When Do You Use Overbets vs Half-Pot Bets? (MTT Strategy Discussion)

[babyrosejr]

Hey everyone

I’m currently working on refining my postflop betting strategy in MTTs (35–50bb stacks), and I’ve been thinking a lot about sizing — specifically:

When do you choose to overbet the pot (120–150% or more)?
When is a half-pot bet (50%) more effective?

For example, on dry boards where I have range advantage, I sometimes use small bets. But on turn or river, I’m not sure when it’s best to go for an overbet — especially when I block the nuts or when I want to polarize.

Would love to hear your thoughts:
– What factors make you choose one sizing over the other?
– Any examples from hands you’ve played?
– Do you use overbets as a bluff often, or mostly for value?

Thanks in advance! Trying to build a more balanced approach here.

 

[MTT Database Review]

Very broad question. So very broad answer is that flop and turns overbet if there is no straight/flush/trips possible, and especially if lot of straights could come on the next street and we want protection from that.
So 50bb if you raise HJ, BB defends and you get flop like T74 rainbow or 963 rainbow, then its overbet time. If you get something like KQJ with FD, then its around half pot. Paired or very disconnected boards (no straights can come on turn) like K72 are betting tiny around 20-25 %. Most monotone flops around 33 %... And this is just single raised pot vs BB on the flop. There are many different situations. For turn cbet vs BB generally if you start with a tiny cbet on the flop and turn card doesnt change the situation too much (no flush, straight or trips possible), then it is very likely you are supposed to overbet. If flush comes on the turn, you are probably supposed to bet like 40-80 %.

 

[eetenor]

Hey everyone

I’m currently working on refining my postflop betting strategy in MTTs (35–50bb stacks), and I’ve been thinking a lot about sizing — specifically:

When do you choose to overbet the pot (120–150% or more)?
When is a half-pot bet (50%) more effective?

For example, on dry boards where I have range advantage, I sometimes use small bets. But on turn or river, I’m not sure when it’s best to go for an overbet — especially when I block the nuts or when I want to polarize.

Would love to hear your thoughts:
– What factors make you choose one sizing over the other?
– Any examples from hands you’ve played?
– Do you use overbets as a bluff often, or mostly for value?

Thanks in advance! Trying to build a more balanced approach here.

Over betting the basic strategy is always driven by nut value hand ranges. When we can have the nuts and our V can have a strong second best hand we can over bet for value.

We bluff when we can have the nuts but our V have less than a second best hand most often.

 

[TeUnit]

There are a few situations where overbetting is a good option.

1. Your range is polarized, ie you either have a strong hand or a weak hand.
2. You range has the nut advantage, ie in the given situation you could realistically have the nuts
3. The villans range is capped, ie they dont have the nuts in their likely range.
4. When the villan is a calling station- hoping they will call and you have the goods
5. When the villan is a nit - hoping they will fold with their medium strength hand

Some other considerations are if you have nut blockers or if draws complete on the board and you are representing the nuts.

I like to mix in overbets with underbets to have more balance and make it harder to get reads based on sizing.

 

[Mig32]

Good question, bro. Personally, I use small bets (30–50%) mostly on the flop when I have a range advantage, particularly on dry boards (like A-7-2 rainbow). It lets me keep my range wide, apply pressure, and build the pot without committing too much. Half-pot bets are also useful when I'm c-betting in position and want to keep my opponent's weaker hands in.

As for overbets (120–150% or more) — I tend to use them on the turn or river, mainly when:

The board favors my range, especially if I have the nut advantage.

I’m polarizing — either I have a strong hand or a bluff, and want to pressure capped ranges.

I block the nuts, making it tougher for my opponent to call with anything but the top of their range.


I do use overbets as bluffs occasionally, but only when the story makes sense — like barreling a missed draw where I blocked the nut flush draw and the board ran out scary for the opponent.

The hardest part is staying balanced — using similar sizings for both value and bluffs to stay unpredictable. But yeah, still a work in progress for me too.

Thanks for starting this thread — love hearing others’ perspectives on this!

 

[maxstell]

Hey everyone

I’m currently working on refining my postflop betting strategy in MTTs (35–50bb stacks), and I’ve been thinking a lot about sizing — specifically:

When do you choose to overbet the pot (120–150% or more)?
When is a half-pot bet (50%) more effective?

