If you are going up against a weak poker player, you can bully them into submission and on your way to winning big. But how do you pull it off? One way to take down a lot of pots against these players is to hone your continuation bet skills. These bets are very important if you want to keep the pressure on your opponents. By applying that pressure, you can cause them to go on a tilt which would give you an even better chance of winning a lot.
Continuation bets may work in different scenarios but it does not necessarily mean that this will work every time. You therefore have to determine when to do it to achieve success. If you do it at a bad time, you will just end up giving away your chips needlessly. The good thing though is that continuation betting is an easy concept to learn and understand so long as you know what to look for during the game.
The first thing you have to focus on is the opposition. For instance, if you missed the flop but you want to continue to press the matter that you started with a pre-flop raise, look at the other players left in the table. Are you up against a single player only that you know plays timidly? If you are and there are no high cards on the board, chances are they did not pair either. In such a situation, a continuation bet could prove to be a smart move.
On the other hand, if there are three or more players remaining, there is a big chance that one of them is holding a better card than yours. That player would then defend by calling your continuation bet. If you again do not have a good hand going forward, then the pressure could be on your side which is not what you want.
The second thing to look at is the size of the bet. Different sized bets correspond to what you want your opponents to do. If you want them to fold, trying a big sized continuation bet is understandable. If you want to slowly trap them with a great hand, then raising the pot slowly until you spring the trap would make more sense.
Keeping tabs on the result of your continuation bets is very important. Along the course of the game, you would notice which players are timid and which ones are good at noticing your tactic and turning it against you. This would make it easier for you to pick the right time when to do continuation bets.