Poker strategy guide · 7 min
Continuation betting
A continuation bet is profitable when it expresses the right part of your range against the right part of theirs. Automatic c-betting is easy to exploit.
Start with range interaction
Before choosing a size, decide which range has more equity and which range has more nut hands. If both advantages are weak, checking more often protects your checking range and avoids bloating the pot with thin equity.
Small bets deny equity and simplify ranges
Small continuation bets work well on boards where the preflop raiser has many one-pair and overpair advantages. The bet pressures air and weak backdoors while keeping the betting range wide.
Large bets polarize
Large bets ask a narrower question: can the defender continue enough against value and bluffs? Use them when you have strong hands, good blocker bluffs, or boards where the defender is capped.
Practice prompts
- For each flop, choose check, small bet, or large bet before looking at a solver output.
- Explain which worse hands call your value bet and which better hands fold to your bluff.
- Find one hand that should check despite having decent equity.