What's With The Weird Bet Sizes?

Every so game I'll run into players betting a weird-sized amount. I'm not talking about 2.25xBB or an over bet or anything like that. I'm talking about people better strange numbers like with a BB of 200, they'll bet like 572 or 666. I've noticed this more in MTT than STT. Is this more of a phycological thing or is it just a player trying to save micro chips. I don't think it's the latter because those players sometimes bet over the "standard" amount like from the example of the "666" with a BB or "200".

I do it all the time. Although I will not ever bet more than 3 times the BB, like you say many do above. I use it for a psychological thing for when I steal.

Example:

I have K 10 OTB and it's just me the SB and the BB left to play PF.

The blinds are 100/200

I raise but instead of a standard 2.5 or 3 times the BB bet, that looks like I'm stealing, I raise something like 449. First of all this is still 2.5 times the BB. But on screen it looks massive due to the 1$ chips.

It doesnt work on everybody either. People can see right through it. But I have to say It's help me a lot.

KingCurtis said:

I do it all the time. Although I will not ever bet more than 3 times the BB, like you say many do above. I use it for a psychological thing for when I steal.

Example:

I have K 10 OTB and it's just me the SB and the BB left to play PF.

The blinds are 100/200

I raise but instead of a standard 2.5 or 3 times the BB bet, that looks like I'm stealing, I raise something like 449. First of all this is still 2.5 times the BB. But on screen it looks massive due to the 1$ chips.

It doesnt work on everybody either. People can see right through it. But I have to say It's help me a lot.

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Actually I thought about it and any decent player could see right through it. With that "trick bet" it looks more of like a bluff and "bully" bet, thus motivating me to play back with a wider range. If you said it works for you I might try it here and there.

The only reason I do it is because I found that it really annoyed me when other people did it, and anything that puts my opponents off their train of thought is hopefully to my advantage. The other thing I do is when I'm at one of those annoying sites that allows you to bet in cents, such as bodog, I will put in a totally random amount such as 1,037.28.

As regards never exceeding 3 x BB I will go up to 3.5 x BB if I am button or cutoff, or more if that's what it takes to push people out of a pot, whereas UTG I tend to be closer to 2 - 2.5 x BB.

I occassionally do it to steal from people not paying attention (eg multitablers) because it looks bigger than it is. On 'Stars (not sure about others) your stack size is hidden for a second or two after acting by the word 'Raise'. That odd amount could be taken as an all-in bet when it isn't and thus players may then act on mistaken information. I know I have called 1/3 my stack on what I thought was an all-in only to find I am facing another huge bet on the flop and my 99 is looking pretty shakey - serves me right for not paying attention.

I don't care if i have AA, im not calling a preflop bet of 666.

mosseyAJ said:

I don't care if i have AA, im not calling a preflop bet of 666.

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Why would you just call a preflop bet with AA, not matter what the bet is?

It's easier to hit 666 than a bunch of different keys. It's a good idea to have a standard raise size at each blind level so that people can't get a bet-sizing read on you.

philthy said:

Why would you just call a preflop bet with AA, not matter what the bet is?

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I am assuming the 666 is a number to be avoided for superstitious people and people afraid of the "devil number" (666 is associated with Satan for those who dont know) but I am with you philthy, I am raising a PF bet with AA against any bet.......

On the other hand, the only devils I believe in are the ones I can see, who claim to belong to the human race...... and they may not play poker anyway....

I once played in a MTT where a guy bet 666 every card, preflop, postflop, etc. - guess he thought it was funny. He built up a huge chipstack before he finally crashed and burned.

JEP712 said:

Every so game I'll run into players betting a weird-sized amount. I'm not talking about 2.25xBB or an over bet or anything like that. I'm talking about people better strange numbers like with a BB of 200, they'll bet like 572 or 666. I've noticed this more in MTT than STT. Is this more of a phycological thing or is it just a player trying to save micro chips. I don't think it's the latter because those players sometimes bet over the "standard" amount like from the example of the "666" with a BB or "200".

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NCfoldem said:

I once played in a MTT where a guy bet 666 every card, preflop, postflop, etc. - guess he thought it was funny.

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He probably did it because some people are daft enough to say things like this:

I don't care if i have AA, im not calling a preflop bet of 666.

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The number of the beast might actually be 616 btw, not 666.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_the_Beast

KingCurtis said:

I do it all the time. Although I will not ever bet more than 3 times the BB, like you say many do above. I use it for a psychological thing for when I steal.

Example:

I have K 10 OTB and it's just me the SB and the BB left to play PF.

The blinds are 100/200

I raise but instead of a standard 2.5 or 3 times the BB bet, that looks like I'm stealing, I raise something like 449. First of all this is still 2.5 times the BB. But on screen it looks massive due to the 1$ chips.

It doesnt work on everybody either. People can see right through it. But I have to say It's help me a lot.

Click to expand...

I find that when players try to make their preflop raises 'look' massive, is more often when I'll 3-bet them.

