Blocking Bet?

[athosandaramis]

Great posts here. I'm learning a ton. You guys and gals know your stuff. I recently came across a term that I don't get. What is a "blocking bet"? When would one use such a bet?

Thanks folks. Hope everyone cashed big last weekend.

[anacardo]

A blocking bet is a medium sized bet you might make on the river to prevent the opponent from bluffing you out of the hand.

[TrailofTears]

Or just when you don't know if your hand is good or not, but you want to see a showdown for cheap.

[KowCiller]

Just to expand a bit on what the others said, the reason it "blocks" the opponent is because if they have a medium strength hand, they will be less likely to raise your bet. If they have a big hand, they will raise, and you can safely fold your hand knowing it's no good without paying off the big bet that would have insued if you had not "blocked." Blocking bets are usually somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 of the pot on the river.

KoW