Making the right bets in poker is a highly nuanced and complex part of the game so it takes a while to master. However, the following pointers should help to accelerate that process and get us making reasonable betting decisions as quickly as possible.

1. Big Hands = Big Pots

The idea behind this one is that we look to play big pots with very strong hands while keeping the size of the pot small with weaker hands. It sounds really obvious, but it’s amazing how many players come unstuck from this basic principle. If we have a weak hand that has absolutely no shot of improving, we should not be inflating the size of the pot by betting and raising.

2. Out of Position = Out of the Action

This saying has been around for a while and refers to the power of position in poker. Having position means that we get to act last on every street which is a huge advantage. Not only is it easier to control the action but we get to see what our opponent does before on every street providing us with valuable information.

As a general principle we should be more inclined to play big pots when we are in position. We’ll need a stronger hand when out of position in order to justify building the pot.

3. Semi-Bluffs > Pure Bluffs

Aside from the river (final betting round) we should not be bluffing with garbage holdings. It’s very rare that it makes sense to bluff without holding at least a draw or a backdoor draw. Bluffing when holding a  draw is typically referred to as “semi-bluffing”. Bluffing off our entire stack without a good shot to improve is rarely going to be correct.
In a similar way, we should not be calling our opponents bets on the earlier streets without some sort of equity, either in the form of a made hand or a draw/backdoor-draw.

4. Vary Bet Sizing

Some players have been incorrectly told that they always need to bet the same amount to prevent their opponent from picking up information on them. Not only is the average opponent not that observant, but even if they were, it still mathematically makes sense to use a range of different bet-sizings.

Based on the “big hands = big pots” advice, it often makes sense to use larger bet-sizings with strong made hands and draws, but smaller bet-sizings with weaker made hands and weaker draws.

Another common mistake players make is to always bet between 50 and 100% of the pot. Skilled poker players are comfortable using bet-sizings smaller than 50% and larger than 100% of the pot when it makes sense to do so.

5. Know Your Opponent

One of the most important aspects of poker is having a decent knowledge of our opponent’s tendencies. Does he fold too much? Then we’ll look to bluff/semi-bluff aggressively. Does he call too much? Then we’ll avoid bluffing and look to only bet made hands.

These are simply examples. There is an entire range of different tendencies our opponents might have on every street. Understanding how our opponent plays will help us to generate the best counter strategy.

Moving Forward

While the above pointers should provide an excellent starting point, there is considerably more involved in understanding correct betting strategy in poker. There are a range of other variables that need to be taken into account including board texture, effective stacks, hand ranges and position.

Getting good hence requires a lot of patience and focused study. We might begin this process by checking out some strategy articles.