What is Value Betting Poker?
The dealer is well known as the best position since the player in that position plays last on each betting round (except the preflop). The advantage in playing last is simply the chance to see how all the players at the table react before making a decision to bet, call, or fold. The best Texas holdem poker players are always aware of their position and know how to use it to their advantage. Winning poker players know that they can only play their top starting hands in early and middle position, because these positions make you weak and you can be manipulated by players in later positions.
The most successful Texas Hold’em players are the ones who make fewer bet sizing mistakes. Now, remember that you won’t see what your opponent is holding before you place any bets. You must use the info available to you – through betting behavior – and the way the hand plays out to help you make the right decisions. What is Value Betting Poker? The goal of a “value-bet” is to get your opponent to call with a worse hand. If you have a strong made hand you should probably be betting for value nearly always. It's true sometimes you can think about slow-playing your strong hands, but most of the time, the best option will be to bet.
- The goal of a “value-bet” is to get your opponent to call with a worse hand. If you have a strong made hand you should probably be betting for value nearly always. It's true sometimes you can think about slow-playing your strong hands, but most of the time, the best option will be to bet. By not betting you risk “losing value” (losing out on money).
- Not “value-betting” at the right time can be just as bad as making a horrible call, when you know you are beat. Both will have the same effect on your win-rate. Weaker players often play strong made hands very passively. While it's true they may still “win” the pot this way, they are actually losing a lot of money in the long-run by not going for more value.
When should you 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.
To be very specific (and don't worry if you don't understand this just yet) -
In order for a value bet to be profitable, your opponent’s calling range must consist of worse hands 50% of the time or more.
It's actually very simple - In order to win money from the bet
When should you Value-Bet? In practice.
If we have a strong value hand we should immediately be betting for value. It doesn't matter if we only have the 3rd nuts, and our opponent could have the nuts. So long as our opponent is going to call with a wide range of worse hands we can just chalk it up to bad luck when our opponent flips over a better hand. Don't make the mistake of checking back just because there is a possibility you are beaten.
With medium strength hands it becomes a little more tricky – this is where skill comes into the game. One of two things will be true in this instance -
- Your opponent’s calling range doesn't have enough worse hands compared to better hands. Value-betting won't be profitable, you should fold.
- It's close, but you still think your opponent’s calling range contains slightly more worse hands than better hands. Value-betting in this spot is referred to as making a “thin value-bet”. Making thin value-bets like this is one thing that separates the good players from the really-good ones. You will only able to find these “thin-value” spots if you have done a good job of putting your opponent on a range.
Value Betting Example
CO ($10)
MP ($10)
UTG ($10)
Hero ($10)
SB ($10)
BU ($10)
Pre-flop: Hero is BB with ak
3 folds, BU calls $0.10, SB calls $0.5, Hero raises to $0.50, BU calls $0.40, SB folds.
Flop: ($1.10) k98
Hero bets $0.80, BU calls $0.80.
Turn: ($2.70) 8
Hero bets $1.95, BU calls $1.95
River: ($6.60) 4
Hero bets $4.40, BU calls $4.40
This is a good example of value-betting on all three streets – even though we could be behind by the river.
Pre-flop
We have a strong starting hand, and we want to raise. There is a good chance one of our two opponents will continue with a wide variety of worse hands. We raise for value pre-flop.
Flop
We flop top pair top kicker; our first instinct should be to go immediately for value. Slowplaying here would be a big mistake. There are many worse hands and draws that our opponent can call a bet with. Any straight draw, any flush draw, and any worse king. We bet for value.
Turn
The turn comes an 8. It's certainly true our opponent could have an 8 if he called preflop with something like As8s and didn't want to fold on the flop. It's pretty unlikely though. Ironically, the very fact that an 8 has hit on the turn means our opponent is less likely to be holding an 8, because there are now only 2 left in the deck. Our opponent still has all the draws and worse kings in his range; we fire again for value.
River
The river comes 4, completing a possible flush draw. In some instances this might be a good spot to check-call if you think your opponent will bluff with things like Ah5h, or TdJd. Let's assume this opponent never bluffs; what is the best play, check or bet? A lot of players might get scared here - after all your opponent may hold something like TcJc for the flush or 99 for a slow-played full house. It’s unlikely however. Your opponent would probably have raised any strong made hands (2pair or better) on the flop or turn, and back-door draws only hit a very small percentage of the time. On the other hand your opponent can still call with any worse king, KQ, KJ, KT, Ks6s, Ks5s – perhaps even any pair depending on how bad he is QQ, JJ, 9x etc. So long as you think there are more worse hands calling a bet than better ones (I.e more than 50%), this is a good spot to go for some thin value.
