目錄
This question has fascinated the best Xgtiger Casino poker players for decades now.
The legendary David Sklansky has probably made the biggest contribution to solving the reasons behind the basic sound of betting. Until recent years, the consensus was that there were two reasons to bet:
- To get value with our strong hands from our opponent’s worse hands
- To bluff our weak hands to make our opponent fold better hands
These reasons point us in a good direction, but they are not completely accurate. Today, with the help of recently developed software, we find that things are not so clear. We need to refine our reasoning.
Perhaps the biggest step toward finding real reasons to bet was made by poker theorist Matthew Janda in his 2017 book No-Limit Hold’em for Advanced Players: Emphasis on Tough Games, which also inspiration for this article.
The Real Two Reasons to Bet
To build a bigger pot if we win
To prevent our opponent from realizing their equity
Unlike the two reasons that used to be conventional wisdom, these two are not mutually exclusive. Furthermore, you will find that the best situations in which to bet are those when both reasons are met.
Let me explain the following situation:
We first raise the Button to $6 in a $1/$2 6-max cash game. The player in the Big Blind calls and the flop is K♦ 6♥ 4♣. The Big Blind is checking and it’s time for us to act.
Consider two of our possible hands: 8♥ 8♠ and Q♣ Q♠
Both hands are strong enough to bet for value on the flop given how wide the Big Blind should be to call our c-tay. You will be called with many A-high hands, some Q-highs, and lower pairs (22-77, A4s, 76s, etc.). This means that both hands meet the first criteria for betting: to build a bigger pot in case we win.
However, when we look at the second criterion, things start to differ. Why?
In other words, betting with 88 will deny more equity from the Big Blind range than betting with QQ. Let’s take a closer look at why that is.
When we bet, the Big Blind will fold several hands in his range (like the weakest A-highs and Q-highs, plus lower high card hands like T9).
When we hold QQ, those hands have very little chance of winning the pot (they have to hit runners straights, flushes, trips, or two-pair). Additionally, by checking we give him a chance to bluff the next streets or hit a pair less than QQ which will pay us off. On the other hand…
When we hold 88, those hands have significant equity to release to us. For example, QT offsuit has 27% equity against our 88 on the K♦ 6♥ 4♣ board. Forcing our opponent to fold with 27% equity is a victory for us. To put this into perspective, the nut flush draw (A♥ 6♥) has about the same equity against the top set (K♣ K♦) on a K♥ 9♥ 7♠ board.
Editor’s Note
According to PIOSolver, our opponent should call in some frequency with QT vs. a well-sized c-bet (~33% pot) on K♦ 6♥ 4♣. But that result is also a victory for our 88 because it builds the pot with our superior hand.
When we bet, we make them fold multiple hands with solid equity against our hand, thus denying them the chance to develop into a better pair than us. It also denies them the chance to blow us out of the pot when a scary card comes on the turn or river (and there are a lot more scary cards for 88 than QQ).
Now you know why betting 88 is more important than betting QQ in this area, even though 88 is a weaker hand. This can be seen by the solvers, who bet 88 at a higher frequency than QQ (pictured below).
The solver recommends betting both hands most of the time, but 88 is a bet almost every time (97%) compared to “only” 76% bet frequency in QQ.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know the real reasons to bet online Poker, your job is to start evaluating each bet against these two factors. With enough practice, this type of thought process will become second nature and you’ll be able to make very accurate betting decisions in no time.
That’s it for this article! I had fun writing this one, so I hope you enjoyed reading it! Feel free to comment below for any questions or feedback.
Conclusion
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Frequently asked questions
Moving all in simply means betting all your chips on the table, and it is simply another bet or raise in a given situation. The most important of all poker rules related to all in is that poker is always played with table stakes. This means you can never be asked to call for more money than you have on the table.
