What does c-bet mean in poker?

C-bet is short for continuation bet: a bet on the flop made by the player who raised preflop, continuing the story of strength — whether or not the flop actually helped them.

How big should a c-bet be?

Smaller than most beginners think: one-third to one-half of the pot does the job on most boards. The threat of future bets, not the size of this one, applies the pressure.

What Is a C-Bet in Poker? (Continuation Betting Basics)

Q: How often should you c-bet?

Not always. A solid beginner default fires on dry boards that favor the raiser (around 60-75% of flops heads-up) and checks on wet, connected boards and in multiway pots.

A continuation bet is a flop bet from the preflop raiser. When to fire it, when to check instead, how big to make it — and the trap of c-betting every flop.

You raise with A♠K♠, the big blind calls, the flop comes Q-7-2 and misses you completely. Checking feels honest — and gives up a pot you still own. The continuation bet exists for exactly this moment: a flop bet from the preflop raiser that keeps telling the story your raise started.

Why c-betting works

Two players, one flop, and the math every drill on this site keeps repeating: most hands miss most flops. The caller whiffs about two-thirds of the time, holds no position advantage in the story, and faces a bet from the player whose raising range is full of big cards and big pairs. A half-pot c-bet needs to win immediately only about a third of the time to break even — and against honest opponents it wins more.

When to fire

Dry boards that favor your range. K-7-2, A-8-3, Q-6-2 rainbow: these flops hit the raiser’s hand, not the caller’s. Bet small, almost always.
Heads-up. One opponent folds two-thirds of their hands to one bet; three opponents mathematically don’t.
With your strong hands too. The c-bet isn’t a bluff category — top pair and overpairs bet here for value, which is exactly what makes the bluffs work.

When to check instead

Wet, connected boards — 9♠8♠7♥ smashes the caller’s suited connectors, not your A♦Q♦. This is the classic check from the common-spots drill.
Multiway pots. A bluff into three players burns chips; check and see.
Out of position with air and no backdoor help — give up early, lose the minimum. Folding the right hands is a skill; so is not bluffing into a fish who never folds.

Sizing: small is enough

One-third to one-half pot. The point of a c-bet is pressure plus information at a fair price — your opponents’ draws get a bad pot-odds price even against a small bet, and your bluffs lose less when called. Save the big sizings for big hands on dangerous turns.

The fastest teacher here is volume: the AI table deals you dozens of c-bet spots an hour, and the bots punish both extremes — never betting and betting everything.

FAQ

What does c-bet mean? A continuation bet: the preflop raiser betting the flop, hit or miss.

How often should you c-bet? On dry boards heads-up, most of the time; on wet boards and multiway, much less. “Always c-bet” stopped working years ago.

How big? ⅓–½ pot on most boards. Pressure comes from the next street, not from overpaying on this one.