Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Underbetting
I define an underbet as an amount less than half of the pot. Underbetting is in my opinion a somewhat trickier skill to master than overbetting, but since it doesn’t require risking as much, it’s also generally a lower risk strategy to practice. Just as your overbets should be disproportionately for value with monster hands, your underbets should generally be with weak hands, either as bluffs or as thin value bets. Against observant opponents, you’ll need to underbet occasionally with big hands as well for balance.
Bluffing- The easiest targets for underbet bluffing are players whom you believe are practicing fit-or-fold. In other words, if you raise or re-raise pre-flop and are called by an opponent who will fold to any bet if he doesn’t flop a pair or draw, then there is no reason for you to make a continuation bet of 70% of the pot or whatever your standard size is. You can probably pick up the pot with a smaller bet of 20-25%. You should be careful about pushing this too far, though, as even weak opponents may choose to get tricky if you start trying to push them out with a bet of only 5-10%.
To balance this, you can also make small continuation bets with strong but not monster hands, like top pair medium kicker, or with monster hands on flops where it’s unlikely your opponent has anything, such as 77 on a 775 flop.
Value Betting- When underbetting for value, you are hoping to get called by weak hands. This may be a thin value bet where you yourself have a weak hand that you nonetheless think is best or it may be a value bet when you have a monster but you think your opponent probably does not have a hand that can pay off a big bet.
For example, in a $5/$10 NLHE game, you open for $35 with KK on the Button, the small blind re-raises to $125, and you call. The flop comes AQ2, he checks, and you check also. The turn is a 9, and you both check again. The river brings a 7, he checks again, and you make a small bet of $100 into the $260 pot. It looks like your opponent has something like a pair of Jacks or Tens. He probably won’t call a big bet, but he might feel tempted to look up a small one.
If you had 77 in the same spot, you might choose to make the same bet despite your monster hand just because it doesn’t seem like your opponent has anything that will call a big bet.
Blocking Bet- A blocking bet really ought to be a thin value bet as well. If you have showdown value but don’t think your opponent will call you with a worse hand, then you shouldn’t be betting. You should check and then decide what to do if your opponent checks. But if you are out of position on the river with a hand that could still be best, you may want to consider a small value bet.
For example, in a $5/$10 NLHE game, you raise to $35 Aces first to act and are called by a loose passive player on the Button. The flop comes Ks 9d 6s, you bet $50, and he calls. The turn is the 8c, you bet $100, and he calls. The river is the Ts, making many straights, flushes, and two pair combinations possible. However, you still think your very loose opponent will be reluctant to fold any pair to a small bet, so you bet $100 again into what is now a $385 pot. You are confident that if this player raises, you can fold without thinking twice.
Inducing a Bluff- The danger of employing blocking bets against better opponents is that they may read the situation correctly and raise you as a bluff. To counteract this, you would need to underbet the river sometimes in order to induce such a bluff raise.
Consider the same situation above, except that you have As Qs that was semi-bluffing the flop and turn then rivered the nuts. Being a good hand reader, your opponent will fold quite a few hands if you make a big bet on the river. However, betting just $100 may entice him to raise with a hand that he would have folded. Plus, it protects you from a bluff raise when you make the same play as a blocking bet.