going to be the last person to act in the next round. Furthermore, there should be no raises in front of you in the latter round of betting – for example, you are on the button and raise pre-flop. The big blind calls, and after the flop checks to you. You then bet again to the same value as your original bet. If the big blind was just defending his blinds, and has not connected with the flop, he will fold and you collect the pot.
The purpose of the continuation bet is to put your opponent under pressure. By demonstrating hand strength in your pre-flop betting, and then re-enforcing that with your post-flop action, your opponent must consider carefully whether he wants to continue playing against an aggressive opponent or fold his hand and wait for a better opportunity. Should the big blind call, he might still be defending his blinds but you have to be aware that he may well have acknowledged your continuation bet and is slow-playing you to the river. Only your previous observation of your opponents will determine whether you should continue with the continuation bets – as well as the value of your cards of course!
For the continuation bet to be successful, the right conditions have to be in place, and you have to use this betting strategy fairly frequently to establish a reputation for its use. Bearing this in mind, look out for other players using the continuation bet, because there is an element of semi-bluff about it and you could benefit from slow-playing a continuation bettor to the river.
The continuation bet is frequently used at online poker tables and has gained a reputation for providing those small pots which make a difference to your long term poker profitability. It is also a great way of building a pot when you do make a big hand. It is particularly lucrative in heads up situations or against a maximum of two other players, but because of the time it for other players to acknowledge your use of this strategy, do not abandon the continuation bet as an option should you start to use it and it does not benefit you immediately.
