When to Continuation Bet
The continuation bet is the most common aggressive move in modern hold'em, and the archived lesson by Andy Bloch treats it as a question of texture, not habit. A c-bet says: my pre-flop raise was real, and this flop did not scare me.
That story is credible on dry boards and hollow on wet ones. On a rainbow flop of unconnected cards the pre-flop raiser keeps the initiative; on a coordinated board that hits the caller's range, firing again simply donates chips.
- Bet dry flops: high card plus two rags favours the raiser's range.
- Check wet flops: connected, two-tone boards favour the caller.
- Bet more often heads-up; check more often multi-way.
- Use a smaller size in position, around half the pot, to keep the bluff cheap.
| Flop texture | C-bet frequency | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| K-7-2 rainbow | High | Favours the pre-flop raiser |
| 9-8-7 two-tone | Low | Hits the caller's range hard |
| A-A-4 rainbow | High | Overcard scare works for the raiser |
| J-10-9 monotone | Very low | Too many made hands and draws call |
Position changes the maths. In position you see the opponent's reaction before committing a second barrel, so the same flop can be bet from the button and checked from the small blind.
Finally, balance the range. If every c-bet is a bluff, opponents float; if every c-bet is a monster, opponents fold. Mixing value hands and bluffs in the same texture is what keeps the continuation bet profitable over a long career.