Proper bet sizing is one of the most important aspects of poker strategy for the simple reason that it’s where most of the reasonably good players are lacking. Indeed, the majority of mistakes made by relatively good players are linked to the sizing of their bets. The good news is, this problem is a rather easy one to tackle. The reason bet sizing is so important is that everything a player does at the poker table is done towards a goal. When betting, a player is either trying to lure his opponent to post more money into a pot that will ultimate end up in his possession, or trying to make him fold the better hand. When it comes to achieving any of these two goals, finesse is everything. Bet sizing can basically be tweaked endlessly, but the bottom line is this: when aiming to make an opponent fold, you should always bet as little as possible while getting the job done. Likewise, when aiming to make an opponent call, bet as much as possible while getting the job done.
Now then, suppose you’re aiming to intimidate your opponent into folding. The above stated axiom does not give you a ticket to min bet every time. That will make you predictable and quite possibly the laughing stock of the table after a while too. You should ultimately determine the best possible size of the bet through the reads you have of your opponent and through the range on which you put him. You do have to understand though that you can save money while achieving your goal. There’s no reason to risk a larger portion of your stack when you can achieve the same effect with fewer chips. Most opponents who are willing to fold will fold just as well when faced with a smaller bet. Sometimes, opponents just won’t fold, regardless of how many chips you decide to throw at them. It is in these cases that you will save money by going through the pain of determining the minimum amount of chips needed to attain the projected reaction.
What it really comes down to is this: if your opponent has his mind firmly set on calling, he will call you regardless of your bet size. If he’s liable to fold, he will fold just as well to a smaller – yet adequately sized bet – as to a large one.
Value betting (trying to get your opponent to call you with the worse hand) is a lesson in subtlety. Your goal being to make as big a bet as you think your opponent will call, you should know that you’re better off gunning above the mark a little, because it’s better to have just a few of these bigger value bets called than a lot of the smaller ones.
The bottom line is that when it comes to bet sizing, other than the few general guidelines above, there isn’t much more one can tell you to help you get better at it. At the end of the day, everything comes down to the feel you develop for your table, to the reads you draw on your opponents and to your own poker intelligence.
Whether or not to sign up for a poker rake rebate deal is a much more straightforward question fortunately. Definitely do, especially if you’re a grinder and you’re truly in it for the money. Rakeback and poker prop deals will make the game more enjoyable for recreational players too.