I hate blocking bets

[cbloom]

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well...duh, sorry to point out the obvious but the idea of a blocking bet is that you bet what you are willing to call, if you think villain will bet less than that there's no point in making a blocking bet.

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That's not what I said, I said if he would bet the same amount that you block, then at least with check-calling you're gauranteed to get a showdown. If you bet that same amount, he might call and you get a showdown, or he might raise and you either have a more expensive showdown or a fold when you might be ahead of a bluff. If he's likely to bluff for a much larger amount that your block, then blocking becomes a much cheaper way to find out if you're ahead.
I guess there are two cases where it's clear :

1. he likely has a weaker hand that will call a bet but not bet if you check - blocking bet is good here

2. he either has hit the draw or he has junk which will either fold to your bet or often bluff if you check - check/call is better here

But if he's tricky and will raise big with a weaker hand even when you blocking bet, that's nasty. The big problem is people who recognize a block and will raise it.

Any pointer to the previous discussion? I need to learn...