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 Let
me introduce myself – I’m David. Some people know me as “Friar Tuck”, but my friends call me Tuck or Tuchman.
I’ve been playing poker professionally for a little more than two years. Until recently, I was
a prop at the Bicycle Casino – we’ll touch on that in a little bit. For the past year, I’ve
done the commentary for a show called Live at the Bike. If you’re on this website, I’m going
to take for granted that you’ve heard of the site.
Well this brings me to the subject of this article. Value betting – it’s something the best
players all do and for so many reasons. How many of you have played a hand that goes something
like this…you have A/K in late position and you decide to open raise. The big blind, a fairly
straight forward player, calls you. The flop comes out ace/queen/four. The big blind checks
and you bet. He calls. Hmm, what might he have? The turn is an inconsequential eight. The big
blind checks to you again. You decide he probably has a weaker ace than you - why not make him
pay to hit his 2nd pair. You bet again. The river brings a four - pairing the bottom card.
Once again the big blind taps the table and the action is on you. Now the pot is already very
large and you’re both rather deep - should you bet the river? How many of you think, nah - the
pot is big enough already. What could he call me with? I don’t want to get check-raised. In my
humble opinion, this is a must bet. What was your original read? You thought he had a weaker ace, right?
In Limit Hold’em it’s an automatic bet, but for some reason players chicken out in No-Limit.
If he has ace/queen - you probably would have heard from him by now. This is the time to
really punish your opponent. Don’t give him a free showdown. Make him pay, and make him pay
dearly. Bet an amount that will really put him to the test. Don’t make it look like you want a
call.
I hope you’re following me here. If you make it look like you don’t want to be called, you
just might get that big bet on the river paid off. I’m not saying to over bet the pot – just
don’t make it look like a “value” bet. If you get called, great! You’ve just made yourself
some real money. If you don’t get called, that’s fine also. Don’t show your cards,
rake in the
pot and leave your opponent wondering if they were just bluffed out of the pot.
I play and watch an incredible amount of No-Limit Hold’em and the more I watch, the more I see
the same betting patterns over and over again. Most good, but not great players will only bet
the river if they have a huge hand or a bluff. They are not interested in “value” betting the
river with their marginal hands. When I and you play against these types of players, it puts
us in a real good spot because when they bet the river, you’ll be better equipped to either call or fold.
Okay, stay with me here. You’re faced with a real tough decision on the river. You’ve checked
to your opponent with a good, but not great hand. You’ve essentially induced a bluff and sure
enough your opponent bites. He tosses in a big bet, but now you’re not so sure he’s bluffing.
Now, if you know that your opponent normally checks down his marginal hands, you now know that
he’s either bluffing or he’s got an absolute monster. You can replay the hand in your head
from start to finish. It’s all a story. There’s a beginning, middle, and an end. If he has
what he’s trying to represent it’ll usually make sense. Does it? Do you think he has that
monster? Or could he be bluffing? By not betting his marginal hands, he is making it that much
easier for you to deduce what he has.
Some players will claim that there is no point to betting the river unless you can get a
better hand out or a weaker hand to pay you off. I say there is value anyway. How about the
value of not having to show your cards – leave your opponents guessing. If you’re the kind of
player who bets his marginal hands on the river, it’ll be that much harder to figure out where
you’re at. That’s the kind of opponent I hate playing against…that’s the kind of player I want to become.
Of course, this is just my 2 cents…I hope you’ve enjoyed it.
Live at the Bike |
