🎯 The c-bet in a single-raised pot: what to bet and what to check
C-bet size and frequency by texture, in position and out — based on solver data · Pro
In Omaha you c-bet much less often than in Hold'em, and out of position very rarely. This lesson covers what the solver shows in heads-up single-raised pots (SRP): which bet size for which board, who bets the nuts and who checks them, and why on the river blockers matter more than hand strength for a call. The solver data comes from the club's training materials.
Bet size by texture
The baseline c-bet size in a single-raised pot (per solver data):
— unconnected board — 75% of the pot;
— straight-heavy — 50%;
— monotone — 50%;
— paired — 33%.
This is a starting point, not a law: at a small SPR and against weak players the size changes.
Frequency: on K♠6♦5♠ the button against the BB in position c-bets ~45% of the time, while CO against BTN out of position only ~7.5%. Out of position, a c-bet is very specific combinations with blockers.
Who bets and who checks
C-betting too often breaks your strategy: the betting range can't withstand a check-raise, and the checking range is left without strong hands.
For a bet: high equity and nuttiness, blockers (now and on future streets).
For a check: medium equity (you don't want to get check-raised), a hand that needs the turn, a non-nut flush draw (plays well on later streets and protects your checks).
Bet the nuts if it doesn't block the hands your opponent will continue with. Top set with a flush draw and straight blockers is more often a check: it removes everything your opponent could pay with.
Typical boards (solver)
10♥8♦8♣ (paired): trips with straight cards bet rarely (~30%) — they block the opponent's continuing hands; trips with a top kicker and straight blockers always bet.
8♦7♥6♣ (straight-heavy): naked straight blockers (99xx) — always bet; the nut straight — ~80%; sets — ~60%.
9♠8♠2♠ (monotone): c-bet ~35% with a 50% size. The whole betting volume is driven by flushes and blockers to the higher flushes.
Out of position: top set on a wet board — c-bet ~12%, check-call ~40%, check-raise ~60%. If you block the nut draws, bet yourself; if you don't, check-raise (an opponent with a draw will bet himself).
The river: blockers decide
On the river bets are polarized: either a very strong hand or a bluff. The size is usually pot.
For calling a third barrel, blockers matter more than hand strength. On a 10♥8♦8♣7♠3♥ river out of position, AA with a club (it blocks the opponent's missed flush draws, i.e. his bluffs) folds ~90% of the time. The low-stakes player pool rarely bluffs in these spots.
On a straight-heavy river 8♥7♦6♣4♠2♥ the most important blockers are the top of the straight (9 and T). The second-nut straight is always a call; lower straights without a T blocker fold ~70%.
Practice: board texture and the semi-bluff — how many folds a bet needs.