UTG Contiuation Bet

[Thechemace]

Assume we are playing against competent players and the effective stack size is 100BB.
Hero is UTG raises 3BB and only the button calls
RFI Chart:


The pot is 7.5 BB and the flop comes 7s, 5h, 3h. If I were to lead with sets and over-pairs, then in order to have enough bluffs/draws to have a 2:1 ratio I would need to bet with my entire range. Looking like this.


I think being OOP I should check more. I think this is also a pretty dynamic board with flush draws, straight draws, and there is a good possibility of overcards coming on later streets. So leading with the entire range can't be too bad.
What are your thoughts? Give me some other possible strategies and considerations, Thanks in advance.

[1Peter510]

First off, you aren't leading. You are c-betting because you are the aggressor preflop and continuing your aggression.

You have the range advantage vs a BTN cold calling range with 53% equity on that board. I am not sure how to count overpairs when determining the nut advantage. But you have AA, KK, & QQ (18 combos) that BTN almost certainly doesn't have however he can have 55, 33, 64s, 75s, &53s that you don't have (15 combos). So let's assume no one has a nut advantage.

You are OOP looking at a board the BTN has top pair or better about 26% of the time (about 8% of the time he has 2 pair +).

With the heart draw on the board, I don't like giving free cards so I would tend to bet my entire range small (like 2.5bb - 3bb) planning to bet every street. This avoids capping my range but also keeps the pot manageable.

You could split your range to check AA, 77, 66, A5s, & AK plus some others. However when you check on that wet board you get no information when he bets. When you c-bet though, you get good information about his hand whether he raises or calls.

When he calls your bet, he caps his range because he likely raises 2 pairs, sets, and straights due to the flush draw. Narrows his range to a pair, draw or overcards. So, when he calls you can adjust your strategy to get value with your better hands and get him to fold with your bluffs. If he raises, you can fold your junk and continue with your best hands and best draws.

[reeeeeeper]

I couldn't have said it better than 1Peter510 but yeah, generally when you raise from EP in a SRP you want to keep your range uncapped by c-betting 100% and on the small side, anything from 1BB to 1/3 pot. And generally when you have the range advantage but not the nut advantage you want to do this as well (which is usually why you're doing it with your EP range, which tends to be range+ but not nut+ on most flops). Here, you want to bet on the upper side of the small size since there are a lot of hands you can be called by, but you still don't want to bet too big because your only nutted hand is 77. If you bet bigger against a competent opponent, they'll realize the range/nut imbalance, see that your bet doesn't make sense, and check-raise you to put you in a tough spot since they have 77, 55, 33, 9h8h, 8h7h, maybe 7h6h & Ah4h, and a bunch of other heart+over draws to fill in the bluffs with good equity. If you bet smaller, the option to call and see if they follow through or you improve is present if you so choose, but if you bet big that becomes more difficult.

[Thechemace]

Thanks for the advice. It is really appreciated. I do realize it was a c-bet.
Here is the hand which prompted the question.

Hero (UTG) with JdTd raises 3BB
Villain calls on the button

Flop as stated before came 7s,5h,3h (Pot : 7.5BB)

So staring at this board with no hearts I automatically got scared of the flop and wondered if I should have a checking range. But I thought I had the range advantage and should follow up with a bet. I could not decide if a had the nut advantage since this board could easily hit a button's calling range. I also wasn't sure if small overpairs should be considered premium hands to bet since there are a ton of cards that could come on the turn that would change that.

Hero bets 4.5BB (60%)
Villain calls

Turn comes Kh ( 7s, 5h, 3h)

Here where I think I really screwed up. I did not continue betting on the turn despite my range advantage. I didn't consider my entire range just my hand which was nothing. Since the button called I figured I was behind and checked.

Hero checks
Villain checks behind

River comes 4s (7s, 5h, 3h, Kh) Pot: 16.5BB

At this point, I have no showdown value at all so I bet.

Hero bets 8BB (48%)
Villain folds.

I win the pot but I think I still played it terribly taking a bad line.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[1Peter510]

I prefer a smaller bet on the flop (2.5bb). You do have backdoor flush draw and 2 overcards.

Villain called, so probably has a marginal hand.

Giving up when the flush comes in and an overcard hits doesn't seem bad with your exact hand. But, giving up means being done (turn and river). If you plan to fire the river, then I say fire the turn as well (about 1/3rd to 1/2 pot).

[Thechemace]

I didn't have a backdoor flush since I had diamonds and the board had spaded and hearts. I agree betting the turn gives me the most fold equity considering my hand. I really appreciate your help. Thanks.

[1Peter510]

Meant straight draw. Sometimes my fingers are too fast....