One of the most powerful plays in no-limit hold'em is the continuation bet. The continuation bet is a bet on the flop my the preflop raiser; it takes its name from the fact that such a bet is the continuation of the aggression shown by the preflop raiser.
Why are these continuation bets so powerful? On the majority of flops, a player will not improve his or her hand significantly. A player facing a bet on the flop with less than a pair (or a strong draw) is unlikely to call a reasonably-sized bet. This is where the aggressive continuation bet comes into play; when the preflop aggressor makes a second bet on the flop, they know that most players will fold the majority of the time. This makes the continuation bet an extremely profitable way to win small pots in both cash games and tournament play. In some games, it can even be profitable to make a continuation bet every single time you've raised preflop! In fact, even if you plan on making these "c-bets" less than 100% of the time, the fact that you missed the board shouldn't scare you away from betting the flop; continuation bets are about picking up pots when your opponents are weak, not the strength of your hand.
Of course, there are some occasions when making a continuation bet is probably a mistake, but making these bets too often is almost always a smaller mistake than making them too infrequently. If you haven't been making continuation bets during your play, try it out the next time you hit the tables!
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