Betting patterns as tells.

[Pokey]

Ironically, you answered my question when you said you couldn't answer my question. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

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it depends on so many other things. How scary the board is, how strong your hand is, your position, his position, your stack sizes, how desperate each of you are getting, the blind sizes, etc.

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This is the kind of thing I was looking for: what are the main issues to consider when this situation pops up. Am I interpreting the list correctly here?

1. "How scary the board is, how strong your hand is," -- in a sense, these two are the same, since the scariness of the board is directly related to the strength of your hand. If you've got a hand that can only lose to a flush, and someone makes a huge bet on the flush card, that's a more likely call than if they make a huge bet on the flush card when you've got fourth pair.

2. "your position, his position," -- I tend to see these hands most frequently in a heads-up situation, so these also become the same issue. I'd say if he's behind me it's more likely a bluff after I showed weakness, whereas if he's in front of me, it's more likely a real bet.

3. "your stack sizes, how desperate each of you are getting, the blind sizes," -- all three of these seem closely related. If he's either very desperate or very deep-stacked, it's more likely the bet is a bluff. If I'm very short-stacked, it's more likely the bet is a bluff. If I'm deep-stacked and he's got a middle-stack, it's more likely a value bet.

Am I thinking about these issues correctly or am I fundamentally confuzzled?