The Hidden Mechanics of C-Betting: Lessons from Poker Pro Phemo

What Is a C-Bet?

A continuation bet, or c-bet, is a follow-up bet made by the player who took the last aggressive action on the previous street — usually the preflop raiser.

For example, when you raise preflop and then bet the flop, that’s a c-bet. The same logic applies to turn c-bets (continuing after a flop c-bet) and river c-bets (continuing after a turn c-bet).

The Mechanics of a Bet

And if you don’t know – I know that you do –, “bets are primarily constructed from value” – Phemo, Lab 2.0.

And “bluffs are added, forcing your opponent to pay off your value hands.” – Phemo, Lab 2.0.

You don’t really bluff when you don’t have any value.

In fact, Phemo continues, “Bets generate EV if your opponent is calling worse hands at a sufficient frequency.”

Meet Phemo — and Learn to C-Bet Like a Pro

“Phemo” isn’t just a catchy nickname. It belongs to Manuel Bueno Fernandez, a respected grinder and coach with one of the most impressive résumés in the modern online game.

Manuel has stacked up major online titles, including:

• The $5,200 PokerStars Titans Event for $98,517

• A $530 SCOOP NLHE title for $61,090

• A $1,050 WCOOP 6-Max Turbo victory worth $37,896

He’s also proven himself live, winning the €3,000 CAPT Vienna Main Event for €72,000 and taking 3rd at the 888poker LIVE London Festival Main Event, adding £44,920 to his total.

With results like that, it’s safe to say Manuel knows what he’s talking about. A long-time coach and contributor for some of poker’s most respected groups, he now joins the Upswing Lab 2.0 team—bringing his sharp, theory-backed insights to help you c-bet better than ever.

Have you joined the lab yet? Sign up here.

In today’s article, you get a sneak peak from his seminar: “The Mechanics of C-Betting”.

The point is to make money. But if your opponent isn’t calling with worse hands enough of the time, you don’t make any money. Worse still, if they only call with better hands, you might as well hand them money from your pocket.

This highlights an important concept: range filtering.

The Filtering Effects of Betting

Range Filtering

If you’ve ever heard the term Minimum Defense Frequency (MDF), it refers to the relationship between the price you’re laid when facing a bet and how much of your range must continue to prevent your opponent from printing easy expected value (EV).

Sometimes you’ll defend more or less than MDF depending on the situation, but the core idea remains the same: part of your range continues, and part of it folds.

In effect, your opponent’s bet filters your range, and your bet filters theirs.

When you bet:

Example: The Mechanics of C-Betting

From the Lab 2.0 seminar “The Mechanics of C-Betting” with Phemo

Let’s say you’re in the Big Blind and the Button open-raises. The flop comes:

9c 5d 3h

You check, and your opponent bets 30% pot.

This Lucid Poker chart shows Big Blind vs Button, 50bb effective, in a single-raised pot facing a 30% pot c-bet on 9c 5d 3h.

Green: Call

Red: Raise

Blue: Fold

In the example above, you can see how small bets filter the Big Blind’s range. When the BB continues, they no longer (or shouldn’t) have hands like K8o, Q6o, J4o, 72s, or T2s, and so on.

Of course, folding weak hands to a bet isn’t exactly breaking news.

However, what follows might be something you’ve always taken for granted.

Strengthening Ranges Through Betting

From the Lab 2.0 seminar “The Mechanics of C-Betting” with Phemo

When a bet gets called, it actually strengthens the defending player’s range. Choosing to invest more money in the pot implies that your hand has enough value — or potential — to justify that investment.

This ties directly back to what Phemo said earlier:

“Bets generate EV if your opponent is calling worse hands at a sufficient frequency.”

On the 9c 5d 3h board, the Button c-bets A5s almost always and A5o most of the time. Even though those hands aren’t top pair or an overpair, they still perform well against the Big Blind’s continuing range when called.

The Lucid Poker hand filters above illustrate how the Big Blind’s range composition shifts when facing a c-bet. Against a small bet, the majority of the BB’s continuing range is actually behind the Button’s A5 combinations.

That’s the dynamic when the bet size is small.

But what happens when your opponent chooses a larger size?

How Bet Sizing Changes Your Response

Since any bet filters out the weakest hands in the defending player’s range, the bet size becomes the defining factor in how much of that range gets filtered.

A small bet trims the fringes.

A large bet cuts much deeper.

Take a look.

Against the small bet, the Big Blind folds 29%, raises a combined 19%, and calls the remaining 51% of hands.

So what happens when the Button switches to a larger 70% pot size?

See below.

When the Button increases the bet size to 70% pot, the Big Blind folds far more often — jumping from 29% up to 45%.

That’s roughly 125 additional combos getting the boot.

This Lucid Poker chart shows Big Blind vs Button, 50bb effective, in a single-raised pot facing a 70% pot c-bet on 9c 5d 3h.

Green: Call

Red: Raise

Blue: Fold

Against this larger size, the Big Blind now folds [22] and [44], both made hands.

Typical high-frequency check-raise bluffs like [T6s], [J6s], and [Q6s] become pure folds, while even [AJo] starts to become indifferent.

But here’s the key point: this is a dry, 9-high board.

And on such textures, the Button’s dominant bet size isn’t 70% pot at all.

In fact, it’s the overbet, 133% pot.

So what happens then?

The pattern continues.

You fold even more. Against the overbet, folding becomes the Big Blind’s predominant action.

This Lucid Poker chart shows Big Blind vs Button, 50bb effective, in a single-raised pot facing a 133% pot c-bet on 9c 5d 3h.

Green: Call

Red: Raise

Blue: Fold

Facing the overbet, the Big Blind now folds [66] and [77]. Even some 5x and 3x hands become indifferent. Only the strongest made hands and hands that can still improve remain.

Here’s the key insight: bet size doesn’t just filter the defender’s range — it filters the bettor’s range too.

Take a look.

Lucid GTO: BB v BTN 50bb effective SRP. BTN c-bet strategy filtered for 30% pot c-bet.	Lucid GTO: BB v BTN 50bb effective SRP. BTN c-bet strategy filtered for 133% pot c-bet.

Comparing the 30% Pot C-Bet and the 133% Pot Overbet

Let’s compare the small 30% pot c-bet (left) and the 133% pot overbet (right).

Notice how some hand combinations appear exclusively in one size or the other.

For instance, the solver never uses the 30% pot size when the Button holds [TT]–[KK], and [AA] appears there only rarely. These premium pairs instead favor the large overbet.

Conversely, the 133% pot strategy never includes [99], [55], or [33] — the sets. Those hands appear only in the small-bet strategy.

The same logic applies to bluffs. In the large-bet strategy, offsuit broadways and suited high cards are used aggressively. In the small-bet strategy, those hands are almost entirely absent.

The filtering effect of c-betting defines not only the defender’s range, but also the bettor’s.

If you want to hear the rest from Phemo himself, try the Upswing Lab 2.0.

Summary

C-betting, like all betting, is constructed from value first. Bluffs are then added to ensure your value hands get paid and to deny your opponent equity.

C-betting creates a two-way filtering effect on ranges, especially when the bettor splits sizes. The larger the size, the tighter and stronger the response it provokes.

Good Luck!