Part: Part Eight - Making Moves
The continuation-bet bluff
Flop
Mid-stage, ~40 BB deep. You opened the cutoff with K♠Q♠ and the big blind called. Flop A♦ 7♣ 2♥ - you missed, but the board favors your range. He checks.
A dry, ace-high board, heads-up, and he checks. Best?
WhyContinuation-bet. The preconditions for the move are all present: heads-up, a dry ace-high board that hits your opening range far more than his calling range, and a check that signals weakness. A c-bet takes it down a high percentage of the time.
What happensYou bet 1,200; the big blind folds. The c-bet bluff takes it.
With every precondition in place - one opponent, a board that favors you, and a check - a continuation-bet bluff is nearly automatic profit. The move works because of the situation, not the cards.
A continuation-bet bluff needs its preconditions: few opponents, a board that favors your range, and fold equity. When they're present, fire.