Part: Part Six - Betting After the Flop

Sizing to the board

Pre-flop
Blinds 100 / 200Pot 300 (1.5 BB)COK♠Q♠● 25,000 (125 BB)YOUfolded to youSB● 25,000 (125 BB)posts 100 (0.5 BB)BB● 25,000 (125 BB)posts 200 (1 BB)D

Folded to you on the cutoff with K♠Q♠; you raise and the big blind calls.

Folded to you with K♠Q♠. Best?

WhyTwo Broadway cards, suited, folded to you one off the button - that is plenty to open and take the lead into a single blind. Limping or folding surrenders a hand that flops well and has position on everyone left to act.
What happensYou raise to 500; the big blind calls. Pot: 1,200 (6 BB).
Flop
Heads-upPot 1,200 (6 BB)Q♥9♥4♣COK♠Q♠● 25,000 (125 BB)YOUtop pair on a wet boardBB● 25,000 (125 BB)Big blindchecksD

Flop Q♥ 9♥ 4♣ - top pair, but the board is wet (flush and straight draws live). He checks.

Top pair on a draw-heavy board, he checks. Best size?

WhyTwo hearts and a nine mean flush and straight draws are all live, and a quarter-pot bet lets every one of them peel cheaply. Pump it to around three-quarters so the draws pay a real price and the pot grows for your top pair; on a rainbow, disconnected flop you would size right back down.
What happensYou bet 900; he calls. Pot: 3,000 (15 BB).
Turn
Heads-upPot 3,000 (15 BB)Q♥9♥4♣2♠COK♠Q♠● 25,000 (125 BB)YOUtop pair; the draw missedBB● 25,000 (125 BB)Big blindchecksD

Turn 2♠ - the draws miss. He checks again.

The board bricked and he checks. Best?

WhyThe deuce completes nothing, so his flush and straight draws are now just high cards clutching at the river. Fire a second time - worse pairs and those live draws still pay you off, and you refuse to hand them a free card.
What happensYou bet 1,800; he folds. You take it.
The wet flop demanded a big bet to make draws pay, and when the turn bricked you kept the pressure on. Reading texture, not just your hand's strength, is what dialed in the sizing.

Let the board texture pick your bet size: the more draws it holds, the more you should charge opponents to see the next card.