Bet-sizing tells are some of the core tools of the live no-limit player. Players leak such a lot information within the amounts they decide to bet that it’s no overstatement to mention that mastering bet-sizing tells could be the most significant live small stakes no-limit skill.
Here are three hands where bet-sizing tells can influence you to make better decisions. All of those hands are played at $2-$5 with $1,000 stacks.

Hand 1

In the primary hand, a player limps, then an active player raises to $25. The cutoff calls, and also you call at the button with 8 6. The blinds fold, and the limper calls. There are four players to the flop, and $107 within the pot.

The flop comes J 8 4. The limper checks, as does the preflop raiser. The following player bets $35.

This flop is loosely connected and contours a potential club flush draw. A REGULAR player with a robust hand like A-J or K-J would feel a particular way concerning the situation. After the preflop raiser checks, they might typically assume they likely held the most efficient hand. However the board has some straight and flush draw possibilities, and with three opponents, the player would need to bet solidly to offer protection to their hand.

So if the flop bettor held such a strong hands, I MIGHT expect a chance shaded to the larger size—at least $50 and perhaps $60 or $70.

The $35 bet is likely to be a hand like J-9 or 9-9 or an eight or a draw than one of the crucial stronger hands.

You just have middle pair, and there’s a great opportunity you’re behind, but I MIGHT call. You can raise immediately to challenge the bettor, but against many opponents, it’s unnecessary. Calling means that you can see how the action develops behind you without committing an excessive amount of to the pot. If the large blind check-raises, you will get away cheaply. If, say, one of the most other two players calls, then you definitely get to peer the turn action before it's important to decide to something.

Some cautious players I DO KNOW would fold on this situation, but I FEEL the bet-sizing tell along side the inexpensive price makes calling better.

Hand 2

Two players limp, and also you raise to $25 from two off the button with K Q. The large blind calls, as does one of the vital limpers.

The flop comes K 8 7. Your opponents check, and also you bet $60 into the $82 pot. The large blind calls, and the opposite player folds. The turn is the 8. Your opponent bets $80 into the $202 pot. You call. The river is the 5, creating a final board of K 8 7 8 5. Your opponent bets $250 into the $362 pot.

The small turn bet may well be one in all two things. First, it can be an eight. Second, it can be a player with a weak hand like K-10 or a draw trying to freeze the betting for an inexpensive card.

For some players, the small bet can be significantly prone to be one of the vital weaker hands than the eight (perhaps because you’d expect the player to check out a check-raise with trips). For other players, the small bet might be likely to be trips because they’d play the weaker hands more passively. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you simply don’t have a powerful read which way this opponent leans, so that you choose to call the turn.

The sizing of the river bet inclines me to believe that this player has trips, and that i would fold. At the turn, the player bet $80 into $202, or not up to half the pot. Also the bet is lower than $100, that is something of a magic number in these games—bets bigger than $100 have a tendency to be just a little more serious typically than those not up to $100. So this turn bet I’d characterize as small.

On the river, however, the player bets greater than two-thirds of the pot and way, far more than the $100 threshold. It is a large bet on this context.

In general, the betting pattern of small bet leading right into a large bet is a robust pattern. Players at this level who bet small, after which when called, choose to bet substantially larger at the next street are inclined to have hands they’re looking to get real value with. Holding K-Q as a preflop raiser, you have got precisely the kind of hand your opponent would expect you to have. If he’s going to value, he probably has you beat. So I'D fold.

It’s the small-to-big pattern that truly seals this fold for me. The flop contained numerous draws that bricked out. It’s not an unreasonable board for an opponent to take a look at to bluff on. So I wouldn’t automatically fold K-Q to any old betting from this opponent. But this actual pattern suggests strength often enough that I don’t think it’s worth calling getting not up to 3-to-1.

Hand 3

A player open-raises to $20 from five off the button. A player calls. You call with Q J within the cutoff. The button calls. The blinds both fold. There’s $107 within the pot and 4 players.

The flop comes J 10 6. The preflop raiser bets $60, and the following player folds. You call. The button folds. There’s $207 within the pot.

The turn is the 7. Your opponent bets $100, and also you call.

The river is the 3. Your opponent checks.

The bet-sizing on this hand tells a reasonably clear story about what the preflop raiser is probably going to have. Betting $60 into $100 at the flop isn’t an enormous bet, but it’s an overly solid bet into three players. Hands like K-J, A-J, K-K, and so on are all in play. Of course, the preflop raiser hold K-Q, A-K, a flush draw, or another hand in addition. The $60 bet isn’t definitive a technique or the other.

The $100 bet at the turn, however, is decidedly small, given the placement. It suggests the preflop raiser is now playing defensively. Because the flush came in, there’s a superb opportunity he’s got one pair. He doesn’t need to give a free card to a hand like a lone diamond or a straight draw, but he also doesn’t wish to commit a ton of cash to the pot in the event you have already got a flush.

The check after the river bricks is further confirmation of this hypothesis. It'd be a relative longshot for this player to first have a flush (already uncommon), after which to play it with this strong-to-weak betting pattern.

There’s a great opportunity your opponent may be very concerned you have got a flush. There’s also a great opportunity your hand is not any good. It’s worth considering a bluff here—and when you bluff, you actually should make a powerful play on the pot. A $400 bet into this $427 pot must have a great opportunity to win.

Final Thoughts

Bet-sizing tells may give you an excellent picture of what your opponents are doing in no-limit hands. For those who learn how to leverage this information, you'll become among the best players at your level. ♠

Ed’s newest book, The Course: Serious Hold ‘Em Strategy For Smart Players is out there now at his website edmillerpoker.com. You can too find original articles and instructional videos by Ed on the training site redchippoker.com.

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