[barryg1]

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Is Barry G. saying he himself never makes probe bets, esp. against weak players? Doubt it. He likely does it very often.
This is why its also usually a good idea to lead out when you hit a set when you are out of position and were not the PFR, especially against a strong player, as the PFR is more likely to raise than fold to your bet.

Right, so like I said, please Barry raise my "probe bet" when i hit my set.

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1. When you play no-limit, you have to read players and interpret their bets. Like everyone else, I make mistakes, but I often am able to deduce whether someone is making a defensive bet on the flop, turn, or river. I don't call with a small pair or fold with nothing -- I raise and put my opponents to the test.

2. I had to learn to make some of these value bets on the river against weak players in tournaments who will pay me off. In higher-stakes games, that kind of dinky bet would be asking for a raise.

3. Of course against a good player you may want to occasionally mix it up and make a dinky bet with a good hand or bet into him with the nuts, when he has the betting lead. But sometimes when he has an overpair he may get away when you reraise because he will put you on a set, whereas he might have put the reraise in and lost all his chips if you had made a straightforward check-raise.

4. In summary, you play each player differently and sometimes you will make a misstep. Players who read poker books will do better because they learn to play a better set of hands and they learn the value of their hands after the flop. This gives them an edge over the people they normally play against. But I think the increased education doesn't hurt me because it tends to make my opponents more predictable.

Barry