Why do we bet?

[JRegs]

I understand the two standard reasons for betting on the end -

1. Getting a worse hand to call (value bet) OR

2. Getting a better hand to fold (bluff)

Is this true for no-limit and pot-limit games?
What if you bet a small amount with a marginal hand in order to avoid a potential bluff from an opponent? For example, I remember a NL hand shown on the WPT a few months ago. Greenstein and Randy Jensen were playing heads-up. Greenstein checks his pair of sixes on the river out of position, just like he's supposed to. Jensen bets $250,000 into the $450,000 pot (I don't know if the numbers are exactly correct, but the idea is there). Now what? You can't just go around calling bets that size with a small pair...but a good player like Jensen certainly could be bluffing. Barry ended up folding, and Jensen won the pot with his nine-high.

What if Barry had bet out 125,000? For obvious reasons, Jensen would probably have thought twice about bluffing at the pot, and Barry would have saved himself the 450,000 pot.

Of course, this is player dependent. But we all know that in no-limit and pot-limit games, many players will be much less likely to bluff at a pot when facing a bet (as opposed to having it checked) for obvious reasons.

Is this a valid reason to bet a small amount (like 1/4 or 1/3 of the pot)?

[AncientPC]

Yes, they're called blocking bets for NL.

[applej25]

How about: To gain information.

[k_squared]

[ QUOTE ]
Of course, this is player dependent. But we all know that in no-limit and pot-limit games, many players will be much less likely to bluff at a pot when facing a bet (as opposed to having it checked) for obvious reasons.

Is this a valid reason to bet a small amount (like 1/4 or 1/3 of the pot)?

[/ QUOTE ]

The problem is that if you only bet that amount to block then your strategy becomes transparent. You have to have emough times in which you would bet the same amount into the pot with a big hand and on a complete bluff so that your opponents are not sure what a bet of that size means! NL is a game that requires you to keep your opponenets more on their heels than limit.

k_squared

[Cooker]

I agree. In general, blocking bets are so transparent, they beg your opponent to steal the pot right now. If you are going to bother with them, you probably have to fake block bet/reraise with big hands as well to keep from getting run over. Still, I think they are probably a poor strategy, but I am nowhere near an expert.

[k_squared]

I am not sure it is a 'poor strategy' as much as one that has to be carefully applied to your game in a intentional way. If you are using them then you had better be using them in such a way that it isn't merely obvious what you are doing. In fact, another time it becomes appropriate to make a bet like that is when you have a monster and want to bet for value so give them enough odds to call with weaker hands. If that is a play you do employ then a blocking bet might work in your game. It is just that no matter what strategies you employ it has to fit your style in such a way that it is not easy for your opponents to read what you are doing.

-k_squared

[Spekkio]

The lesson here is to have position.

Even if he bets a "blocker bet", the late position person could raise all-in. You'd be crazy to call that with a pair of 6's, unless you had one hell of a read. The person in EP didn't feel like taking a chance with his pair of 6's, and conceded the hand without risking any more money.