At a glance
- On the HUD
- Flop CB·Turn CB-T·River CB-R
- Formula
bets / times they had the lead and the first chance to bet (first to act or checked to)- Typical range
- Flop 45–75%
- Turn 35–62%
- River 35–62%
- Where it shows
- Badge: the player with the lead, for this exact spot, with their next-street barrel. Panel on your turn: under “If you check”, for the player with the lead; when you call their c-bet, how often they barrel the next street.
- Read hint
- Above: C-bets a lot: float and raise more. Below: Gives up often: stab when checked to.
- Trust it after
- 12 chances. Below that the number is faded; reads need 12 chances and a number at least one standard error outside the typical range.
What it measures
A continuation bet, or c-bet, is a flop bet from the player who raised last before the flop, made when nobody has bet yet. C-bet is the share of their flop chances (first to act, or checked to) where they bet instead of checking.
The double barrel (CB-T) and triple barrel (CB-R) are the same idea one and two streets later: the raiser c-bets the flop, gets called, and bets again on the turn, then again on the river. The lead only carries forward while they keep betting. One check, or one raise from an opponent, and the chain ends.
Similar stats that get confused with it:
- A donk bet is a lead into the raiser before they act. It takes away their c-bet chance on that street.
- A delayed c-bet is the raiser checking the flop and betting the turn. It doesn’t count as a double barrel.
- A stab is a bet from a player in position after the raiser checks.
- Limped pots have no preflop raiser, so there is no c-bet; bets there count in stats like bet when checked to.
In a 3-bet pot the c-bettor is the 3-bettor, not the original opener.
How it’s calculated
One chance per street:
- Flop (CB): the last player to raise preflop is still in the hand, and their first flop action comes with no bet in front of them. It counts as a c-bet if that action is a bet.
- Turn (CB-T): only the player who c-bet the flop and stayed its last aggressor (nobody raised them) has a chance. Their first turn action with no bet in front counts if it’s a bet.
- River (CB-R): the same, for the player who c-bet the flop and the turn and kept the lead both times.
Formula: c-bets ÷ c-bet chances, per street. A street only counts when at least two players can still bet on it, so a preflop all-in produces no chance. If someone donk-bets into the raiser first, that street gives no chance either.
Each street is also kept in narrower versions: in or out of position, by pot type (single-raised, 3-bet, 4-bet or more) and heads-up or multiway. “In position” here means last to act among everyone who saw the street. If the cutoff raises and the button and big blind call, the cutoff counts as out of position, even though the big blind acts first.
Example: Theo raised preflop and had 40 flop chances. He bet 26, so his c-bet is 26 / 40 = 65%. Fourteen of those bets were called with no raise. On one of those turns an opponent led into him, which removes the chance, so he had 13 turn chances and bet 7: 7 / 13 = 54%. Three of the barrels were called and he bet 1 of the 3 rivers: 33%, shown faded because 3 chances is far below 12.
Why it matters
The c-bet number tells you how the raiser splits their range between betting and checking. Nobody hits most flops, so a player who bets 85% is betting plenty of ace-high and air, while a player who bets 40% is mostly betting hands that connected. Read it against each caller’s fold to c-bet.
The turn and river numbers matter even more, because the pot grows fast. With a 66% pot bet called on each street, the pot grows by 1 + 2 × 0.66 = 2.32 times per street. A 6 bb flop pot becomes about 14 bb on the turn, 32 bb on the river, and 75 bb if the river bet is called too. The river bet alone, about 21 bb, is more than three times the whole flop pot.
Comparing the streets shows the plan behind the bets. A player who c-bets 75% but double barrels 35% fires once and gives up: call the flop wider and take the pot when they check the turn. A player whose double barrel stays close to their flop c-bet keeps telling the same story, and you need a real hand to call down.
Too low, about right, too high
These cards use the flop range of 45–75%. The double and triple barrel use 35–62%, covered in the street sections below.
