In my Introduction to Value in Texas Hold'em article I go through the basics of value in poker. If you haven't yet, you should read it now.
Anyway, in the article above, I write about how you can recognize a bad player from not knowing how to value bet. Bad players miss out on value because they simply don't have any idea of the concept. Maybe they don't even know why they play poker - to beat other players or to win money. This can be clearly seen in the way they value bet - actually, in the way they don't value bet.
It's probably the feeling when you get your opponent to bet, and then you can check-raise him, maybe even get him all-in this way. You feel like you're the best player in the whole world. Here, bad players only see the good stuff (you managed to get him all-in) and not the many-times-obvious truth - you just missed a great deal of value. If check-raising the opponent is successful 1/20 of the time (otherwise he'll check behind) and betting leads to a call 15/20 of the time, doesn't it sound better to just get the bet in? No, you don't make any extra money, points, or anything from making as tricky plays as possible. You will make extra money by making as profitable plays as possible.
Generally, you should go for straightforward poker. Try to get those bets in without giving your opponent unnecessary free cards. It's much harder for him to believe you've got a strong hand than to believe otherwise. Check-raising is also many times a pretty obvious sign of a strong hand, because it's such a risk to take without a great hand. You'll have to be able to read your opponent so well in order to demonstrate a bluffing check-raise successfully. Other players will be able to identify your hand easier when you check-raise.
Getting your opponent to raise a bet is (generally, again) much easier to achieve. Player's raising range is definitely wider than his bet-calling range after being checked to.
Sometimes it's good to make tricky plays though. The times when you shouldn't play tricky poker, are especially dry boards. With a hand like JT on a J52 board you should definitely go for straightforward play majority of the time. On the flop, let's say you bet and your opponent calls. Turn is a 7. Yes, the board is still dry, but what are you going to check-raise here against? If you check and he indeed bets, do you think you're leading? Even if you are, when you raise his bet and he decides to continue, you're just not winning anymore too often.
Rather, make a bet. He'll call you on that flop with a lot of hands (unless you're super-tight). If he calls you here, you already make the money you would actually make in case he'd bet and you would check-raise.
What if we know he's got a hand like KJ, and this time turn is a T. I think this is a very, very common situation for value mistakes. You're now with a better hand against KJ on a JT52 board. He called you on the flop, but since a card like this comes and you check, there's a fairly good chance he'll just end up checking behind. Why? Because he's not in love with this situation. He doesn't want to get raised here - in fact, he's in huge trouble when you check-raise him. He'd rather check now and then if you bet on river, he'll call. Can you see what I mean now?
If you just bet on turn, he'll call, and I'd say most of the times you're going to get called on river too (unless you make a very weird-sized bet). Checking on turn would generally be a major mistake, and at the same time a common mistake for new players.
|
|
