Let me explain what that means first.
A value bet in poker is a bet made with the best hand in order to get value from worse hands. It is easy to value bet when you have a strong hand like a flush or a straight. But the poker pros make value bets with weaker hands like middle pair or bottom pair also.
If there is one thing that stands out to me from playing millions of hands at the lower stakes online it is that most people do not know how to get the max value from their mediocre hands or even their good hands in some cases.
This is especially the case when they are playing against fish. Here for example is a hand against a fish where a clear value bet was missed:
So in this article I am going to break it all down for you step by step. You are going to learn exactly when to make a value bet and when to just check.
What is Value Betting in Poker and Why is It Important?
Value betting as mentioned is simply the act of making a bet when you have the best hand. It is usually pretty easy to tell when you are ahead in poker. You have a strong hand such as top pair and your opponent is just calling. Your opponent probably has a draw or perhaps some worse made hand that he is hanging on with.
If your opponent is a recreational player then he could be calling you with anything including no pair/no draw hands. It is even easier at the micros to know where you stand because most players are extremely passive. When they raise you on the big money streets in particular (turn and river) they are very often letting you know that you are behind.
Value betting is extremely important in poker because as you may have noticed by now it is really frigging hard to make a hand like top pair or better! You need to be getting the maximum value out of them when you do.
Also, many of your opponents (especially at the lower end of the micros, NL2, NL5 and NL10) are incapable of folding. They are literally begging to call you with whatever junk they happen to have. You need to give them the opportunity to do just that.
I discuss this in much more detail by the way in my free poker cheat sheet.
One of the biggest ways that people shoot themselves in the foot at these stakes is by thinking that pots will magically build themselves. This is not going to happen in most cases because extremely passive players don't like to bet without a big hand.
They will call you down all day but if you give them the opportunity to check with their middle pair, gutshot or queen high they will usually take it.
One of the biggest ways that people shoot themselves in the foot at these stakes is by thinking that pots will magically build themselves. This is not going to happen in most cases because extremely passive players don't like to bet without a big hand.
They will call you down all day but if you give them the opportunity to check with their middle pair, gutshot or queen high they will usually take it.
Therefore, please remember this: If you want to win a big pot at the micros you almost always need to build it yourself. Let's look at a couple of common value betting scenarios at the micros versus bad players.
Villain is a 26/7/2 SLP (semi-loose passive) with a 30% WTSD (went to showdown).
Villain limps from UTG+1
Hero raises from the CO with K♥J♠
Villain calls
The flop comes,
J♦6♣8♦
Villain checks
Hero???
First off this should definitely be a standard preflop raise. I don't want to get into a deep discussion of preflop strategy in this article but as I have discussed many times before you should be isolating bad players like this frequently and especially when in position. We actually have a reasonable hand in this example. I would isolate this player with far worse here, half the deck for sure.
So we flop top pair, now what? Well again, this should be a fairly straight forward CBet after the villain checks. As I noted above it is important to build the pot at these limits and not expect a passive fish like this to do it for you.
Checking back here to be "tricky" is a huge mistake at these limits. You don't need to balance anything against a player like this whose only concern is his own two cards and what he thinks of them. Just value bet 100% of the time here.
I also don't want to get into a big discussion of bet sizing in this article. When value betting versus a recreational player it should almost always be 75% of the pot or more. Check out a recent article of mine for more on optimal bet size amounts at these stakes.
Hero CBets
The turn comes,
T♠
Villain checks
Hero???
This isn't the greatest turn card in the deck. It completes a few draws such as 97 and Q9 and perhaps makes a few two pairs such as T8 or JT. However, we always need to remember that these hands only represent a small portion of this player's overall range.
He has plenty of other hands that we beat and he would love to call a bet with them. These include, T9, QJ, QT, J9, A8, K8, Q8, 98, 87, 99 and any two diamonds. I think I am being conservative here. With a bad player like this there definitely could be more hands added to this list.
Hero bets
The river comes,
2♦
Villain checks
Hero???
Once again the river isn't the best card in the deck for us because it completes the flush but it certainly isn't the worst card either. A lot of regs at the micros will freeze up here though and choose to just check behind for the showdown.
This is a major mistake.
You are throwing away EV (expected value) by not making a value bet here. Remember that villain can still have any of those one pair hands that we listed above on the turn. And what do SLP fish with a 30% WTSD like to do? Call of course.
Please don't worry about being check/raised in this spot either. If the opponent here check/raises us we are folding 100% of the time. Why?
