Bet amounts

I noticed that sometimes when Im playing in tournaments, people will bet odd amounts, amounts that you can't bet with the slider, but rather had to type in... for instance, if the slider lets you bet 240, 480, 720, etc but a person comes out and bets 500 or even something weird like 527.... What do you make of an odd bet like that? Should a bet like that be viewed differently than someone who bets 480?

I bet like that sometimes when i am bluffing. Its like an amount i am willing to give up to steal the pot. But everyone is different and you can't really base your decision on whether you are going to call on 20 dollars. I like to type in amounts too sometimes so it really shouldnt give you any idea of what the person has or if they are bluffing

i bet weird amounts to keep my opponents guessing on what i really have

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See also: Strange Bets

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Bet Amounts

RazzleDazzle said:

I noticed that sometimes when Im playing in tournaments, people will bet odd amounts, amounts that you can't bet with the slider, but rather had to type in... for instance, if the slider lets you bet 240, 480, 720, etc but a person comes out and bets 500 or even something weird like 527.... What do you make of an odd bet like that? Should a bet like that be viewed differently than someone who bets 480?

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Betting patterns are one of, if not the most important elements of online play. Mostly because you don't have much else to rely on. I've tried to see into people's souls by staring at their avatars, but I haven't had much luck

Odd bet amounts probably don't mean much. It's probably just someone who always bets a certain percentage of the pot. I usually bet three quarters of the pot on the flop (regardless if it's for value, a semi-bluff, or a continuation bet) so you'll see some odd amounts that won't mean anything.

The focus should be on finding your opponents patterns. Does he bet big with big hands and small with small hands? Does he bet draws? If so does he bet draws differently than made hands?

Questions like those will lead you to answers and information that you can use. Don't get distracted by quirks.

I have also heard another reason - When you bet a "weird" number the amount of chips (not the $ amount but the NUMBER of "physical" chips) is high - And when people do not pay close attention it looks like a high raise even if it is not (try 99 for example and you will see)

thats a phil laak bet... it calls for attention but dont make ridiculous plays calling weird bets just cause its weird... i mean you still have to play the hand you have...

There are a few things that could be going on.

First, some people use macros that can automatically bet a certain percentage of the pots. So the odd amount could just mean that it's betting 33.333% of the pot.

I don't use macros but I like to make odd bets on occasion. Basically, the weird bet in a tournament is to make the other players think.

Sometimes I'll do something like a 399 bet as I think it makes the other player think "why did he do that?" So calling machines might be less likely to call if they're stirred from their coma and curious players might be more likely to look me up to see *why* I was doing that.

When I'm in a more playful mood I'll do stuff like bet 1,111 instead of 1k, 999 instead of 1k, 1,234 instead of 1k, etc.

In ring games my bet can just mean that it's my closest approximation to the percentage of the pot that I want to bet. I'm estimating 70% of the pot, know it's somewhere between X & Y, and pick a random number in between. I *feel* like it conveys strength... like an experienced player is using macros. So I guess I'm more likely to do it if I'm bluffing. But if I do it once, I'm going to keep that pattern up for awhile.