A guide to C-betting on the flop

The continuation bet (or c-bet) is one of the first postflop concepts every poker player learns: you raised preflop, you bet the flop. Simple. But most players get the “when” and “how much” completely wrong, and the mistakes compound across hundreds of hands into a significant leak.

A c-bet is defined as the first postflop bet made by the last player who raised preflop. It usually happens on the flop, but when both players check the flop, a “delayed” c-bet can take place on the turn. The real question is not whether you should c-bet. It is when you should, how much you should bet, and when you should check instead.

BBZ coach Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet, one of the most successful online MTT players of all time, breaks down the framework that should guide every c-bet decision you make.

Forget everything you know about “the initiative”

Most players believe that because they raised preflop, they have some kind of right to bet the flop. Apestyles disagrees.

This reframe is critical. The preflop raiser usually does have a range advantage and polarization advantage on the flop, but not always. When the cutoff opens and the button flats, the button actually has a range advantage on many boards. When the small blind flats versus opens from most positions, the small blind often has a range advantage because players tend to play the small blind quite tightly.

The decision to c-bet should never be automatic. It should be based on who actually has the better range on this specific board, whether you have position, and what sizing accomplishes your goal.

C-betting in position: two strategies

When you are in position postflop having opened preflop, apestyles recommends choosing between two simplified strategies. Both are streamlined versions of true GTO play, which involves varying bet sizes and checking frequencies across different hands. But these two approaches cover the vast majority of spots you will face.

Strategy 1: Bet your entire range with a small sizing

This strategy works best in three situations:

When stacks are shallow. With shorter stacks, you can bet small on the flop and still build a pot large enough to get all in by the river. You do not need to polarize because you can bet big on later streets.

When you have both equity and polarization advantage. This happens in 3-bet pots or when you are up against the big blind who defended with a very wide range. Your range is stronger and more polarized than theirs, so betting small with everything prints money.

On high-card, uncoordinated boards. Boards like K-7-2 rainbow hit the preflop raiser’s range much harder than the caller’s range. A small bet with your entire range exploits this equity advantage without risking much when you are bluffing.

Strategy 2: Bet a polarized range with a large sizing

This strategy applies when equities between the two players run closer, which typically happens on low-card boards (ten-high or lower) that connect with the caller’s range. If you c-bet these flops, you are typically representing overpairs, so by betting larger you can include more bluffs, your overpairs get protection, and your value range has strong equity because it will be hard for your opponent to lay down top pair.

With the polarized strategy, you also build a condensed checking range. These are hands you would like to get to showdown with, or hands you believe you can bluff catch with or extract value from on two streets but not three.

What to do with draws

Your drawing hands should split between betting and checking. Flush draws in particular need careful handling.

The logic is that your best flush draws already have so much equity that they do not need to build the pot on the flop. They can afford to check back and realize their equity for free. Your weaker flush draws, on the other hand, benefit from fold equity now because they will not always get there.

C-betting out of position: check more than you think

If the in-position framework is about choosing between two betting strategies, the out-of-position framework starts from the opposite direction: your default should be to check.

The reason is that calling ranges are generally tighter than opening ranges, so the caller often has equal or better equity than you do. This is especially true when the cutoff opens and the button flats, where the button’s range is quite strong.

When you fire c-bets out of position without considering your opponent’s range advantage, two bad things happen. First, your opponent can call or raise your c-bets at a high frequency because they have the equity to do so. Second, your pure bluffs lose money immediately and your medium-equity hands become less profitable because you are building a pot you do not want to play from the worst position.

There is also a practical advantage to checking your entire range out of position: you do not have to split or balance two ranges.

Checking is not giving up. You are checking to see what your opponent will do and to get a read on their bet size. You can still check-raise, check-call, or lead the turn. The check simply gives you more information before committing chips from a disadvantaged position.

The exceptions: when to c-bet out of position

The check-100% default has clear exceptions. When you have both an equity and polarization advantage out of position, you can c-bet small at a high frequency (70-100%). The most common examples are 3-bet pots (where your range is much stronger than the caller’s) and on low flops when the in-position player is unlikely to have overpairs in their range.

Why exploitative c-betting still works

The GTO framework tells you to check a lot out of position. But apestyles makes an important practical point about playing against real opponents rather than solvers.

Most players overfold their backdoor draws, gutshots, overcards, and other hands that GTO says they should often call or raise with. When your opponents fold too much, your bluffs become immediately profitable, and c-betting out of position at a higher frequency than GTO recommends becomes a winning adjustment.

But apestyles points out that this should also inform your play when you are on the other side. When you are in position facing an opponent who c-bets too frequently out of position, you should be punishing them.

Quick reference: c-bet decision framework

Keep studying postflop strategy

C-betting is just one piece of postflop play, but it is a piece that comes up in almost every hand you play. Getting it right, knowing when to bet small with everything, when to bet large and polarized, and when to check entirely, compounds across thousands of hands into a significant edge.

BBZ’s Daily Seminars cover c-bet strategy, board texture analysis, and postflop decision-making in live coaching sessions 8 times per week. With 3,000+ hours in the archive, you can search for specific spots like c-betting on dry boards, playing 3-bet pots postflop, or defending against frequent c-bettors, and find hours of targeted content.

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