Because passive players at the micros do not check/raise the river without the nuts. Most regs today at the lower end of the micros are still not making the bet on the end here. Don't throw away easy money like this. Always value bet here.
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Villain is a 52/12/2 Whale with a 34% WTSD with a 0% Fold to 3Bet.
Villain raises from the CO
Hero 3Bets on the BTN with 9♣9♠
Villain calls
The flop comes,
T♠7♦2♥
Villain checks
Hero???
It is certainly not a crime to just flat preflop here and maybe let some other bad players in. However, since we have a pretty strong hand in position against a fish who doesn't fold anything I would prefer to just juice up the pot here a little bit.
Once again on the flop this is not the time to be getting tricky. Yes there is one overcard but there are simply so many hands that a bad player like this will continue with including ace high.
Hero CBets
The turn comes,
Q♠
Villain checks
Hero???
The turn isn't the best card in the deck but it is not the worst either. While it is another overcard to our pair it does seem odd why somebody would ever have a queen in their hand here though. However, you should never put something like that past a huge whale like this.
We know that a player like this could have easily floated the flop out of position with plenty of no pair/no draw hands which may have a queen in them.
Since this is a 3Bet pot I would recommend just checking behind here in order to prevent the size of the pot from getting out of control. The biggest reason why is because we don't really have a lot to gain by betting here. Villain will likely fold all of the made hands that we beat because it is starting to get really expensive for him to continue.
Conversely, he will happily call along with all of his made hands that beat us and any of the few draws available on this board. Therefore, betting again here is mostly a lose/lose situation for us because we can't get much action from worse hands and we simply build a bigger pot for hands that have us crushed.
Hero checks
The river comes,
6♥
Villain checks
Hero???
This is a classic thin value bet spot. We need to be betting for value here. This hand is similar in many ways to the last one because a passive bad opponent has checked to us on the river. This typically indicates weakness. And as we mentioned before, if he does happen to be sandbagging something big he will let us know and it will be the easiest fold in the world.
Something that I like to mention with regards to thin value betting is that you should be getting looked up from time to time by better hands. If you make a bet here and a recreational player calls and flips over something silly from time to time like QJ or T8 you shouldn't feel like you made a bad play.
Poker Value Bet Example: NL2 Full Ring
Villain is a 26/7/2 SLP (semi-loose passive) with a 30% WTSD (went to showdown).
Villain limps from UTG+1
Hero raises from the CO with K♥J♠
Villain calls
The flop comes,
J♦6♣8♦
Villain checks
Hero???
First off this should definitely be a standard preflop raise. I don't want to get into a deep discussion of preflop strategy in this article but as I have discussed many times before you should be isolating bad players like this frequently and especially when in position. We actually have a reasonable hand in this example. I would isolate this player with far worse here, half the deck for sure.
So we flop top pair, now what? Well again, this should be a fairly straight forward CBet after the villain checks. As I noted above it is important to build the pot at these limits and not expect a passive fish like this to do it for you.
Checking back here to be "tricky" is a huge mistake at these limits. You don't need to balance anything against a player like this whose only concern is his own two cards and what he thinks of them. Just value bet 100% of the time here.
I also don't want to get into a big discussion of bet sizing in this article. When value betting versus a recreational player it should almost always be 75% of the pot or more. Check out a recent article of mine for more on optimal bet size amounts at these stakes.
Hero CBets
The turn comes,
T♠
Villain checks
Hero???
This isn't the greatest turn card in the deck. It completes a few draws such as 97 and Q9 and perhaps makes a few two pairs such as T8 or JT. However, we always need to remember that these hands only represent a small portion of this player's overall range.
He has plenty of other hands that we beat and he would love to call a bet with them. These include, T9, QJ, QT, J9, A8, K8, Q8, 98, 87, 99 and any two diamonds. I think I am being conservative here. With a bad player like this there definitely could be more hands added to this list.
Hero bets
The river comes,
2♦
Villain checks
Hero???
Once again the river isn't the best card in the deck for us because it completes the flush but it certainly isn't the worst card either. A lot of regs at the micros will freeze up here though and choose to just check behind for the showdown.
This is a major mistake.
You are throwing away EV (expected value) by not making a value bet here. Remember that villain can still have any of those one pair hands that we listed above on the turn. And what do SLP fish with a 30% WTSD like to do? Call of course.
Please don't worry about being check/raised in this spot either. If the opponent here check/raises us we are folding 100% of the time. Why?
