A practical guide to bet sizing. Learn how to choose correct bet amounts to extract maximum value, execute profitable bluffs, and control the size of the pot.

Core Principles of Poker Bet Sizing for Maximum Value and Pressure

Your standard pre-flop open-raise from late position is 2.5 big blinds. This specific amount risks the minimum to steal the blinds while keeping the pot small, which grants you positional advantage post-flop. Increasing this to 3.5 or 4 big blinds from an early position discourages multiple callers, isolating a single opponent against whom your strong range performs better.

Post-flop, a continuation wager on a dry, uncoordinated board, such as K-7-2 rainbow, should be approximately 33% of the pot. This smaller stake achieves the same goal as a larger one: it forces out hands with low equity, like two overcards, at a lower cost to you when bluffing. It applies maximum pressure for a minimal investment.

Conversely, when a significant card appears, like a third spade on the turn, a larger commitment of 125% of the pot becomes the correct play. This over-pot stake targets an opponent’s capped range–hands like top pair with no spade–making it mathematically incorrect for them to call. You extract maximum value with your strongest holdings and make your bluffs, such as a hand with the ace of spades, highly profitable.

Mastering Poker Bet Sizing

For pre-flop raises in no-limit hold’em cash games, open your initial contribution from early positions to 3 big blinds. From the cutoff and button, reduce this initial investment to 2.5 big blinds to apply pressure on the blinds with a wider range of hands.

Post-beteum Casino, on a dry, disconnected board texture like A-9-3 rainbow, a continuation wager of 33% of the pot is sufficient. This small proposition forces folds from hands with low equity while risking a minimal amount. On a wet, coordinated board such as Q-J-T with two hearts, a larger commitment of 66% to 75% of the pot is necessary to protect your hand and charge opponents for drawing to flushes or straights.

When you hold a strong hand on the river against an opponent you perceive as weak-tight, a value proposition between 50% and 70% of the pot often extracts the most chips. Larger amounts may scare them away. Conversely, against a calling station, a pot-sized or even larger commitment is optimal to maximize your return from their inelastic calling range.

Utilize over-commitments strategically. A river stake of 125% of the pot polarizes your perceived holdings to the absolute nuts or a complete bluff. This maneuver targets an opponent’s capped range, forcing them to fold strong, but non-nut, hands. Reserve this play for specific board runouts where you can credibly represent the strongest possible combinations.

When facing a limper, your isolation raise should be 3 big blinds plus 1 additional big blind for every limper already in the pot. For instance, with one limper, your raise amount should be 4 big blinds. This isolates the weak player and builds a pot where you have the initiative.

Determining Pre-Flop Raise Sizes to Manipulate Pot Geometry

A standard initial proposition from early or middle position in a 100 big blind (BB) deep cash game should be between 2.5x and 3x the big blind. This magnitude discourages multiple callers, seizes the initiative, and begins to build a pot that you control. A smaller contribution risks inviting opponents with speculative hands, complicating post-flop play. A larger one unnecessarily inflates the pot when you are out of position with a significant portion of your range.

From late positions, such as the cutoff or button, reduce your opening stake to between 2x and 2.2x the big blind. The objective here is different; you are attempting to steal the blinds more frequently with a wider range of hands. A smaller initial investment minimizes your loss when the blinds defend and allows you to apply pressure at a lower cost, leveraging your positional advantage post-flop in a smaller pot.

When facing one or more limpers, your isolation proposition should be a standard 3x the big blind, plus an additional 1x for each limper. For example, with one limper in a $1/$2 game, your raise amount should be to $8 (3x$2 + 1x$2). If two players limp, your amount becomes $10 (3x$2 + 2x$2). This larger commitment is designed to force a heads-up situation against a likely weaker range, creating a pot where your hand’s equity and the initiative are maximized.

