Stupid Continuation Bets

Limit hold’em is rife with continuation bets.  One of the main reasons for raising pre-flop is to gain control of the hand, and bet the flop no matter what, forcing your opponent to make a decision.  The same can be said of no-limit hold’em, though there are differences in the two games.  For one, no-limit hold’em players choose the size of their wager.  As such, they can manipulate the action far more successfully.  It’s more difficult to call a $100 bet than it is an $8 bet.  As a result, there are typically fewer opponents in a no-limit hold’em situation.  If you raise pre-flop, there is only a small chance of getting three or more callers.  In a limit hold’em game, the chances are quite good that you’ll be initiating a multiple-way pot.

Continuation bets are so automatic in our brains, as limit hold’em players, that we sometimes forget to think.  I only bring this up because I was recently faced with a hand that occurs, in one variation or another, several times per session.  It is a more or less forgettable situation, but one that deserves a small amount of consideration.

I raised under-the-gun with AK.  Four players behind me called, and the blinds folded.  We took the flop five-handed.  The flop was 8 7 5.  I’m first to act, and of course, since I’m still in “control” of the hand, my instinct is to bet.  But come on!  I can’t put another single dollar into this pot.  Not one.  There’s no reasonable justification for a bet.  What’s the best possible outcome?  Everybody folds, right?  That’s never going to happen.  Let’s say you get two or three callers; do you bet the turn no matter what?  The flop is too coordinated, and you have too many opponents.  It’s an auto-check-fold scenario.

Let’s say the same pre-flop action occurred, but instead of having Big-Slick, I had 88.  Now, the flop is A K 9.  Again, I don’t see any way a bet makes sense.  You have four opponents; what is the likelihood you have the best hand?  Not very good.  And what are the odds that you force every other superior hand to fold, with limited wagers, out of position?  Just give up, homie.

I’m not saying anything the least bit innovative or new.  These are very fundamental observations.  But, that said, I still see these plays being made regularly by very good poker players.  It’s just a matter of contemplating the hand and realizing that, despite your instincts to be aggressive, check-folding is a play that more often needs to be utilized.