Because passive players at the micros do not check/raise the river without the nuts. Most regs today at the lower end of the micros are still not making the bet on the end here. Don't throw away easy money like this. Always value bet here.
My Free Poker Cheat Sheet Teaches You How to Make $1000 a Month From Poker
Are you struggling to beat the low stakes poker games? Do you want a simple step by step guide to show you exactly how to start winning consistently right now?
That is why I recently wrote this free little 50 page no BS guide to teach you exactly how to start crushing these games right now.
You will learn how to start consistently making $1000 a month (or more) from poker like I have as a 10+ year poker pro.
Enter your details below and I will send my free poker cheat sheet to your email right now.
Poker Value Bet Example: NL5 6max
Villain is a 52/12/2 Whale with a 34% WTSD with a 0% Fold to 3Bet.
Villain raises from the CO
Hero 3Bets on the BTN with 9♣9♠
Villain calls
The flop comes,
T♠7♦2♥
Villain checks
Hero???
It is certainly not a crime to just flat preflop here and maybe let some other bad players in. However, since we have a pretty strong hand in position against a fish who doesn't fold anything I would prefer to just juice up the pot here a little bit.
Once again on the flop this is not the time to be getting tricky. Yes there is one overcard but there are simply so many hands that a bad player like this will continue with including ace high.
Hero CBets
The turn comes,
Q♠
Villain checks
Hero???
The turn isn't the best card in the deck but it is not the worst either. While it is another overcard to our pair it does seem odd why somebody would ever have a queen in their hand here though. However, you should never put something like that past a huge whale like this.
We know that a player like this could have easily floated the flop out of position with plenty of no pair/no draw hands which may have a queen in them.
Since this is a 3Bet pot I would recommend just checking behind here in order to prevent the size of the pot from getting out of control. The biggest reason why is because we don't really have a lot to gain by betting here. Villain will likely fold all of the made hands that we beat because it is starting to get really expensive for him to continue.
Conversely, he will happily call along with all of his made hands that beat us and any of the few draws available on this board. Therefore, betting again here is mostly a lose/lose situation for us because we can't get much action from worse hands and we simply build a bigger pot for hands that have us crushed.
Hero checks
The river comes,
6♥
Villain checks
Hero???
This is a classic thin value bet spot. We need to be betting for value here. This hand is similar in many ways to the last one because a passive bad opponent has checked to us on the river. This typically indicates weakness. And as we mentioned before, if he does happen to be sandbagging something big he will let us know and it will be the easiest fold in the world.
Something that I like to mention with regards to thin value betting is that you should be getting looked up from time to time by better hands. If you make a bet here and a recreational player calls and flips over something silly from time to time like QJ or T8 you shouldn't feel like you made a bad play.
See my ultimate poker beginner's cheat sheet for more on this.
If you are not getting looked up by better hands like this on occasion then this should be cause for concern. This is because it is likely that you are not making enough thin value bets. If on the other hand you are frequently getting looked up by better hands then you are probably value betting too thin.
Always remember that these value bets on the river can make a huge difference to your winrate in the long run because they are often for significant amounts like 20bb. If you miss just one of these opportunities every thousand hands a little simple math tells us that you have just thrown away 2bb/100 in EV.
This is an absolutely massive amount in today's games. Don't be like all of the other bad regs in these games and check back without thinking in spots like this.
I hope this article helps some of you struggling to make the right value bets at the lower limits. If you aren't having the success that you want right now you should go back to the very basics of this game and ask yourself if you are getting the maximum value from the recreational players.
Always remember that they are the entire reason why we play this game. You should always be making them pay the maximum.
Make sure you pick up a copy of my free poker strategy guide to learn exactly how I beat the lower stakes online for some of the highest winnings ever recorded.
If you enjoyed this article please "Like" or "Tweet" it below. Thanks!
If you are not getting looked up by better hands like this on occasion then this should be cause for concern. This is because it is likely that you are not making enough thin value bets. If on the other hand you are frequently getting looked up by better hands then you are probably value betting too thin.
Always remember that these value bets on the river can make a huge difference to your winrate in the long run because they are often for significant amounts like 20bb. If you miss just one of these opportunities every thousand hands a little simple math tells us that you have just thrown away 2bb/100 in EV.
This is an absolutely massive amount in today's games. Don't be like all of the other bad regs in these games and check back without thinking in spots like this.
