Poker Betting Strategies and Patterns

Winning at poker is as much about skill as it is about luck. Some will argue that luck plays more of a role than it actually does, and others will argue that skill is the greater factor. At the core of this argument is betting strategy, a quality of the game that is entirely within your control. Betting is at the heart of the game, and is often overlooked as an area to which skillful play is applied. Your bets, your raises, good calls and bad calls, all of these moves are equally as important as the cards you're holding (or vastly more important, if you happen to be holding nothing at all).

Players often focus too much on their cards, looking at probabilities and calculating odds, putting the emphasis on whether or not to stay in the hand. Consider the case of AA. The big pocket rockets hand is a hard one to fold. Some would argue that you should never fold it. In that case, should you call the AA, or bet on it? Should you dramatically raise, or limp in?

Typically you want to raise a strong hand like AA preflop... which will do a number of things. Firstly, it won't arouse quite as much suspicion later on when you're betting or raising hard, because you've convinced the table that you believe you're holding something worthwhile. Secondly, it will often give the impression to the table that you're holding a mid pair - or perhaps suited connectors like QsJs. You're obviously holding something strong, but if you bet hard enough - you're forcing the other players to question exactly how strong - to the point where they may feel you're bluffing. In this scenario, opponents will often come in hard with lesser hands. How hard you bet, or not betting hard enough, is key to playing a strong hand.

Weak hands are equally succeptable to betting patterns. With a strong enough bet, you can force a player holding cowboys to back down holding only a low pair like 44. Often times these mid pairs or mid level suited connectors like 7h8h can pay off large, if you hit on the flop or the turn. Players will often scan the flop for high cards or flushes, and ignore the 4 of clubs that give you your trip. You need to be careful playing these types of hands with hope, however... since you can easily find yourself pot committed, anxious to catch that flush or straight on the river. These types of players, sometimes known as "calling stations", often walk away busted. Many new players are calling stations. They want to play often, and they'll play extremely loose-aggressive. The first few takes from a calling station will reveal them for what they are... after that it's simply a question of discerning their betting pattern.

Check-raising is another important tactic. If you hold a strong hand, it's a good way to improve the pot and commit your opponent. The premise is this: You check, your opponent bets, and you raise. At this point, your opponent needs to call, otherwise they run the risk of revealing a weak hand. If they come back and re-raise hard, it becomes more of an poker odds game - with aggressive betting.

Betting strategically is dependent on your position at the table, which revolves with the hands. An early position, where you are behind the blinds, means you must act early, and you won't get a chance to see the actions of other players at the table. Alternately, a late position, where you are on or slightly in front of the blinds, means you get to witness all the other players take their actions first. With a weaker hand, you may be less inclined to call or bet with a full table.

Books have been written on the topic of betting, and pro players will all give you varying inside tips and tricks. Don't be predictable, and try different plays to see what works best for you. Don't fall into a pattern yourself, where you are consistently betting hard on high pairs or limping in with low pairs. Keep your game fluid, and you will be rewarded in the end.