Betting to Win – The Basics of Value Betting

Every time you make a bet in poker, you need to be asking yourself, "Why am I betting right now?" Your answer should either one of two reasons, (if the reason is "I don't know", stop betting!) You are either bluffing, or you are betting for value.

A value-bet is a bet you make when you feel that you are in control of the table because you most likely hold the strongest hand. You want your opponents to call with worse hands than yours. Nearly every time you have made a strong hand, you should be value-betting. Many people hit very strong hands and try to slow play them, thinking that by betting they might drive too many people out of the hand. However, in almost all cases choosing not to bet means that that you are losing out on money.

Missing opportunities to bet for value is simply throwing money away, though it can be hard to see that at the beginning. Players who do not play strong hands strongly tend to be losing players, and rarely ever do better than break even at the poker tables. Beginners and bad players often underestimate the value of betting, and tend to overestimate the amount of times their opponents will fold.

When do we Value-Bet?

In order to answer this question we will need to understand the concept of ranges. If you are unsure of what ranges are, or how they operate, go and read that article first.

First, it is important that you have a good grasp of the range concept. If not, go back and read the article about it. Once you are confident that you understand what ranges are and how they work, you can begin to understand value-betting.

The most important, and simple, things to remember when determining if you are in a good position to value-bet is if your opponent will call with worse cards more than half the time.

The rule could be stated this way: You should value bet if the range of cards your opponent would call the bet with contains worse cards than yours more than 50% of the time.

Basically, it boils down to the idea that if the range of cards which you have decided your opponent is holding is mostly worse than yours, but are still cards he should call with, that is when you should make a value-bet. It sounds a bit complicated, so let's look at a more practical example.

Value-Betting Examples

Anytime that we have a good hand is a good time to value-bet. It is important to note that a strong hand does not necessarily mean that you already have the nuts, but that you have a hand that is most likely good enough to win. If you value-bet and your opponent happens to have caught quads, oh well, it happens. Most of the time it won't though; if you are doing it right, they will call, but with worse hands. Remember that every time you miss a value-bet, you are talking money out of your stack.

If you have a hand that is not that strong, such as a middle pair or something similar, you need to do a little more mental work to figure out if a value-bet is a good idea. You have to now consider your opponent's range and their playing style when deciding whether or not to value-bet:

• The range of hands you think your opponent would call with has more hands that are better than yours than worse, don't bet and fold to any bet, as value-betting would not make sense.
• Your opponent's range has a few more bad hands than better ones, and you go ahead and make a value bet. In poker parlance, this is known as a "thin" value-bet. It's being able to do this right that separates the pros from the high-level amateurs. If you are really good at reading your opponent and putting him on a range, you can really profit from thin value-bets.

An Example:

In this case, effective stacks are at 100bb, and Luke is sitting in the BB with AhKd.

Before the Flop

Most of the table folds, but Vader (BU) and the SB limp-in. Luke, because he is in early position raises 5bb, SB folds but Vader calls.

Flop: Kc 9s 8s

Luke bets about three-quarters of the pot, and Vader calls.

Turn: 8h

Luke once again bets about three-quarters of pot, and Vader calls.

River: 4s

Luke bets two-thirds of the pot and Vader calls again.

Luke did a good job betting for value every round and in the end, it doesn't actually matter what Vader had. Perhaps he won the hand, but as long as Luke thought there were worse hands that he could call with than good, value-bets were the right play. Let's look at each street a little closer:

Before the Flop

Luke has AK, even though it isn't suited, it's still a very strong hand to raise with, even from early position. Since there are already two limpers, he raises 3bb as a base and adds 1bb for each limper for a total of a 5bb raise. At least one of the limpers will probably call him with a worse hand, so it's a good pre-flop value-bet.

The Flop

Luke has flopped the top pair on the board, and also has the highest possible kicker. Since there is also no instant flush or straight, there are very few hands he is losing to right now, but it's a good board as Vader has many hands in his range that are worse, such as low pocket pair or a King with a worse kicker. He also has many possible flush and straight draws. Value-betting is an absolute must in this case, as Luke is very strong, but will probably get a call with worse cards.

The Turn

While it's possible that Vader could have been sitting on something like 78 suited or an A8 and now has a better hand than Luke does, it's pretty unlikely he would have called the pre-flop raise and the bet on the flop with that. Theoretically, Luke could be losing right now, but since there are still lots of draws and worse made hands that Vader would call with, Luke again bets for value.

The River

With the 4 of spades Vader might have made a flush. If Vader is the bluffing type you might want to try a check-call, but let's say that he isn't. Why does Luke bet here? Many players would not; they would look at the board and suddenly clam up, thinking that their top pair top kicker might not cut it anymore. Maybe he has KsQs, TsJs, 9c8c or even made those trip 8s. He could, sure, but he most likely would have raised if he had made a hand before now, so it's unlikely he has two pair, trips, or a full house.

However, there is not a huge chance that he hit a flush in this instance, though it is possible, of course. There is still a very large range of hands that Vader would call with in this case. He would likely call with most Kings with worse kickers (KQ, KT, etc.) or with middle or low pairs (T9, JJ, 77, etc.) if he's not that good. If you think that there are more hands he could call with that are losers like these, then a value-bet here is a good call, and a good example of betting thin.

Conclusion

As value-betting is one of the most important ideas to master on your road to playing winning poker it is vital that you constantly evaluate your play and make sure that you are not missing chances to bet for value. Likewise, make sure that when you make a value-bet, it is because your opponent actually has a worse range, and not because it feels right.