Too low: under 45%
What it says
The raiser checks most flops. That’s usually a fit-or-fold player: they bet top pair or better and strong draws, and check the rest. Tight players (Nit and Rock types) and many casual players who raise good hands preflop and then play the flop face-up land here. A low c-bet can also come from someone who plays mostly multiway pots, where checking is right more often.
Their bets are strong and their checks are weak.
How to exploit it
Attack the checks and respect the bets.
- When they check, stab in position with a wide range at 33–50% pot. A 33% bet only needs folds 24.8% of the time to profit as a bluff.
- Fold more of your weak pairs and gutshots to their c-bet, and drop raise-bluffs: their betting range is value-heavy.
- When they check back the flop in position, lead the turn from out of position: a probe bet into a range that already declined to bet.
About right: 45–75%
What it says
The raiser bets a healthy share of flops, which is what most decent players do. On its own this number tells you little, because it averages very different spots. A player at 60% overall can be betting 80% heads-up in position and 35% out of position in multiway pots. Good players sit higher in position, in 3-bet pots and on dry high-card boards, and lower out of position and multiway.
How to exploit it
Look one level deeper instead of adjusting to the headline.
- Compare the flop c-bet with the double barrel. A big drop means they fire once and quit: float in position and bet when they check the turn.
- Check their c-bet size. A player who bets 33% on dry boards and 75% only with strong hands is showing you their range.
- Check their fold to check-raise. A normal c-bet with a high fold to check-raise is a check-raise target.
Too high: over 75%
What it says
The raiser bets almost every flop, whatever the board and however many players are in. That range is mostly unpaired hands, because no range hits the flop that often. Aggressive players (LAG and Maniac types) and players who learned “always c-bet” land here, often with one small size on every board.
When this player does check, it’s unusual: either a give-up on a terrible board or a trap with a strong hand.
How to exploit it
Make them pay for betting air.
- Float wider in position with backdoor draws, overcards and weak pairs, then bet the turn if their double barrel is low.
- Check-raise more out of position: value with two pair and sets, bluffs with gutshots and flush draws. See check-raise.
- Don’t fold medium pairs to a single small c-bet. Most of their range has less.
- Don’t lead into them. Check and let them bet, especially with your strong hands.
On the flop, turn and river
Flop: c-bet
Three things move the flop c-bet more than anything else.
Position and players. Heads-up in position is the easiest spot to bet. Out of position, and with every extra player, a bet folds out less. Two players who each fold 55% both fold only 0.55 × 0.55 = 30% of the time, so good players check more multiway. The HUD keeps these spots apart, so an 80% heads-up c-bet and a 45% multiway one aren’t blended on the badge.
Pot type. In 3-bet pots the 3-bettor’s range is strong and stacks are short relative to the pot, so c-bets run higher and usually smaller.
Board and size. Dry high-card boards like A♠7♦2♣ favor the raiser, who can bet 25–33% with most of their range. Low connected boards like 7♥6♥5♣ favor the caller; good players check more there and bet bigger when they do. One size on every board is a tell.
Flop exploit: in many PokerNow games, callers rarely fold a pair on the flop, so bluff c-bets earn less than usual and value c-bets earn more. Against a table of callers, c-bet your hits and check more of your misses.
Turn: double barrel
The double barrel (CB-T) has a lower range, 35–62%, because the situation has changed. The caller kept a pair, a draw or a float, and the raiser’s air has to decide whether to keep firing into a bigger pot.
Good barrels come on turn cards that help the raiser’s range: overcards on low boards, or cards that give their bluffs a draw. Bad barrels come on cards that complete obvious draws or pair the low cards a caller holds. A player whose double barrel doesn’t change with the turn card is betting by habit.