Final Thoughts
I hope this article helps some of you struggling to make the right value bets at the lower limits. If you aren't having the success that you want right now you should go back to the very basics of this game and ask yourself if you are getting the maximum value from the recreational players.
Always remember that they are the entire reason why we play this game. You should always be making them pay the maximum.
Make sure you pick up a copy of my free poker strategy guide to learn exactly how I beat the lower stakes online for some of the highest winnings ever recorded.
If you enjoyed this article please "Like" or "Tweet" it below. Thanks!
Another great post! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteI am working my way through your first book and have also bought your second.
I am prepping myself for NL, but am playing 25-50 cent limit right now.
I consistently am playing against opponents who stay in with just junk but too often manage to hit a winning hand on the turn and river. Even if they eventually go broke playing this way another like player takes their place.
Any advice to thwart these players?
Thanks!
Chris
Thanks Chris! It has been a long time since I played limit hold'em regularly but yes this tends to happen more in that game. You just have to keep pushing mathematical edges with the knowledge that you will win in the long run.
DeleteThanks for the pep talk! I will keep at it. At least I am playing just above break-even which is better than losing!!
DeleteLoving your first book. I printed out your starting hand chart and keep it next to the laptop. I am making a betting chart based on your advice next. I am using PT4 for hand review and using your Lite HUD. If/when I start winning regularly I should send you a cut!
Haha no need Chris. Glad to hear that CTM is helping. All the best when you start with the no limit games.
DeleteMan, you spooked me... It seems that when I am having trouble with some spot in my game, there you are, writing about it!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!
Yes, I am one of those IP guys who fear the check raise on the river from the one fish checking and calling.
I guess it is for me just like Tri "slowhabit" Nguyen wrote in one of his books: I give people too much credit...
But you are right, problem is me, not the fish.
And what should concern me also, is that some other good players may see this leak and play accordingly, Ii know, it´s low stakes but not all of them are bad players.
Thanks again Nathan!!!
Guillermo
Haha glad to help Guillermo!
DeleteGreat great great!
ReplyDeleteThank you Derek!
DeleteHi nathan. .what about the bet size? R u going for standard 2/3 bet or something like 1/3 to encourage more calls?
ReplyDeleteIt really depends on what I think they can call with. If there are a lot of hands in their range that will look me up then I will make it 2/3 or 3/4. If I think that they will be mostly hero calling me with a third pair or ace high then I might bet as little as 1/4 pot or 1/3 pot.
DeleteOn the first hand it was a little ugly looking but at least you had top pair with a good kicker, so if he does have AJ/JT it just is what it is, if he was on the flush draw and check raises, again easy fold. The second hand is the situation that gets me. I could go either way on 3betting the 9's, although I like just calling and hoping the blinds come in and give good odds to flop a set and hopefully win a monster pot. Plus still have position the rest of the hand.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find is people call 3bets with any two cards. I'd say 90-95% of my 3bets are called(I play nl5 and 10 on Bovada) and i usually 3bet close to pot. When he check/calls a T high flop(3/4 pot bet?) I am NOT liking it. I'm worried it's one of those situations where you are going to be way behind and you're going to be betting his hand for him unless a 9 comes. When the Q comes it totally sucks cause another thing I've found is they are calling me down with AK/AQ/KQ/KJ/QJ no pair or draw. So I'm with you on the KJ hand, but in my experience I'm gonna get burned on that 99 hand more often than not, it's just too thin for me. This is one of the most frustrating aspects of the micros, is almost literally NEVER being able to just 3bet and induce a fold, they just call and then you have no clue where in the hell they are postflop. If they don't fold to flop aggression, gotta go into "Uh-Oh" mode without a pretty big hand in 3bet pots...Thanks for your work as always!
Thanks for your thoughts and the kind words Adam :)
DeleteHi Nathan, i am a new player and I'm thinking about buy your 1st book "crushin the microstakes", but my fear is the information of the book be outdated. Also read someone in a forum who said that the book has an updated of 2013 or something.
ReplyDeleteI like to know if this is true, and If it's possible to beat the micros 2-5 at 15bb/100 with the book.
I would appreciate your sincerity on the answer.
Hi Oscar,
DeleteCrushing the Microstakes is still highly relevant to the NL2 and NL5 games today as well as low stakes live games. It includes the strategies and approach that I used to post some of the highest winrates and winnings in history in these games. Yes, I did also make some small updates to the book in 2013.
I don't want to speculate on winrates because it depends on the reader and how willing they are to apply the information at the tables.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete