A proper continuation betting approach is the core of every poker GTO strategy. Recently, we’ve looked at a few examples of when you shouldn’t c-bet 100% of your range as an in-position player in MTTs. This time, we’d like to tackle the same issue when you are an out-of-position player.
Since the opening range is the widest on the Button, the BU vs the BB situation is the most common spot you’ll encounter as an in-position player. How about out of position? The most frequent heads-up happens when you open the Cut-Off and the Button player cold calls your open raise (for our argument, we assume both players on the blinds folded).
In the previous article, we’ve established that the natural consequence of the ranges’ composition is that the IP player prefers boards with broadway cards to c-bet with a high frequency. At the same time, the middle-low boards require a much more thoughtful c-betting strategy. What happens to poker GTO when the preflop aggressor is out of position?
Lack of position changes your strategy drastically!
Before preparing this article, we ran an aggregated report for the same 60 boards we used last time, but this time, we used the following parameters: the CO opens around 37% of hands, the BU flats around 17%, and the stack depth equals 40 BB.
The results are very different.
In the case of BUvsBB, the overall IP strategy is very continuation-bet-heavy; on average, whenever you are the IP player, you can c-bet around 88% of the time, and only a few boards require you to be very check-aware.
How does it look in the COvsBU case? This time, the out-of-position player must be cautious, as they should only c-bet around 28% of the time, and the only sizing chosen somewhat often by our poker solver is a ⅓.
Since the strategy for the out-of-position player differs significantly from the one used when in position, let’s investigate the most check-heavy boards and the ones where you can c-bet most frequently - given the circumstances.
You can implement a check-only strategy at monotone flops
In our set of 60 boards, there were four monotone boards: AQT, AJ4, J94 and T63. According to the poker solver, you should be very check-oriented at every one of these structures, as only the J-high board includes around 17% of small betting. In fact, we suggest that you simplify your approach and incorporate a pure check-only strategy.
When it comes to monotone flops, it's important to note that after your opponent bets, you should continue by calling. Following the GTO poker strategy, you should have almost no raises, even with the lowest flushes.
There are a few reasons behind such a passive strategy. The first and the most obvious one is positional disadvantage. Having a position is one of the most significant advantages in poker, so naturally, being an out-of-position player is a tough place to be in.
Expected value (EV) and equity (EQ) reflect the importance of position in our example very well. Despite the equity of both players being around 50%, the BU player has the expected value of 3.5 BBs versus 3 BBs of Cut-Off. Simplifying, it means that, on average, out of a pot of 6.5 BBs on the flop, the BU will win 3.5 BBs (almost 54% of the pot).
Mind you, these numbers assume that both players play perfectly well, while in reality, most of the time, the EV of the OOP player will be even lower.
Since the circumstances are unfavorable for the OOP player, the optimal poker strategy is to check a lot in such spots, strengthening the CO's range.
Usually, when you’re a preflop raiser in position, you can c-bet often since you’ll have a nut advantage on many boards (open raiser has all overpairs, all sets, and the strongest top pairs), which allows you to continue betting versus the wide range of hands on the Big Blind.
Things look different for BU since the range of hands you’re up against is much tighter. In our case, the CO has around 37% of combos, and BU flats around 17% (for reference, in our study vs the BB, that number was up to 73%).
So, whenever you’re playing COvsBU, not only you have to overcome the positional advantage, but you’re up against a much stronger range of hands, which connect with many boards well, while your range will miss the board relatively often.
As a result, since the range of BU is much tighter, the percentage of nutted hands (like flushes, set or strong top pairs) will be much higher than in the case of the Big Blind.
Even A-high or K-high boards are far from an obvious c-betting spot
Let’s look at boards that seem like decent candidates for c-betting: AJTr, AJ2 with a flush draw, or KJ9 with a flush draw. The poker solver's proposed c-betting strategy for them is 6%, 14% and 19%, respectively. For comparison, all three boards are close to 100% c-bet in the BU vs BB scenario.
Why does the CO player have to be passive even on boards that enable them to have all the nut possibilities? The reason is similar to the mono boards; the flatting range of the BU interacts very well with the broadway-heavy boards since it contains many broadway hands and not much "air".
While the BU’s range will usually lack sets on high boards, it will have almost all of the straights, two-pair combos and plenty of top pairs with solid kickers. Along with the positional advantage (or disadvantage for the CO), it forces the OOP player to be very selective with c-bets.
We’ve already established that CO has to be passive quite often against a BU player, but are there cases in which the OOP player can include some frequency of continuation bets in their strategy?
When can you c-bet the most while OOP?
Turns out there is a group of boards on which you should c-bet sometimes. In our example, the most heavily c-bet boards are A99 with a flush draw, K77 rainbow (r), A55r, 872r and J87r. What do they have in common?
These boards are the ones that are unlikely to improve the IP player.
Most boards that allow the CO player to c-bet are either paired or disconnected. On such boards, the OOP player has a relatively strong representation of overpairs and top pairs (a solid part of their range). Meanwhile, the BU player lacks overpairs and is unlikely to have trips. As a result, the expected value advantage over the Cut-Off is least prominent (or nonexistent in a few cases).
Overall, the circumstances in the COvsBU situations do not grant the OOP player a lot of room to c-bet; however, if you feel like the continuation bet is the right play, prioritize the boards which are either paired or disconnected.
Discover other correlations with Deepsolver
Hopefully, we’ve shed some light on how to approach c-betting in MTTs and what to consider when doing so.
Knowing who has a range advantage under certain circumstances is one of the most critical skills of a modern poker player. Even when unsure of your strategy in certain situations, knowing whose range interacts with the current community cards will help you decide how to proceed with the hand.
And that’s where Deepsolver comes in handy, helping you hone your intuition and develop an overall feel for what seems right in a particular scenario.