Personally I'll raise 2.5x (depending upon table) once blinds reach ~60/120.
The reason for this is two-fold (or three, lol)... one it costs me less to steal the blinds but even more importantly if someone calls (or blinds defend), it also costs me a smaller-sized c-bet to take it down postflop (if I'd raised say 3 or 4x, the pot would be much bigger (esp. if 2 callers) and my c-bet would have to be that much bigger as well).
Also, I feel confident in my post-flop skills and like to play pots.
You may have more players defend vs. a smaller preflop raise (although at higher, or even moderately higher than the micros this is pretty much standard raise size now), if you're confident in postflop play this is ok... AND, you will also likely get action when you're holding a monster (aggress. opponents may be more likely to 3-bet preflop because your raise size isn't huge, you could be stealing, etc.... if your raise is HUGE then their 3-bet size will have to be that much bigger as well & will be less likely to play back at ya... when I'm holding a monster I WANT them to play back at me (of course mixing it up by 4-betting light 'occassionally' depending upon villain in hand).

JEP712 said:

Actually I thought about it and any decent player could see right through it. With that "trick bet" it looks more of like a bluff and "bully" bet, thus motivating me to play back with a wider range. If you said it works for you I might try it here and there.

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The thing is, if you're doing it all the time (or most of the time), you'll want villain to be thinking above level1 and have them believe that you are stealing.... and then have them play back at you while you're sitting on a monster. (so if all your preflop raise sizes are the same, ~2.3-2.5x depending upon how high the blinds are), they won't know either way... "is this a set-up with monster pr. hoping I play back at him?.. or is that f'r just stealing again?"
Then you also occassionally get the player who'll raise higher near the bubble or in late levels (in late position) and you'll just know it's a steal (I see some CC members who'll do this, actually raising like 4 or 5x while on stack size of <20bb (sometimes <15bb) and then actually fold to the 9-11bb players allin shove. << this is TERRIBLE obviously.

This takes me to another pt. here with preflop raise-sizing. In later levels you'll often have alot of re-steal-sized stacks to your left so when you're deciding how much to raise you must keep this in mind (ie. if your raise size is big you'll often be priced in to call the SS's shove, whether it be a re-steal shove or not... although obviously less likely to be a 're-steal' when they know you're now priced in to call... unless it's a bad player (ie. like example above). There will be some spots where in late position I'm raising slightly more if stacks in blinds are smallish, letting them basically know that because of my raise size I will be priced in to call their shove (making it less likely for them to resteal shvoe).
I'm actually making notes on players who don't raise ~2.5x and are still raising 3 & 4x preflop at higher blind levels (they're actually the few as compared to the norm once the buyin is at $10+). {sometimes even some of them raising 5x at like say 250/500 and then proudly showing their "KK" that they got zero action with}

i'm pretty sure it's suppose to throw you off. i read it somewhere, it's psychological make you think or something, hahahahaha.

gl in figuring it out. :hello:

JEP712 said:

Every so game I'll run into players betting a weird-sized amount. I'm not talking about 2.25xBB or an over bet or anything like that. I'm talking about people better strange numbers like with a BB of 200, they'll bet like 572 or 666. I've noticed this more in MTT than STT. Is this more of a phycological thing or is it just a player trying to save micro chips. I don't think it's the latter because those players sometimes bet over the "standard" amount like from the example of the "666" with a BB or "200".

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Maybe I've misinterpretted your original question (sorry if that's the case).

As far as 'weird' bet size goes... some players have a set, pre-determined amount they bet at each blind level. I know one player who raises an amount that equals one of each chip amount (I think it's at the 600/1200 blind levels, I forget the amount they raise,... something like 2,834... I think it's Apestyles who does it... and is in the MTT book he's co-author of (vol2).

Other's (as already suggested) raise 'weird' amounts to make their bets look bigger. Personally I'll do the opposite with this, and actually put like '99' on the end when I actually do have a monster... in an effort to make it 'look like' the opposite .. and yes, people actually fall for that too.
For my own personal joke, I've raised 'weird' amounts while holding pktpr's.,... ie, sitting with 7-7 in CO with blinds at 250/500 and raise it up 1,277 (< stupid shyt like that when bored... more often in a priv. MTT...oops.. I've let out one of my secrets!!)

Raise or or not

Big raise or not,if your holding descent cards your usually going to make the call to whatever the bet was.And if you are lucky enough to get a piece of it then your probably going to either keep calling or raising depending on what kinds of cards your holding.You can't control what your opponent is going to do but you can definitely have contributing factors that would lead you to come out ahead in the hand.The fact of the matter is to play alert and strong within the given hand your dealt.

mosseyAJ said:

I don't care if i have AA, im not calling a preflop bet of 666.

