VALUE BETTING~~please help

[BILLABONG]

I believe this is what its called anyway...If no one raises for example and im in small blind and call with KTo, and i flop top pair with either a king or a ten. Do I bet since how im led to believe I have the best hand>? Or do I check and see what action takes place. I will normally bet as long as I have top pair with a kicker of ten or higher. But im wondering if this is the smart thing to do. Also,if they call me, and the turn is a lower card and I still have top pair, do I keep betting>? For example if the board shows a draw should I put my opponent on that and keep betting with my top pair mid kicker. And if it doesnt show a draw what so ever and he calls my flop bet should I just check/fold the rest of the way down thinking my opponenent has a better hand or kicker then me? What do I do?

[a500lbgorilla]

The answer to many of your questions will come to you with experience. "It depends."

You need reads to play properly.

-'rilla

[dalecooper]

What do I do?

Play more.

Unfacetious answer: seriously, play more. Some things are very hard to explain but you will, in time, figure them out on your own. A lot of the answers are subjective. There's no definitive right or wrong way to play most situations in hold 'em.

Here are things to think about any time you're determining what to do: what are my opponents like? Are they loose or tight? How many of them are in the pot? I might bet top pair with no kicker at all if it was heads up against a tight player. I might not bet top pair with a jack kicker into a pot with lots of people playing, because I know it's not likely to hold up and I'd rather feel out the table before putting any money in. Or I might minimum-bet to see if I get called or raised. "It all depends."

[whileone]

everybody says play more, because there are lots of possibilites.

On the flop, make a pot sized bet. that *should* chase out folks on the draw, if not you'll win in the long run. if somebody calls, you need to decide if your pair of tens is good enough, or if they have you out kicked if you pair the kings.

so that would be my *standard* move. but what if they aren't very good players, if they call everything down? well, top pair top kicker is your bread and butter, but you may not want to risk half your stack. you can bet a little softer in case they make a hand. this is only for the case where they'll call down everything. they're going to see all of the cards no matter how much you bet, so bet appropriate to your stack.

another case is when they bluff a lot. you check they raise you reraise. but you really have to belive that they bet on anything that isn't bet when it gets to them. then you need to decide if they are capable of bluffing against a reraise. if they go over the top, are you going to be able to call? should you call?

the reason people say play a whole lot is, the more times you have to answer these questions, the better you get at answering these questions. you're going to have to spend a lot of time to really get it.

[mcclintok]

One of the uses of the term 'value bet' refers to betting a hand on the river, which you believe to be best. This is done to extract maximum value from your opponents. In this case, the 'it depends' part comes from the likelyhood your opponent will call your bet with a lesser hand.

This is where the amount of the bet in NL comes in (ie. the max your opponent will call). The main caution of course involves the strength of your hand. You do not want to put your self in a situation where your 'value bet' will only be called by a hand that can beat you.

[Chicago_Kid]

What do you guys think about value betting when you aren't sure if you are ahead?

I've read in a HE book (Sklansky, I think) about betting for value when you are unsure if you are ahead, but think it's possible that your hand could stand up, or you could hit another out. Particularly with this player is weak, you get value by pumping a pot that they'll likely call down with 2nd pair, or top pair with weak kick.

I often get antsy betting on the river with, say top pair-mid kicker after I flop top pair, bet, and encounter a re-raise or strong call from an avg/weak player. I think he's increased is EV by getting me to check down to the end, and could buy a card from me. What I've been trying to do is if we both check on the turn, and the river is a blank, I'll bet out for value on the river to try and get a crying call.

I know it depends, but is this a flawed approach? Maybe this IS value betting?