what to make of pot sized c-bets?

waller02

i've had a lot of hands recently when i've called raises preflop and hit middle pair on the flop and then been faced with a pot size c-bet.

i'm never sure what to do here, in my mind a pot sized c-bet tends to indicate weakness, is this wrong??
does it depend on how wet the board is? is it purely villain dependant? what is the best course of action, just fold or raise??

i tend to fold but is this always the best thing to do?

AMYBR

I dont think theres a real unifing answer to this bud.

I think when your playing online its very easy to manipulate peoples perceptions of a c-bet.  Like you say, how can you really tell, especially when its so strong.  Your mind does lean towards weakness, but against good players its often the opposite.

Really looking to beef up the pot with pot sized bets looking for maximym value, because they know people will perceive it in exactly the way you mention.

For me it comes down to feel and player notes. 

I got done the other night, readless with TPTK + 2 back door draws.  Opponent fired pot size flop + turn, jamming the river, flips over mid set on river.  Maximum value due to abusing peoples perception of cbet

grantorino

You shouldnt be calling pre with many hands that make middle pair often. What their cbet means depends on villain. Watch for how frequently he cbets, how often he double barrells, how wide he opens and it should give you an idea what type of hands he cbets and you can react accordingly. Pot size cbets would usually be a leak though

BigBluster

A pot-sized c-bet usually indicates strength earlier on in a tournament. Examine the way people play aces or kings (assuming no ace flops) or even queens (assuming no ace or king flops).
They put in the last raise pre, then pot it blindly, irrespective of what flops.

Late on in a tournament this flips on its head: a full pot c-bet usually means a degree of weakness: they're playing scared. Top pair weak kicker or 2nd pair (or pair to an overcard).