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LOL, what?!

annette_15 does that weird amount bet stuff
howard lederer would probably say it is to induce people
to make a small mistake (calling with slightly wrong odds)
i do it sometimes for a laugh
e.g. blinds 100/200 raise 401 just to mess everyone's stack up
i've seen a player who goes all in except for 1 chip
so he can still chat
whatever floats your boat

Poker Orifice said:

For my own personal joke, I've raised 'weird' amounts while holding pktpr's.,... ie, sitting with 7-7 in CO with blinds at 250/500 and raise it up 1,277 (< stupid shyt like that when bored... more often in a priv. MTT...oops.. I've let out one of my secrets!!)

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I watched a video some time back with a pro player playing online; he plays at very high stakes where he plays the same people regularly so reads become very valuable. He said that betting odd numbers give of tells, just one must play with that person enough to figure out what it means. Which makes sense really; there's a reason why that person decided to bet that amount.

He also once mentioned that people tend to think that their opponent has the last two digits of their bet if it seems plausible. So betting 1277 may actually be subconsciously conveying that you have 77

The example he used was when he had a 3 and the board came x33; his standard bet there would be 330 but he decided to go 270 to not give the impression he has the 3; he also doesn't bet 330 there as a bluff since the observant players will pick up on it. I guess he could mix it up like Harrington suggests but I don't think people have time to check their wrist watch when playing 30 or so games

fletchdad said:

I am assuming the 666 is a number to be avoided for superstitious people and people afraid of the "devil number" (666 is associated with Satan for those who dont know) but I am with you philthy, I am raising a PF bet with AA against any bet.......

On the other hand, the only devils I believe in are the ones I can see, who claim to belong to the human race...... and they may not play poker anyway....

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...... I only used "666" because the blinds from my example was "200". Just an example so don't go into all that weird stuff! : P

Poker Orifice said:

Maybe I've misinterpretted your original question (sorry if that's the case).

As far as 'weird' bet size goes... some players have a set, pre-determined amount they bet at each blind level. I know one player who raises an amount that equals one of each chip amount (I think it's at the 600/1200 blind levels, I forget the amount they raise,... something like 2,834... I think it's Apestyles who does it... and is in the MTT book he's co-author of (vol2).

Other's (as already suggested) raise 'weird' amounts to make their bets look bigger. Personally I'll do the opposite with this, and actually put like '99' on the end when I actually do have a monster... in an effort to make it 'look like' the opposite .. and yes, people actually fall for that too.
For my own personal joke, I've raised 'weird' amounts while holding pktpr's.,... ie, sitting with 7-7 in CO with blinds at 250/500 and raise it up 1,277 (< stupid shyt like that when bored... more often in a priv. MTT...oops.. I've let out one of my secrets!!)

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Haha with the pocket 7's bet. I'll do that sometimes with PP. I also enjoy doing the 101 bet because it looks like LOL. I do that when I'm bored.

Also bluffing with weird numbers works very well. When I'm at a table where I'm always betting the standard, I'll just bet a weird amount with air and then I would get some guy in the chatbox saying "I know you had a monster" "How did you know I had aces?" "Oh I just know hehehehe". Jokes on them...

Poker Orifice said:

I find that when players try to make their preflop raises 'look' massive, is more often when I'll 3-bet them.

Personally I'll raise 2.5x (depending upon table) once blinds reach ~60/120.
The reason for this is two-fold (or three, lol)... one it costs me less to steal the blinds but even more importantly if someone calls (or blinds defend), it also costs me a smaller-sized c-bet to take it down postflop (if I'd raised say 3 or 4x, the pot would be much bigger (esp. if 2 callers) and my c-bet would have to be that much bigger as well).
Also, I feel confident in my post-flop skills and like to play pots.
You may have more players defend vs. a smaller preflop raise (although at higher, or even moderately higher than the micros this is pretty much standard raise size now), if you're confident in postflop play this is ok... AND, you will also likely get action when you're holding a monster (aggress. opponents may be more likely to 3-bet preflop because your raise size isn't huge, you could be stealing, etc.... if your raise is HUGE then their 3-bet size will have to be that much bigger as well & will be less likely to play back at ya... when I'm holding a monster I WANT them to play back at me (of course mixing it up by 4-betting light 'occassionally' depending upon villain in hand).

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I aggree and I usually do the same thing but the thing is I constantly bet like this, so whos to say when you 3 bet me i dont come over the top with AA

KingCurtis said:

I aggree and I usually do the same thing but the thing is I constantly bet like this, so whos to say when you 3 bet me i dont come over the top with AA

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For sure. It depends on who you're playing (ie. what they're capable of, what they typically do, etc. etc.) & at what level of thinking they're playing at (ie. no sense in repping something or outplaying someone who can't think beyond level1...."but I gots da Ace... I callzzz!").

Leading into the flop for a bet of 1,010 while holding pkt T's is kinda fun too. Geez... I'm never going to be able to play a CC game again now w/o 1/2 the table knowing what I'm holding (maybe I'm leading out for 1,010 with 72o in my hand next time??)

Some people are just idiots. I used to think they did it to confuse people and make it tougher to figure out odds. Nope.

THEY'RE JUST IDIOTS.