The only reason to bet is to make money, whether immediately or over the long term.

Basically, we place a bet for one of two reasons:

• Value
• Bluffing

For the following descriptions and examples, we will refer to ourselves as Luke (the good guy), and our opponent as Vader (the bad guy). Remember these abbreviations as well, as they will be commonly used throughout all of the articles:

Position

• SB = Small Blind
• BB = Big Blind
• UTG = Under the Gun
• CO = Cut Off
• BU = Button (or On the Button)

Bets and Suits

• bb = the amount of the big blind bet
• Cbet = continuation bet
• d = Diamonds
• h = Hearts
• c = Clubs
• s = Spades

Value Betting

A value bet is a bet you make because you feel like you have made a better hand than your opponent, and you want them to call so that you can make more money off of them. When placing value bets, the ideal response from your opponent is a call, not a fold. Basically, value bets make you money when your opponent calls your bet, and you hold the winning hand more than half the time.

Value Bet Example:

Let's assume that everyone is playing with 100bb stacks. Luke is CO and gets an As Ks and raises 3bb. BU calls but everyone else folds. It's now heads-up between Luke at CO, and Vader at BU.

Flop comes Kd Td 2h. Luke Cbets 5bb (two-thirds of the pot) and Vader calls.

This is a very good flop for Luke, because he has the high pair of Kings, and the Ace kicker; while Vader has many possible hands that he would continue to call with, such as Kings with a lower kicker, a straight draw, or a flush draw. A continuation bet (which basically continues the strength shown by the pre-flop bet) is a good value bet here because Vader will either fold or call with something weaker. If Vader happened to catch trips or two pair, he would most likely raise instead of call.

Fourth Street is a 5h. Luke bets 14bb (around three-quarters of the pot) and Vader calls.

Not much is different after this, though it does give Vader a few more hands he could make if he has say Kh Qh or Jh Qh. This is another great opportunity for another value bet as Luke probably still has the best hand, but the amount of draws available or weaker made hands means that Vader will probably call and want to see the next card.

The River is a 9d. Luke checks.

This is one of the worst cards Luke could see in this situation. Many times, Vader would have remained in the hand based on having a straight draw with QJ or on a diamonds flush draw with something like Ad Jd, either one of which just made a better hand with this river card. While the earlier situations were good chances for value bets, this one is not. First, if Vader made a straight or flush, he will simply call or raise, taking the pot. If he didn't make a better hand, then he will know from your previous bets that Luke most likely has a better hand, and will just fold. In this case, a bet will hardly ever add value and be profitable, and we only ever bet when it will make us money.

Bluffing

New poker players think that bluffing is where the game is won and lost, and that all bluffs are spectacular displays of intestinal fortitude where a player goes all-in with nothing, praying that their opponent will fold. Well, that may make for good TV, but it is a pretty rare occurrence. Most bluffs are small and unnoticed, the most common kind of bluff is just a continuation bet after a bad flop. When used correctly, bluff bets can help you win more money over the long run, not in one huge gamble.

You want to bluff when you are confident that you don't have the best hand, but if you bet, your opponent is probably going to fold. Bluffs don't operate the same way as value bets, where you just have to be successful half the time; instead the rate of success depends on how much you have to bet in order for the bluff to work. The less you have to bet to get your opponent to fold, the more valuable the bluff is.

Bluff example:

Again, stacks are at 100bb. Luke is BU and has 5s 6s. Luke raises 3bb, SB (Vader) calls, everyone else folds.

Flop comes as Kd 7s 2h. Vader checks. Luke bets 3bb (about 40% the pot).

This is the most common kind of bluffing situation, where a continuation bet is a nice bluff that will sometimes work. There are two lower cards, and one high card, which due to the pre-flop raise, Luke could easily have AK or KQ and now have top pair. Vader could only have a few made hands (AK or trips) and there are no flush or good straight draws. Vader will likely fold most of the hands he has, even pairs like 67 or TT, because he is worried about that King.

Why does Luke only bet 3bb here, is that not too little for a good bluff? Remember, the less it costs you to bluff, the better. Luke has no reason to bet more because if he actually had something like AK, he would place a value bet of only 3-4bb in the hopes that Vader would call. If he suddenly comes out firing with a 10bb bet, it looks suspicious because it would be a terrible value bet, and indicates a possible bluff.

Luke's bet of 3bb only has to be successful around 30% for it to be profitable long-term, while a 7bb bluff bet needs to work more than 50% of the time in order to make money.

Semi-Bluffing

A semi-bluff is a bluff where you have nothing now, but some good draws that could make a winning hand later on. In this case, the bluff doesn't need to work quite as often as pure bluffs because if your bluff is called, you still have the chance to make your hand on the next street. This example is similar to the one above, but involves a fourth street semi-bluff.

Semi-Bluff Example:

Stacks at 100bb. Luke gets 5s 6s again, this time as SB. Luke raised 3bb and Vader calls in the BB.

Flop comes as Kd 7s 2h. Luke bets 3bb (half the pot) and Vader calls.

Luke knows a bit about Vader, and knows that he tends to fish for draws on a flop such as this one. Before the flop comes, Luke has already decided that he will cbet post-flop if he sees a 7, 4, or a spade. This is still a pure bluff, as all of Luke's draws are runner-runner.

Fourth Street is 3s. Luke now bets 9bb (75% of the pot)

This is a good card for Luke, as it now opens up more draws and increases his equity in the hand. The 9bb bet here is a double barrel bet used as a semi-bluff. Luke still has nothing, but has a decent chance to hit something if his bet is called, and a bet of that size will get Vader to fold made hands or floats such as 88 or AQ. Even if Vader has a made hand like AK or TT, the pot-equity and fold-equity that Luke has still makes the bet profitable, whether Vader folds or calls and they go to the river.