Part Three

Post-flop Bet Sizing

Introduction

Post-flop bet sizing is one of the most complex concepts in no-limit hold ’em, and as such it’s often ignored since it’s difficult to tell where to even begin .

포스트플랍 벳 사이징은 노리밋 홀덤에서 가장 복잡한 개념 중 하나이고,

And while we’re nowhere near ready to start discussing bet sizing in detail, it’s crucial that the fundamentals are understood before moving forward.

This concept especially can be made as difficult and complex as one wishes, and it’s important not to hold ourselves to an unrealistic standard when beginning to discuss bet sizing.

However, what’s most important now is to understand the general factors which help determine whether to bet large or small relative to the size of the pot.

Lastly, note that more precise bet sizing will usually be possible when there are fewer cards left to come.

As will be explained in “Pinpointing the Optimal River Bet Size,” starting on page 339, in “Part Eleven: River Play,”it’s often possible to make very precise bets on the river.

But since decisions must be made quickly in practice without the help of computer software, it’s important the fundamentals are understood first before more complex topics are approached.

Post-flop

Bet Sizing at a Glance

Although bet sizing is too complex of a concept to confine to a single chapter, we should first make sure to understand the basic mathematics behind it before moving onto postflop play.

That’s because bet sizing is extremely important in no-limit hold ’em, and what often separates a great player from merely a good one is how he uses different bet sizes in different situations to manipulate his opponent’s range.

Specifically, an excellent bet size can force our opponent to make tough decisions and maximizes the expected value of the bettor’s hand.

In theory, if a player has a perfectly polarized range which includes hands of either 100 percent equity (the pure nuts) or 0 percent equity (pure air), he will choose his bet sizing so that he’s betting an equal fraction of the pot on all three streets and is all in by the river.

A formal proof of the mathematics behind this will not be shown here, but it was

solved for in The Mathematics of Poker by Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman.

So it’s important to understand that a player with a completely polarized range will use this bet sizing structure to get all the money in by the river to maximize his earnings.

Let’s see how this formula works.

Suppose it’s blind versus blind and we’ll assume on the flop that the small blind has a range which includes only hands with either 100 percent or 0 percent equity.

For a 3.5 big blind open, the starting pot-size on the flop will be 7 big blinds, the final pot-size will be 200 big blinds, and there are three streets remaining.

This reduces the following pot growth rate equation where 7 is the starting pot size, 200 is the final pot size, and R is the pot growth rate.

This implies that the pot growth rate is 3.06.