How do you bet like a pro?

[ed8383]

One of the things I always wanted to learn was how come pros bet different amounts and why. How do they determine how much to bet most of the time? do they always use pot odds or only when trying to kill the odds of the opponents? Is there a simple way of learning to bet like a pro/bet succesfuly using pot odds?

here is one example I have of my understanding of all this and a few questions, please correct me if im wrong.

Example 1: My hole cards AK, flop is K plus two hearts, 2 others see flop, $12 in pot
I assume a player has 4 to a heart flush and I want to kill his odds and charge them for drawing out so I divide 48 by the 9 outs to a flush which comes out 48/9 = 5.3 which is 1 in 5 chance of making the flush. It will cost the person $20 if this scenario happens 5 times, and once they will hit the flush. So he is paying $20 to win $17 once.

Is the above example correct?

Now the other question I have is what if there are no draws on the flop? do pros always use pot odds or only when there are scary draws out there? for example
Example 2: I have AK and the flop is K 7 3 and there is $12 in the pot (no 2 cards of the same suit on the flop)

1. what would be the correct amount to bet in the above situation and how do you determine that? do pros in such situations just bet a random amount? half the size of the pot? equal the pot size? basically the question is how do you determine what to bet with normal flops when you have top pair?

2. is betting half the size of the pot all the time any good?

3. Is there an easy way to all this?

[Namdrahsirhc]

Well, I'm no pro or anything like that, but theres a lot of tricky nuances that go along with betting on a flop. In your first example, I would probably bet the size of, or nearly the size of the pot to cut down odds. (By the way, your math is a little backwards, its 9/58=18.75% or roughly 4:1) So they would only be getting odds of 2:1. On the second example, i would probably bet maybe 1/2 the size of the pot to try to get any gutshots to stay in with me, or maybe id check it to make my opponent think that im weak. Slowplaying on the first flop is unthinkable and the second is probably a bad idea also. Thats just my opinion though

[Iceman]

"Is there an easy way to all this?"

Just bet roughly the pot size in all situations. If the pot is more than 1/3 of your stack, then just go all-in.

Underbetting and overbetting can be serious errors when done at the wrong times, and just betting the pot will make you harder to read and keep you out of trouble. Most players underbet or overbet much too often - they're sometimes advantageous plays, but you'd lose far more from misusing them than from not doing them at all.

[lapoker17]

Game texture is the underestimated part of this. Often times, as there are standard opening bets, there are standard flop bets. If the standard open is $100 (in lets say a 10/20 NL game), sometimes, you will find the standard flop bet to be $200 even if there were 3 callers (meaning a $300 pot). I bet based on the value to me in each situation - It's not hard to figure out who's drawing and who thinks he has a made hand. Make the drawers pay, and let the lesser made hands come along - This is not as mathmatical as it is often described....

[jimymat]

Ex. 1
If they are on the flush draw on the flop they are getting 1.86-1 or a 1 in 2.86 chance of hitting. That means that if you under bet the pot or even make a pot size bet, they might be correct to call due to the implied odds they are getting. On this example you have to over bet the pot to throw off their odds and make their draw incorrect. If the turn comes and they miss it now jumps to 4.11-1 or a 1 in 5.11 chance for them. This is where you punish them by making a nice pot size bet. If they call there chasing a 4-1 for a 2-1 pot. If you think they are a calling station really jack the pot on both the flop and turn. Be careful of the blinds staying in with you in an unraised pot. They may have already flopped two pair and are letting you do the betting for them. If the flop has no draws then I usually toss a pot sized bet in with my top pair top kicker.
Ex. 2
Betting half the size of the pot, to me, shows strength in the form of a slow play. If you have 44 and the flop comes K 4 4 with a few callers you have crippled the deck. Any pot size bet on your part is going to make everyone fold. Also in more advanced play watch for min. bet into a big pot. They are trying to induce a bluff. If they are in late position and do this they are probably just trying to steal the pot. You should bluff raise them and take down the pot.

This is how I do it and it seems to be working. Im a tight passive though so if you play a different style you will make your own adjustments in time. Brunsons Super Systems talks a lot about what size bet to put in on certain flops. Might check it out.

[Wheezl]

I think there are many other important factors the true pros consider besides pot odds. In PL/NL your relative stack sizes become very important. Also the texture of the game and any psychology going on can all create situations where unique bet sizes become appropriate. In limit poker the size of the pot is square one for all sound decision making. In NL/PL other factors can become equally important.

[mosch]

While always betting the pot makes you unreadable, it also makes a lot of plays less profitable. It's better to develop a system of bets whereyour bet sizes aren't readable, but they're also reasonably optimized.

An example of a play where a pot-sized bet reduces profit:

You're playing 2/5 NLHE. You get AKs in middle position, and you raise to $25, and get one caller behind you.

Flop comes down: Q82 rainbow, giving you nothing but a backdoor flush draw, and two big cards.

If you bet $30, you have a good chance of taking down the pot from the caller, so long as he hasn't made top pair or a set. This needs to happen 1 in 3 times to break even. If you make a pot-sized bet there, it needs to work 1 in 2 times to break even.

Obviously your game needs to be integrated such that this size bet could just as easily mean thta you have QQ in your hand, but doing this work will improve your game far more than a simplistic 'always bet pot' strategy.

[syka16]

His math is good. He means the odds of hitting the flush only on the turn