Varying Preflop Raises
The common standard preflop raise in a poker hand is usually 3x to 4x the big blind. This amount causes the blinds to not get come in with total junk, and also gets value on other hands coming into the pot. Raising less allows too many hands in, and raising too much can scare away action from hands you want to get action on.
Though these amounts are the standards, it can be nice to vary your betting over time. Some players prefer to bet the same amount every time no matter what your hand is to veil the variance of big hands and small hands, but I like a more variable procession.
Teasing pots with bigger bets here and there, and sometimes smaller bets, based on the nature of your opponents and the action at the table. Gathering action against certain types of poker players, and using patterns based on expectations of previous bets and previous holdings can create some nice effects in future resolution.
As long as you are careful that your bets are not indicators of what you are holding (i.e. bigger bet does not always mean bigger hand), the variance is just as hidden as betting the same thing on every instance. Remember this next time you play poker online.
