A lot of people have played poker at home. In these home games, a lot of folks will bet $1.00 in a $8.00 pot, or you’ll see big overbets, say $40.00 into a $20.00 pot. Often times, the bettor has no idea what a “proper bet size” is. So, lets go over that, and discuss why each size is the way it is.

First, we’ll discuss the basics of bet sizing, and then we’ll get into what situation to use each size.

Preflop, bets are defined in terms of big bets, or BB’s. So, a preflop raise of 5 BB’s is equal to 5 X the big blind. If you are playing in a $1 / 2 game, then this would be a $10 preflop raise.

Post flop, bets are defined as a percentage of the pot. So, if the pot is $30.00 on the flop, then a $30 bet would be a pot sized bet. A bet of $15.00 in a $30 pot is a half pot bet. A $40 bet into a $30 pot is an overbet.

Now, when is it appropriate to use each size of bet?

Generally, I will try to keep my bluffs a bit smaller than my value bets, but I only do this about 65% of the time, otherwise I would be falling into a predictable betting pattern. But, the rational is I have a small hand, and therefore will bet small, and try to pick up the pot cheap. A bet between 30% - 65% the pot is good for this. You’d be surprised how man pots you can win against a small field with a bet smaller than half the current pot.

Also, I will raise a BB or two less when in early position with a good hand. I will do the same in late position with a group 3 or lower hand. And again, this isn’t always the case, but about two thirds the time it is.

If I believe someone could be on an open ended straight draw or a flush draw, I will usually bet out between 50% - 75% of the pot. If it is a loose player, that will call bigger bets, I will make it a full pot size bet to go.

There are two reasons for this. One, I want to charge them the most money possible to see the next card, especially since the next card COULD hurt me. Since they only have about a 21% chance to hit a straight or flush with the next card, I will make them pay more than 21% to see it.

And two, because I wouldn’t mind a fold here anyway. I’d rather win a small pot now, than risk losing a bigger pot later. So, whether they call or fold, I win if they are on a straight or flush draw.

This is actually pretty basic information. However, a lot of folks who don’t play poker regularly generally don’t know what the appropriate size bet should be to achieve the goal they want. This article should begin to shed some light on what bet size is appropriate, and why.

This is not a complete picture of bet sizing, just one "stock" common approach to it. A more theoretical, adaptable approach can be found in the article, "stack to pot ratios"