How much do we bet in poker in the betting rounds?

Today is the day we learn the size of the bets in all four betting rounds.
One of the worst mistakes in a poker tournament:
"the people do not know how much to betting".
If the more opponents will notice that you have this problem, they will quickly eliminate you.

Make a wrong bet and you'll suddenly turn into the target of the table. Do the opposite, bet the right amounts and make a very solid picture at the table.

That's why knowing how to bet it is essential when you decide to enter a poker tournament. Here's a quick guide to building a "bet-sizing" for that.

How much we preflop in a tournament?

Betul 2.2 - 2.5x. This interval is most often used by professionals and is also optimal from the point of view of the game, especially in the middle stages of the tournaments when we have large, very small and medium stacks playing together.

Thus, small stacks do not have enough chips for a 3x opening, and the big stacks open enough not to frighten the opponents. For both situations, the range of 2.2 to 2.5 is optimal.

How much we postflop in a tournament?

Postflop opens up a wide variety of possibilities in bet-sizing, but we'll focus on three categories:

Small bets (~ 1/4 pot). Small postflop bets can cause the same kind of preflop problems - just do not bet enough to build the pot when you have a good hand or to make your opponent fold when you bluff. But there are special cases when doing so. You might want to provoke a player to raise you when it suits you, or you can try to squeeze your opponent with some chips when you know he has a hand with which he could not pay you a higher bet, chosen on the river.

Average bets (~ 1/2 pot - 3/4 pot). This range is the "Goldilocks Range" - neither too small nor too large, just as it should be. Your hand and the texture of the board decide to what limit you want, but generally, a bet within these limits is enough to play well against the opponent's possible draws and to make him pay with the weaker hands you want to pay.

Overbetting (bet or bigger pot). It is often profitable to bet pot or more, especially on the turn or river. But you must be aware of the fact that most players know that this bet is polarizing, that is, telling you that you have either a very strong hand or a pure bluff. Overbetting can be used when the opponent proves by behavior that he has an average hand with which he can not cope with a big bet. But beware of the suspicious, "bluff-catcher" or "calling-stations," because they tend to play a big bluff bet and will often try a hero call. Against them the best weapon is an overbet only with strong hands.

Betul all-in. It is the last weapon in the war, that of the stacks so small that any opening under all-in would be wrong. In tournaments, survival is very important, so when you have a small stack and life in turns is jeopardized, you want to impose your opponent's as much caution when playing against you. You mean "fold-equity" - you prefer preflop money before you see a flop with a very small stack and give your opponent a chance to win a good hand (or to make you a 3-bet preflop and put you in the painful situation you can not fold a medium or marginal hand, or even a bluff, because you can have good odds).

When we open all-in? There is not a regular number of blinds under which it is good to do all-in preflop. This limit is decided according to the tournament phase, the number of remaining opponents, the payout threshold, and other circumstance factors. But a panic limit, where we must begin to think about giving up 2x bets, would be between 10 and 15 blinds, depending on the player and type of approach. Maybe 15 is too much, maybe 10 is too little.

As a conclusion, bet the same regardless of the hand you have to dissipate strong and weak hands.
With love Ionut Ciobanu. See it on the table.