About Preflop Bet Sizes

I heard that in no limit holdem online, you should never vary your bet sizes according to your hand strength as that might just encourage false assumptions by some of your opponents about your hand strength in particular.

Well, I believe there are factors that could help players ascertain how much they should bet without risking their hand strength.

The first factor is the position. I believe that the better your position is, the smaller the opening bet should be. And that with good position, you can invite more people into the pot. But on the flip side, when you are in bad position, you will more or less long to force more opponents out early on.

Personally, the way I love to play is when I’m in early position, I will raise 4 BBs + 1 BB per limper. Then lower it to 3 BBs +1, and eventually bet only 2.5 BBs + 1 per limper in late position. Any comment on this?

The second factor on the other hand is the stack size. Well, I believe that it’s an advantage to have smaller stacks. By having smaller stacks, you will be feared by opponents, thus forcing them to play fewer hands. However, I also believe that at some point, adjustments should be made. So now, I’m curious if when should a player make some adjustments? If he or she have a 2:1 advantage in terms of chips or else if the advantage is totally more significant? Any suggestion?

Thanks!

Jessie

Jessie,

While position can be a consideration in raising, most pros recommend not varying your raising size too much. This does indeed give off information bout how you play. If you vary your raises based on position, this gives off the same type of information. Players like Gus Hansen, Gavin Smith, and even Chris Ferguson make the same type of raise when they raise regardless of position. This way an opponent doesn’t know if they are playing position, or holding rockets.

Tags: bet, bet sizes, Chris Ferguson, Gavin Smith, Gus Hansen, hand strength, No Limit Holdem, online, position, raising, stack size