Using Small Bets in Poker

Small bets in poker are considered to be those up to 33% of the pot. Often underestimated by beginners, experienced players know that they are an important component of a successful strategy. Proper use of small bets can significantly improve your game and increase your profits.

In this article, we will look at typical scenarios for using small bets.

Table of Contents:

- Value Betting a Wide Range

- Setting Up a Second Barrel Bluff

- Blocking Bet on the River

- Inducing Aggressive Opponents to Bluff

Value Betting a Wide Range

One reason to use small bets is to get value from a wide range of hands your opponent might hold.

In situations where you have a strong hand on a dry board, and your opponent likely hasn’t connected with the flop, small bets can be optimal. They allow you to get paid by weaker hands, such as overcards, that would easily fold to larger bets.

Small bets give opponents attractive pot odds to call.

Your opponent may decide that the cost of seeing the next card is not too high and call with hands that are drawing dead against yours.

This strategy is optimal against straightforward, cautious opponents who often fold on the flop.

In the Hand2Note 4 reports, I filtered hands where I raised preflop and then made a continuation bet on the flop:

In the “Bet Sizes” report, we can observe a linear relationship between bet size and opponent fold frequency. With a bet not exceeding ⅓ of the pot, they fold only 26% of the time, continuing with many weak hands.

Thus, by reducing the size of your bet, you expand your opponent’s calling range on the flop.

Setting Up a Second Barrel Bluff

Small bets on the flop can also be effectively used to set up a second barrel bluff on the turn.

Your plan is as follows: you make a small bet on the flop, allowing your opponent to call with a wide range of hands. Then, with a larger bet on the turn, you exert maximum pressure on their wide range.

Your opponent will be forced to fold weak hands they intended to bluff with and will be in a tough spot with medium-strength hands, knowing you might fire a third barrel on the river.

This play is particularly effective against opponents who don’t like folding on the flop but rarely get to showdown.

Preflop, we made an open raise with A2 suited and got a call from a fish in the Big Blind. On a dry J52 rainbow flop, we have a gutshot, overcard, and backdoor flush draw, and the opponent checks.

Hand2Note 4 HUD shows that this player rarely folds to a continuation bet on the flop - only 46% of the time. However, they rarely reach showdown, only 22% of the time. This means we can apply pressure on later streets.

Against such an opponent, a good strategy would be to make a small continuation bet on the flop, expecting a call with any pair, Ax combinations, and backdoor draws. Then, we plan to fold out this part of their range with a large second barrel on the turn.

Blocking Bet on the River

Small bets are used not only on the flop but also on later streets.

When out of position with a medium-strength hand, a blocking bet on the river can be an excellent way to maximize your winnings and minimize losses.

A typical situation for a blocking bet arises when a draw completes on the river, and your opponent’s range consists mostly of the nuts and one-pair combinations.

In this case, a large bet with a medium-strength hand is pointless, as the opponent will fold all hands weaker than yours. A check-call is also not the best option since with hands you beat, the opponent will likely check back, and only bet with stronger hands.

By making a small bet, you can get value from weaker hands and lose a minimum to your opponent’s nuts, which they will raise with.

Blocking bets work well against passive opponents who are not inclined to bluff.

We made an open raise from Middle Position with AK suited and got a call from a tight regular on the Cutoff. On the flop and turn, we made two large bets, extracting value from weaker kings, pocket pairs, and flush draws. Then, a flush completed on the river.

Thus, on the river, our opponent’s range will consist mainly of weaker pairs and flushes. Given the low WWSF and Aggression Factor of this player, playing check-call to catch a bluff is a bad idea. Instead, it’s better to make a bet around ¼ to ⅓ of the pot and fold to a raise, trying to get a call from pairs and not overpaying to flushes.

Inducing Aggressive Opponents to Bluff

Small bets can also be used to provoke aggressive opponents into bluffing.

Aggressive players often perceive small bets as weakness and see an opportunity to attack. By making a bet of 25% to 33% of the pot, you can induce them to make a bluff-raise.

Suitable situations for inducing a bluff are when you have a strong hand on the river, and your opponent likely has a missed draw.

If you are in position and the aggressive player has already checked on the river, the only way to extract additional money from them is to make a small bet and give them the chance to bluff.

We made a raise from the Button with KJ offsuite, and the player in the Big Blind called. We made two value bets on the flop and turn with top two pair and improved to a full house on the river. The opponent checked again, and we need to choose the optimal size for the third barrel.

Based on the play, the opponent often has either a missed flush draw or a pair of jacks or nines that didn’t improve to a straight, like JT, QJ, or T9.

The statistics show that this player went to showdown only 19% of the time and is unlikely to call a large bet with the second or third pair. However, high WWSF and Aggression Factor values indicate that the opponent is aggressive.

Based on this data, the best solution is to make a small bet. This way, we are more likely to get a call from hands like Jx and 9x and also provoke a bluff check-raise from the opponent with their missed draws.

Small bets open up many strategic opportunities in the game. Their skillful application will allow you to extract additional profit in situations where most players miss out.

With Hand2Note 4, you can analyze opponent statistics, determine and exploit their playing style, and find profitable situations for small bets.