[Small Fry]

A value bet is simply making a bet that you feel will be called by a worse hand. It is typically made on the river.

In scenario 1 a bet on the river is definitley a value bet as you expect the player to call with probably a King (weak kicker) You hope he raises as you will still most likely have the best hand...only pocket kings and pocket Jacks beat you. The next question is his, assuming you bet and he raises, is his hand good enough to call a reraise by you and how strong would it have to be for him to reraise. If he only has King, rag he might not call your reraise so there is no value to be made. And if he reraises does he do this with 2 pair or deos he need at least a set?

Example 2. Only hands that beat you are full houses. Most players riviering the boat would bet out for fear of you checking behind. You need a really strong hand to bet this river, which you have, but he doesn't know that. You could easily have a pair of Jacks. You might call a bet with that but (value) betting this river with just a pair of Jacks might not be best. What calls you that you beat? To value bet you need to get a worse hand to call.

Value betting is based on reads and opponents tendencies. A player that will call you all day with middle pair you value bet your top pair all day long. But if another player will only call you with a hand thats better there is no value to be gained.

Another situation is against straight forward and tricky players. If you make a value bet against a straight forward player and get raised you can usually be sure they have a fairly strong hand. You now need to determine how your hand fairs against this raise and decide to call or fold (saving a bet) Against a tricky player it becomes much tougher as they will also raise as a bluff. You could now fold the winning hand. So it pays to know your opponents, what they're capable of and use that information before making your decisions.


Hope that helps. Good luck