for value vs. semibluff

[SenecaJim]

I understand low limit loose, bet for value. tougher, tigter game, semi bluff. But what is the actual difference between the two. Both are the same act with different reasons??

[royaltrux]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but semi-bluff is when you have a hand that figures to be the best hand when all is said and done (but not at the moment) and value betting is when you figure to have the best hand at the moment even if it's a mediocre made one.

[SenecaJim]

I thought that if you have a 4 flush in hold'em, especially drawing to the nuts, that you should bet or raise in a loose low limit game ( even though you don't have best hand probably, at the time).

[axioma]

a semibluff is a play in which you bet or raise, without figuring you hand best necessarily, that has 2 ways to win: your opponent(s) can fold immediately (which is generally what you are hoping for), or if they call, your hand can improve to beat theirs on the next card.

Occasionally, your hand actually is the best at the moment of betting/raiseing, and your attempted semibluff has actually turned out to be a value bet, which is another advantage of the play.

there are many situations where either a pure bluff or a value bet are -EV, but the aspects of both that are combined in the semibluff total to a profitable bet/raise.

[pzhon]

[ QUOTE ]
I understand low limit loose, bet for value. tougher, tigter game, semi bluff. But what is the actual difference between the two. Both are the same act with different reasons??

[/ QUOTE ]
Suppose you have an OESD on a rainbow board, and almost no high card value.

In the loose low-limit game, there will be several other players in the pot. The pot will often be huge, encouraging people to call. If several people will call your bet, then for every chip you put into the pot, you will get back more than one chip from the times you make your straight or perhaps runner-runner trips. That is betting for value.

In the tight game, you are likely to be heads-up, and the pot will be small. You will more frequently win the pot when you bet. Suppose you are up against one player. If you bet and are called, every chip you put into the pot might only give you back 2/3 of a chip. It costs you something to bet and get called. However, your opponent might fold, and that possibility may make it worthwhile to bet. That is a semi-bluff.

In the actual game, things are more complicated. For example, you might be in a 3-way pot and push out a better made hand by semi-bluff raising, while a big draw stays in and loses to you at showdown. When you bet, you might not know how many callers you will get. If many, you may have been betting for value, but you might pick up the pot, or slow other players down so they don't charge you as much on later streets. There may be a chance that you have the best hand. Despite the complications, the ideas of betting a draw for value and of semi-bluffing are useful.

[Noo Yawk]

A value bet has the expectation of a call from a worse hand. It can be Ace high or a royal flush, but you expect a worse hand to call.

A semi-bluff gains it's equity from the chances you will get a probable better hand to fold, but if they call or raise, you still have outs to make a better hand. Those two probabilities combined are what gives the play a positive expectation.