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C-Betting & Postflop Lines

The continuation bet is the most common postflop decision. Here's the solver-era theory, plus the non-c-bet lines (donk, probe, float) and the math of bluffing across streets.

The continuation bet (c-bet)

A c-bet is a bet by the player who held the betting lead on the previous street (canonically the preflop raiser betting the flop). Whether and how big to c-bet is governed by range & nut advantage on the board.

C-betting in 3-bet pots

  • High c-bet frequencies are usually correct — even out of position. The 3-bettor's equity advantage plus the low SPR make position matter less.
  • Range-advantaged boards (King-high / broadway, e.g. KJ3r) → you can bet your entire range, OOP, with zero checking.
  • Range-disadvantaged boards (5-to-9-high, e.g. 854r) → the 3-bettor loses both range and nut advantage (the caller has more sets, 77–66, suited connectors like 87s/76s) → check far more (~⅔), bet large with the rest. Unmade hands without backdoor potential → check-fold.

Preflop range asymmetries (why the above happens)

  • An OOP 3-bettor structurally has a stronger range than an IP caller (more risk, closes the action). ~40bb: BB-vs-UTG ≈ 54% vs 46%.
  • The tighter the seat you opened from, the bigger your edge over the blinds (they defend wide and weak).

Non-c-bet lines

  • Delayed c-bet — PFR bets the turn after the flop checked through; picks up the pot when the flop check showed mutual weakness.
  • Donk bet — the non-aggressor (e.g., flop check-caller) leads into the prior aggressor.
    • Flop donks are rarely correct — flat-calling the flop caps your range and magnifies the raiser's nut advantage.
    • Turn donks are valid on cards that disproportionately promote the caller's medium hands to monsters (cards more likely in the caller's range than the bettor's).
  • Probe bet — OOP turn/river bet after the would-be c-bettor checked back (attacking shown weakness).
  • Float — calling with a weak hand IP planning to take it away later; float bet = the IP bet after that call.

The math of multi-street bluffs

Evaluate the whole line, not street-by-street.

  • Multi-street bluffs have a worse risk-reward than single-street bluffs — you risk more across streets than you stand to gain.
  • A profitable river bluff does not automatically offset unprofitable flop/turn bluffs — you must compute the EV of the entire line.

Worked line

A turn barrel can be −0.37 pots on its own yet sit inside a +0.528-pot triple-barrel line — or not. You only know by adding up the streets. (Against an over-folding population, lines that are −EV vs equilibrium can become +EV — that's an exploit.)

The takeaway

C-bet frequently and small on boards you own; check more on boards that hit the caller; pick bluffs with equity/backdoors and give up the rest; and judge a bluff by the whole line's EV, not one street.

Sources: C-betting OOP in 3BP · Range disadvantage as 3-bettor · Turn donk bets · Math of multi-street bluffs