This is the second article in a section of three on tournament poker online. Also, be sure to visit Wind in Poker.com if you want to win the most possible every time!

In poker different bet may mean different things. As a poker player, it's your job to indicate what a particular bet, or the size of a bet, from a particular opponent means. This is even more important in tournaments where a small mistake can mean the end of your tournament life. One way to figure out what a bet means is by analyzing the betting patterns.

Betting patterns in poker tournaments

A betting pattern is the way the player better through one hand or over several hands. If you've read one of your opponents, and because he likes to call all the way with his draws, it will often be correct to fold when a flush card hits the table on the river and he suddenly gets better. This fold would not be so easy if the player had raised you on the flop, with something that looked like an already ready hand. If you analyze a player's betting pattern all the way through the hand, while being aware of which hands he shows up at showdown, you get very valuable information.

Different types of betting patterns

It may be easier to indicate betting patterns if you understand the type of bets you may encounter in a tournament. A continuation bet on the flop is a bet from a player who has raised pre-flop and will show strength even though he has not hit. These bets are rarely big because they are designed to take the pot if the opponent has not hit either. A probe bet is used to find out where you stand. If you check and your opponent's better, it's hard to know if he's just better because you checked or because he actually has something. A probe bet helps to define both your hand and your opponents. These bets are also usually pot-sized or smaller. A semi-bluff is a bet with a hand that is not yet the best but has the potential to be. For example, a bet with two windows on hand when there are two windows on the flop. These bets are usually bigger because the better would like to win the pot immediately without having to hit their flush. And he would also like to win a big pot if he were to hit.

Notes to betting patterns in poker

You should base your assumptions of betting patterns in multiple hands, and not just on a single. What a player does in one hand usually does not provide a clear picture of how they will do in most of the situations. The more information you collect before you make your move, the greater is the chance that your move is correct.