Lesson
Sizing for Value vs. Sizing to Get Folds
Bet Sizing · intermediate · 9 min
Tyler and Eric review bet sizing decisions where jamming simplifies the hand but may lose value against weaker calling ranges. The lesson focuses on choosing smaller bets to keep dominated hands and bluffs involved, while using larger river bluffs only when the sizing meaningfully increases fold frequency.
Key takeaways
- Before jamming, compare the value gained from denying equity to hands like King-Queen suited against the value lost from weaker hands that may call or bluff versus a smaller bet.
- Small flop bets can make more money against hands that want to continue lightly, such as ace-queen, queens, jacks, ten-x, seven-x, and suited connectors.
- Jamming can limit future options by preventing opponents from bluffing turns and rivers with floated hands or marginal draws.
- When bluffing river with no showdown value, choose a size based on how often the opponent should fold, not just on making the bluff cheaper.
- Some bluff spots are low-value even when they may be acceptable, especially when the pot won is small and the opponent has natural calls.