For example, on dry boards where I have range advantage, I sometimes use small bets. But on turn or river, I’m not sure when it’s best to go for an overbet — especially when I block the nuts or when I want to polarize.

Would love to hear your thoughts:
– What factors make you choose one sizing over the other?
– Any examples from hands you’ve played?
– Do you use overbets as a bluff often, or mostly for value?

Thanks in advance! Trying to build a more balanced approach here.

yes yes you win

Good question, bro. Personally, I use small bets (30–50%) mostly on the flop when I have a range advantage, particularly on dry boards (like A-7-2 rainbow). It lets me keep my range wide, apply pressure, and build the pot without committing too much. Half-pot bets are also useful when I'm c-betting in position and want to keep my opponent's weaker hands in.

As for overbets (120–150% or more) — I tend to use them on the turn or river, mainly when:

The board favors my range, especially if I have the nut advantage.

I’m polarizing — either I have a strong hand or a bluff, and want to pressure capped ranges.

I block the nuts, making it tougher for my opponent to call with anything but the top of their range.


I do use overbets as bluffs occasionally, but only when the story makes sense — like barreling a missed draw where I blocked the nut flush draw and the board ran out scary for the opponent.

The hardest part is staying balanced — using similar sizings for both value and bluffs to stay unpredictable. But yeah, still a work in progress for me too.

Thanks for starting this thread — love hearing others’ perspectives on this!

Of course that is the correct percentage

Hey everyone

I’m currently working on refining my postflop betting strategy in MTTs (35–50bb stacks), and I’ve been thinking a lot about sizing — specifically:

When do you choose to overbet the pot (120–150% or more)?
When is a half-pot bet (50%) more effective?

For example, on dry boards where I have range advantage, I sometimes use small bets. But on turn or river, I’m not sure when it’s best to go for an overbet — especially when I block the nuts or when I want to polarize.

Would love to hear your thoughts:
– What factors make you choose one sizing over the other?
– Any examples from hands you’ve played?
– Do you use overbets as a bluff often, or mostly for value?

Thanks in advance! Trying to build a more balanced approach here.

Bayroser Jr. Neymar plays poker and will win the 2026 World Cup.

 

[Pabloro10321]

Sometimes it is preferable to bet regardless of your cards to those players who raise repeatedly, this reduces their stakes, and also gives you space to bluff or hide good hands, if you play passively all the time and suddenly you go up it's suspicious

 

[dannystanks]

It seems I rarely use the half pot bet size. I used to do it all the time. Now it’s like 30% 60%+

 

[sandy358]

Most monotone flops around 33 %...

Honestly even that sounds a bit too much for monotone flops, as they only prefer microscopic bets/checks.

 

[sandy358]

For example, on dry boards where I have range advantage, I sometimes use small bets

Cbet-wise it kinda depends on your position and your stack size.

But here is a bunch of stuff I noticed:
* Cbet sizes heavily depend on the highest card on the board. In general, you size smaller on static ace or king-high boards and size up more and more on Q, J, T-high boards up to 9-high boards being usually completely drowned in cbet overbets
* Monotone, straight and similar ultradrawy flops prefer microscopic bet sizings. And you check a lot too. You should never cbet big on monotone flops, and when someone does, one Sandy358 dies in agony out there
* You size up your cbets with vulnerable made hands on connected boards. I believe, in order to kick gutshots out, as OESDs just won't fold on the flop most of the time
* You size down on flush draw flops more often than not, but it depends on a bunch of factors I don't fully understand and sometimes bigger cbet sizes are preferred (though even in later scenario you check more)
* Paired flops prefer smaller cbet sizings, with the frequency mostly determined by whose range has more trips on the flop (i.e. if you are UTG vs BB and the board is AA7 you cbet 100% of the time, ~80% of which is small size and ~20% is larger, but not overbet, size, while on A77 you check 70% of the time and cbet small 30% of the time). Paired flops with flush draws still take small bet sizes but now with much more checking.

As you get shallower, you should size down. As far as I noticed, at 20BB flop overbets mostly disappear, and their role is mostly delegated to 2/3 pot large cbets. I believe minraises become viable, but I can't compare, because including 10% pot minraises in my deepstack solver trees will cause my computer to explode immediately and I need my computer.

 

[aorodrigo]

I rarely overbet, I think that makes others fold. I preffer betting till 67% of the pot, even if I am nuts