Training guide
Bet Sizing Practice: From Pot Fraction to Final Amount
Convert one-third, two-thirds, and three-bet shortcuts into exact legal amounts and a clear training purpose.
Examples distinguish a bet amount from a raise-to amount.
A size needs a purpose
A bet is not good because it matches a familiar fraction. Choose a purpose first: value from weaker hands, denial of equity, pressure on a defined part of a range, or a bluff that represents a coherent value range. Then choose the smallest practical size that serves that purpose.
Pot-fraction shortcuts
If the pot is 120 and nobody has bet this street:
- one-third pot is 40;
- two-thirds pot is 80;
- full pot is 120.
Rounding should follow the table's chip increment. The interface shortcut should set the amount; the main action confirms it only when confirmation is required by the current control mode.
A three-bet is not “three times any number”
A three-bet is the third aggressive action in a preflop sequence: blind, open raise, then re-raise. Its amount depends on the open size, position, stack depth, and callers.
Example at 10/20: the button opens to 50. A big-blind re-raise to 180 is a three-bet. The big blind already posted 20, so the action adds 160 and the final street contribution is 180. Calling would add only 30.
Board example
You hold A♠ Q♠ on Q♦ 7♣ 2♥; the pot is 120 and one opponent checks. A 40 bet asks many weaker queens and pocket pairs to continue while keeping your value range broad. An 80 bet may be useful against a calling range that continues too widely, but it risks folding out hands you wanted to call. The cards do not dictate one automatic fraction.
Sizing drill
- State the pot and amount to call before touching the slider.
- Pick a purpose in one sentence.
- Calculate one-third and two-thirds pot yourself.
- Choose the final amount and note whether it is a bet or raise-to amount.
- In review, ask which weaker hands call and which stronger hands fold.
Common mistakes
- Choosing a shortcut before reading the pot.
- Confusing total raise size with chips added now.
- Using a large size without identifying a target.
- Treating “3B” as a guaranteed strategy recommendation.
- Letting the result justify a size after the fact.
Use Pot Odds to compare the price offered by a bet with the equity a call needs.
Product Reference
The fixed scenario layout keeps the amount, cards, and legal choices visible together on a narrow screen.