Why We Value Bet
Let's say you raise AK and get called. The flop is A48 with a
flush draw. Your opponent checks so you bet and they call. Unless
your opponent starts showing aggression back at you, you should
be betting most turns FOR VALUE and more than likely betting small
on the river. If the board was A48 without a flush draw you could
even bet the flop, check the turn, and then bet the river. You
have to do this because when you play passively you are giving
free cards to drawing hands that beat your hand if they hit. A
flush draw and a straight draw will both only hit around a third
of the time. That means that two thirds of the time you will be
winning pots against them and one third of the time they will
be winning pots against you. Whenever your opponent's draws come
in they are going to be betting to try to get as much as possible
with their big hand. To counteract this you have to make up for
those times by getting as much value the other two thirds of the
time as possible.
When and How to Value Bet
When you value bet and how much you value bet are very dependant
on the situation. When you notice someone is chasing a lot of
draws, you need to make them pay to chase. You will have to fold
and lose the pot that you built when the draw comes in but that
will only happen one third of the time. If you notice that someone
is willing to call down with a medium top pair hand like K9 on
a 934 board you need to value bet them when you have an over pair.
You have to get as much from your opponent as quickly as possible
because there are so many cards that will kill your action. Broad
way cards like aces kings and queens being on the board will make
your opponent more inclined to fold his K9 there.
Another thing to do when value betting is to test just how big
of bets your opponent will call. If they aren't calling two thirds
pot bets on the river then try half pot bets. If they call that
then try a little more and so forth. This goes along with extracting
as much money as possible in each situation. When you think you
have the winning hand you want to get as much from your opponent
as you can, so figuring out where their limit is will help you
decide exactly how much you want to value bet against them for.
Since it's hard enough to be a winning player because of rake,
you have to make sure that you win enough to over come it. By
value betting you are making sure to win as much money as possible,
making your win rate as high as can be. Knowing why when and how
to value bet will keep the money rolling in. By experimenting
with value bet sizing you can figure out just how much your opponent
is willing to reward you. Value betting is a very important weapon
in any poker player's arsenal. Ready? Aim! Fire! |