The pre-flop contribution amount directly engineers the post-flop Stack-to-Pot Ratio (SPR). A larger pre-flop raise creates a lower SPR, making it easier to commit your entire stack on later streets. Consider a 100 BB effective stack scenario. An open to 2.5 BBs that gets one caller creates a pot of 6.5 BBs and an SPR of approximately 14.4 (97.5 remaining / 6.5 pot). An open to 4 BBs with one caller creates a 9.5 BB pot and an SPR of just 10.1 (96 remaining / 9.5 pot). This lower SPR is advantageous for strong, simple hands like overpairs and top-pair top-kicker, as post-flop decisions become more straightforward.

With shorter effective stacks, for instance 40 BBs, your pre-flop raise proportions must be scaled down. A standard 3x raise would commit nearly 10% of your stack pre-flop and create a very low SPR, removing post-flop maneuverability. Against a 40 BB stack, a smaller opening of 2.1x to 2.3x is more appropriate. This preserves a higher SPR, allowing you to realize equity with a wider range of hands and avoiding situations where you are automatically pot-committed after the flop with marginal holdings.

Sizing Continuation Bets Across Various Board Textures

On disconnected, rainbow boards like A-8-3, apply pressure with a smaller continuation amount, typically 25-33% of the pot. This lower stake targets the opponent’s unpaired high cards and weak pairs, forcing folds while risking little. Your range advantage as the preflop aggressor is at its peak here, so a large commitment is unnecessary to achieve your objective.

For dynamic, draw-heavy textures such as T-9-8 with two suits, a more substantial investment of 60-80% of the pot is required. This larger proposition charges straight and flush draws the maximum to continue. A smaller stake gives opponents the correct mathematical odds to chase their equity, which is a strategic error on your part.

On monotone flops, like K-9-4 all of one suit, adopt a polarized approach. With a made flush or a set, a significant commitment, from 75% to a pot-sized action, extracts maximum value and protects against higher flushes. Conversely, with hands that have missed entirely, checking is superior to a small bluff, which will be called by any single card of the flush suit.

When the board pairs, for instance on a Q-Q-5 texture, a reduced continuation quantity of around one-third of the pot is often correct. The likelihood of an opponent holding trips is low, so this stake pressures a wide range of hands at a low cost. This makes your bluffs more profitable and extracts thin value from holdings like ace-high or underpairs.

Applying the Stack-to-Pot Ratio (SPR) for Post-Flop Commitments

Calculate the Stack-to-Pot Ratio (Effective Stack / Pot Size) on the flop to pre-determine your commitment level to the hand. An SPR below 4 generally means you should be prepared to put your entire stack in the middle with a strong made hand like an overpair.

Low SPR Scenarios (SPR < 4)

• Commitment Threshold: With an SPR of 3, you are mathematically committed with hands like overpairs and top pair with a strong kicker. The pot odds you will likely be offered on a future street make folding an expensive mistake.
• Action Plan: Plan to get all chips into the pot by the turn. A flop contribution of 50-65% of the pot’s value sets up a straightforward all-in on the next street.
• Hand Selection: Prioritize strong made hands over speculative ones. A flush draw with an SPR of 2 has insufficient implied odds to be profitable without an additional piece of equity, like an overcard.

Medium SPR Scenarios (SPR 4-9)

• Nuanced Decisions: Your choices become more complex. A hand like top pair is no longer an automatic stack-off. Positional advantage and opponent tendencies are major factors in your line.
• Pot Control: With an SPR of 6, you can make a smaller flop investment (e.g., 33% of the pot) to see the turn card inexpensively and keep the pot manageable with one-pair hands.
• Value Strategy: For powerful holdings like two pair or a set, a larger flop contribution (e.g., 66-75% of the pot) builds momentum to facilitate an all-in on the turn or river.

High SPR Scenarios (SPR > 10)

1. Focus on Premium Holdings: Play for entire stacks only with the strongest hands: sets, flushes, and straights. Single-pair hands diminish in value and are primarily used for pot control.
2. Multi-Street Planning: A common sequence involves three separate actions. For example, a flop contribution of 33%, a turn contribution of 66% of the new pot, and a final river shove. This approach builds the pot methodically.
3. Implied Odds Maximization: This is the ideal SPR for speculative hands. Suited connectors and small pocket pairs gain immense value, as you can make a small pre-flop investment for a chance to win a very large pot if you connect with the board.