Say we raise UTG + 1 (under the gun + 1 i.e. second to act preflop) to 3 big blinds and everyone folds to the player in the small blind, who calls, and the big blind folds. The flop comes 8d 5d 4h. The small blinds checks to us. Let’s say our range for raising UTG+1 in a shorthanded game is (22+,A9s+,KTs+,QTs,ATo+,Kjo+ and QJo) and our opponent, who we think is an experienced but a little bit loose passive has a calling range for an UTG+1 raise in the small blind of (22+,A9s+,KQs,QJs,JTs,T9s,98s,87s,76s,ATo,KQo). According to Pokerstove our range of hands preflop is approximately 50-50 versus our opponent’s range of hands. This flop however hits our opponent’s range of hands a lot harder than ours; the small blind’s range now becomes a 56-44 favorite.

 

Against a more inexperienced opponent, betting this flop would likely still show a profit (it still doesn’t mean it’s the most profitable way to play the hand). However we know that our opponent is probably aware that his range of hands is stronger than ours on that flop, so clearly a continuation bet here with just any of the hands that lie within our range would be a big mistake.

 

So as an alternative we break down our range into two sub ranges, and thus gain some more control over our opponent’s range in order to eek out the maximum value from our hand by making whatever line of play we take be the best one for our current holding.

 

Strong hands (big pairs or a set) or weak hands. These are the hands that we gain most from making a continuation bet with. The strong hands are ahead of our opponent’s range and if our opponent folds to our poor hands we profit immensely, and if we get raised with our poor hands we have an easy decision. Moreover, the combination of strong and nothing hands in our betting range gives our play balance. Our sub range here is (22-55,88, KK,AA,A9+,QJ,KJ and KQ combinations without flush draws).

 

Medium strength hands, the range for these hands on that flop is (66,77,99-QQ,A9+,QJ,KJ, KQ with flush draws). This is the sub range that we are going for a delayed continuation bet with. These hands may very well be best but they also have the most to lose. If we bet, they can only make a poorer hand fold, but since it’s a poor flop for our range, our opponent knows this and may play back at us with or without a hand; and quite simply these are hands that can’t stand a reraise on the flop and indeed won’t like a flat call all that much either, in fact a flat call here would send a shiver down my spine. So there is very little to gain by betting now on the flop.

 

On the other hand they still remain reasonable hands and might be ahead. Take note, all these hands, and in particular ones with a flush draw, have an opportunity to improve by seeing a free card on the turn, but they don’t want to build a pot right now and be pushed out of it by either a bluff or a genuine raise.

 

In addition, even if our hand hasn’t improved on the turn, and our opponent once again checks to us, the fact that once again he has shown weakness means it’s very likely that our hand is best, and we can now make our delayed continuation bet given the increased likelihood that we can take the hand down.

 

In short where our opponent’s range is ahead of ours on the flop, it is usually wiser to continue bet only a subset of our hands i.e. our very strong and our very weak hands, and to employ the delayed continuation bet tactic with our medium strength hands. Doing this we can get more influence over our opponents’ hand range so that we get value more often in the form of getting both more calls when we’re ahead and more folds when we are behind, and at the same time avoid building a big pot with a hand that doesn’t like a big pot and furthermore it adds a level of balance to both our flop checks and turn bets.