No Limit Poker,
online poker,
Tournaments,
Betting Strategy
May 14 2009
Block bets are bets that are used to control the action at the end of a hand. It's a bet that's made out of position, in an attempt to limit what you have to risk in that hand. The idea is to put enough doubt into your opponent's mind that they will only
call your bet. The reason is that you're not sure if you have the best hand, and if you check the action to your opponent, they may bet a larger amount that would be difficult for you to call.
If they don't have the nut hand they will usually just call. Experienced players know it's rarely the right move to raise without the nuts when facing a bet on the river. If they have you beat and just call, you'll have successfully diminished the amount that you could have lost in the hand. There's also the added possibility that your opponent was on a
bluff or
semi-bluff, and the block bet could pick up the pot right there.
It's important to consider the playing style of the opponent into which you make a block bet. The tighter the opponent, the better the opportunity to successfully block bet them. Novice players will usually call the bet, even with a weaker hand. Aggressive players are the ones who can turn your block bet into a futile manoeuvre. They may see the small bet as a sign of weakness and will try to raise you, so it may not be the best play against that style of player.