Read the gap between the flop and turn numbers. A 70% flop c-bet with a 35% double barrel means about two of every three called c-bets are followed by a check. Against that player, call the flop in position with a wide range and bet when they check: a turn stab, also called a float bet. If the double barrel is over 62%, do the opposite: call the flop only with hands that can also call the turn, and raise your strong hands when they barrel.
River: triple barrel
The triple barrel (CB-R) shares the 35–62% range, but the river is a different decision. No cards are left, so every bet is either value or a bluff with a hand that can’t win at showdown. A player who triple barrels often is mixing in missed draws; one who rarely does bets the river only with strong hands.
The pot is at its largest. With 66% bets each street, the river bet is bigger than the whole pot was on the turn, so mistakes here cost the most.
Against a high triple barrel, call down with your bluff-catchers: top pair and good second pairs, especially when obvious draws missed. Against a low one, fold one pair to the river bet unless your hand beats some of their value.
River chances are rare, so the number fills in slowly. Say a player raises 20 of 100 hands, gets 12 flop chances, c-bets 8, is called on 4, barrels 2 turns and is called once: that’s one river chance per 100 hands. Expect CB-R to stay faded for a long time.
When it’s your own number
Your own badge shows the reads other players can make. A low c-bet tells them to stab when you check as the raiser. A high one tells them to float and raise your c-bets more.
To check yours, think in spots rather than one number. If you bet over 75% multiway or out of position, you’re betting many hands that can’t stand a raise: check more of your weak hands there, especially on boards that favor the caller. If you’re under 45% heads-up in position, you’re giving away pots: bet small more often on dry high-card boards. Then look at the turn. A flop c-bet far above your double barrel is the easiest pattern for an observant player to attack.
Using it on the HUD
When a hand reaches a street where a player has the lead, their badge shows their c-bet for that exact spot (for example in position, 3-bet pot, heads-up) along with their barrel rate for the next street. On your turn, the panel lists the player with the lead under “If you check” with how often they c-bet, and when you call their c-bet it shows how often they barrel the next street.
Above the typical range the number turns gold (over 75% on the flop, over 62% on the turn and river); below it, blue (under 45%, or under 35% later). When the exact version has fewer than 12 chances, the HUD steps back to a broader one, dropping heads-up or multiway first, then pot type, then position, and the tooltip says which version you’re seeing. A number still under 12 chances is faded.
Sample size: a 50% number is ±9 points over 30 chances and ±5 over 100. Thirty flop chances separates an 80% c-bettor from a 50% one; telling 65% from 55% takes 100 or more. Read it with fold to check-raise and c-bet size.
Questions
What is a good c-bet percentage?
Between 45% and 75% on the flop is normal. A good player’s number depends on the spot: higher heads-up, in position and in 3-bet pots, lower out of position and in multiway pots. Over 75% usually means betting too much air; under 45% usually means a fit-or-fold player whose checks are weak.
What is a double barrel in poker?
A double barrel is a second continuation bet: the preflop raiser c-bets the flop, gets called, and bets the turn too. The HUD counts it as CB-T, out of the turns where the flop c-bettor kept the lead (nobody raised them) and had the first chance to bet. Typical players double barrel 35–62% of the time; a triple barrel adds the river.
Should you c-bet every flop?
No. Betting every flop only works against players who fold far too often, and observant opponents punish it by floating and check-raising. Most good players check more out of position, in multiway pots and on low connected boards, and bet more on dry high-card boards in position.
What’s the difference between a c-bet and a donk bet?
A c-bet comes from the preflop raiser. A donk bet comes from a player out of position who leads into the raiser before the raiser acts. Once someone donk-bets, the raiser no longer has a c-bet chance on that street, so the HUD counts neither a c-bet nor a missed c-bet for them there.
How many hands do you need for a reliable c-bet stat?
Count chances, not hands. A player only gets a flop c-bet chance when they raised preflop and reached the flop, so even an active player collects far fewer chances than hands. A 50% c-bet is ±9 points over 30 chances and ±5 over 100. The turn and river numbers take much longer.