If the river had come the q this would be a very different story. Because unlike the 4, the q hits a huge amount of our opponent’s range, likely giving him the best hand.
Final Word
Your distance from the dealer button
(Less is more)
In Texas Holdem, Position refers to your distance from the dealer button. The closer you are to the button the better your position is. If you are 'on the button' then you are last to act each betting round except the first (the blinds act last before the flop). It makes sense that acting last in poker is better than acting first because you get to see what all the other players do before you have to do something.
In our holdem starting hand suggestions you'll notice that you can play worse hands when you have better position, but be careful, The worse your hand is before the flop, the harder you have to hit the flop to continue.
The power of position is information. By acting last you see what your opponents do before you act. You need to make the best use of that information. For example say the following situation occurs while you are on the button:
| You Hold: | And The Flop Is: | ||
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The board is checked to the person before you who bets. From past experience you know this person is capable of betting a draw even if the draw isn't to the nuts. You raise and force everyone behind you to call two bets if they want to play (and force them to make a bigger mistake with weaker draws like overcard draws and gutshow straights). Without seeing what other players have done before you, your decision isn't as clear.
In this situation, if a solid player raises in front of you, you may choose to drop your hand. So, with the same hole cards and same flop your action may be totally different based on what the players before you do. This is only possible when you have good position.
Best Betting Position In Texas Holdem Poker
On a side note, when you play this hand against a lot of players you would rather have a flop like this:
| Flop |
Why would you rather have a draw than a made hand in this case? Let me count the ways:
- With the made hand (a pair of Tens with a Jack kicker) You may not have the best hand and you may have to pay a lot to find that out by the end of the hand, especially with a flush draw on board. This is one of reasons to raise on the flop with the made hand to reduce the number of players
- You have the top end of a straight draw, so when you make your straight it will be the highest possible straight.
- There is no flush draw.
- If you don't make your straight draw, you will sometimes win when a Jack or a Ten comes.
- When you make your straight, other players are likely to make fairly strong second-best hands
Of course you would really like:
| Flop |
On a related note, if you do happen to flop the nut straight, don't be afraid to play it strongly at your average loose table. You will still get plenty of action from the Queens, Nines, Eights, 67's, Tx's, Jx's and under pairs trying to beat you on the river. Unfortunately for them this is one hand that they'll have a very tough time cracking. This means that when you are last to act you usually want to raise with this hand on the flop and not play it passively.
And as a second side note, don't be afraid to cap the betting on the river should your nut still be the nut then. A very common mistake you will see at low limit holdem tables is to assume the other player also has the nut hand after a raise or re-raise on the river. Don't assume the other player obviously has JT as well--you'll be surprised how often they don't. Really, cap it. Every time.
The Free Card
Another advantage of being in late position (especially in last position) is that you can attempt to gain a free card by raising on the flop. Free cards are not really free but actually half price--you are raising a small bet on the flop with the intention of being able to check on the turn if a helpful card doesn't come.
For example, the following happens again while you are on the button:
| You Hold: | And The Flop Is: | ||
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There is a bet and four callers before you. You have the option of raising here. If the other players are betting or calling with only one pair they will be inclined to check the turn to you.
| Flop | Turn |
At this point you can check the turn and hope to catch a heart on the river. In this particular case if you use this strategy against most low limit hold 'em players it is probably safe to raise the river if your heart comes and someone comes out betting as they will often bet an ace high flush draw strongly the whole way so your king high flush is almost certainly good.
Keep in mind that your opponents are not stupid! If you consistently try to buy a free card whenever you are on the button they will start re-raising you and betting the turn. For this reason, you should raise your strong made hands at least some of the time on the flop (instead of waiting until the turn when the bet size doubles to gain some extra value).
Texas Holdem Betting Guide
If your opponents have seen you purchase a free card and you happen to flop a strong made hand (like a set or top two pair) when you are on or near the dealer button, you will often get additional callers (by hands as weak as bottom or middle pair) if your opponents think there's a good chance that your raise means that you are on a draw. |
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