Dealing with the min-bet

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teh_colonel_saigon

teh_colonel_saigon

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min-bets are the most annoying and confusing thing in the world for me. They can mean an opponent is on a draw, or that the opponent has the nuts. It depends on the player.

Am I wrong to think that min-betting is typically a bad play? I have always thought so.

Most of the time I have enough of a read on a player to know what a min-bet means. But from an unknown? Should we be calling with any two decent cards? When should we be raising?

I know this is a very general question, but I'd like to see how more experienced players categorize/think about min-bets.

Do they just happen at the micro stakes? LOL, I wouldn't be surprised if it were so.
 
horizon12

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You right said what minbet in microlimits this bad game , mostly this mean weakness , villain missed in flop and wants to see the cheaply turn , practically on all boards need 3bet this minbet if you have more then 30bb , if less we can find fold or only call , if we have nothing..

In more higher limits , need already look on stats villain and minbet very fine work, difficult to determine the range hands...
 
EA2USN

EA2USN

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Agree that most of the time in micro min bets are a sign of weakness, player misses flop and knows they should cbet but are afraid to commit to a correct sized bet . In general I treat min bet as a pot building opportunity if i'm on a draw, or a mediocre hand, I will call, if I have a big hand though I will re-raise to a pot sized bet. Now if you get 3bet then bells should be going off that player most likely has the nuts, and was hoping to trap a raiser with a 3bet, also a smooth call of your rasie could signal a strong hand, where player is hopping to get a second chance at you putting more $$$ into the pot with another min bet or a check raise on the next betting round.
 
toots babos

toots babos

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yeh min bets can be annoying but used to your advantage........

on one side of the tracks if you are on a draw then why not just call the minbet, pretty cheap to hit your gutshot just for a minbet and then make them pay. other times people will just minbet to steal the pot with nothing and other times it's their way of trapping

just figure out which players are the min bet stealers, the min bet drawers and the min bet trappers and use different strategies to take their chips/money

also if you see someone who always raises big against min bettors with nothing cos it annoys them well you'll know to min bet a good hand vs them and just let them re-raise you each street and gladly take their chips

good luck
 
TeUnit

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i like to pretend that the min bet didnt happen-because you usually are getting pretty good odds to call

think its good to look at the villans donk stats and aggression by street, because some of these min betters give up on the turn- so you can float them and take it away
 
gus201

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i like to pretend that the min bet didnt happen-because you usually are getting pretty good odds to call

think its good to look at the villans donk stats and aggression by street, because some of these min betters give up on the turn- so you can float them and take it away


very true TeUnit .
I like the ones that like to try to play post flop by waiting for you to blink giving them the ok to push or over bet you so you can reraise them for their donation .

Back in the day it was bad to min bet . then min betting became a fad and it its out there to be used but with little understanding by most in the micros .


Good Skill at the tables
 
magicius

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Cant really agree with you.
.
Lets say we hold TT on 9T9 board.... If we make standard bet villian is likely to fold if he doeant have 9 or T... But if we min raise, he would prolly call cheap bet to see turn or he would think we are on draw...
 
teh_colonel_saigon

teh_colonel_saigon

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Cant really agree with you.
.
Lets say we hold TT on 9T9 board.... If we make standard bet villian is likely to fold if he doeant have 9 or T... But if we min raise, he would prolly call cheap bet to see turn or he would think we are on draw...

But we lose value from pocket pairs that could call, as well as some draws. We give QQ and JJ a chance to turn a set, and we speak volumes about our hand.

I'd much rather bet out and get value from our opponents suspicion.:dontknow:
 
PokerFunKid

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You will need to talk to Bear about this :D
 
TheBigFinn

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You ask a very broad question. that has different answers depending on the type of game (ring or tourny), the limits you're playing, the number of players in the hand, the board texture and the position of the min better.

I'll start by assuming a micro limit cash game. I have found min bets from an early position player into 3 or more players is a place holder for a medium hand. I tend to raise 2/3s pot if it gets calls or folds to me and I am last to act no matter what I have and see what the min better does. Often he folds.

If he just calls, everyone else folds and I have little I'll check it down and play for a small pot. If I have top pair good kicker, I'll raise the turn too and check down the flop.

If the min better raise the turn, I am on alert and need a good hand to continue. It smells like trips.

If you get lots of callers, it is time to shut down without a really strong hand, especially if draws come in.

I liked tootsies thought, "..figure out which players are the min bet stealers, the min bet drawers and the min bet trappers and use different strategies to take their chips/money."

Take some notes and decide what the min bet means for the player.

There was a strategy a few years ago from mostly European players to min bet everything and only play your hands value once you see what the villain does. It was surprisingly effective for a while until players started betting more.
 
B

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I think the mini bet is something you should have in your arsenal, one that you can use and one that tells you something about your opponents hand (especially how they react to the mini bet). All these examples are situational and player dependant, but some of the reactions include:
- Third or half size pot bet means player has a decent hand, and wants to gain more knowledge about yours.
- After someone calls your mini bet, how do they react to a half pot bet (with or without a scare card coming up). Many will think it is a bluff
- At the river, a mini bet (continuation) can also mean that you want to induce a bluff (steal) or that you haven't improved on your middle pair.
I also use the mini bet but mix it up with draw hands, hitting middle pair and when I think I have the best hand. Since 2 out of 3 times I am behind (but my opponent won't know if this is one of those times), then I can often keep the bet amounts down and afford to stay in the hand.
 
LinkornU

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I've seen many times people used mini-bet when they had nuts and I've seen plenty times mini-bet as a chance to see the next card cheaply. You have to know the player. As for an unknown person it's again depends on situation, position, stacks, flop texture etc
 
EA2USN

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In PLO & PLO8 which I play more than holden min bets and min raise are very common much more so than holdem
 
Sil3ntness

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Yeah blocker bets are annoying. I just re-raise and they fold.
 
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