This week's thought provoking Post

[thomastem]

Hold'em on the River: Value bet vs checking.

You've bet the flop on because since the flop 1 or more draws are out there and you can't afford to give a free card. The river comes and giving free cards is no longer an issue. Should you bet or check?

The general concept is that if your opponent will only call or raise your river bet with a stronger hand but fold with a weaker one then check and if your opponent will call with a lessor hand bet for value. To be proficient at this takes skill in reading opponents and cards.

I believe this part of the game is seldom discussed BUT if you do the math it can be a very large percentage of profit. If you correctly play this concept you will make/save 1-2 Big bets each time.

If you could improve this decision by just 1 more correct play every 2 hours over your current rate it will increase your win rate by 1/2 a BB per hour or a 25% increase in profit if you were at 2 BB's per hour already. Substantial in my book.

Since Cup and others branded me as condensing in last week's post I am only going to post the topic but will let all of you handle the replies. I am available if anyone wants to discuss by PM.

Enjoy.

[G Money]

Yo mother fu...ink title is conde....what the f(*& evuh.

I got yo provoke right here.

[PapaSan]

where's iceman?

[G Money]

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where's iceman?

[/ QUOTE ]

Who? Ya'll mean Ice Tea? He a poser who wish he were Spike Lee.

Now get stepp'n fore I shizzle yo nizzle and get yo mammas sizzle!

[Oski]

[ QUOTE ]
where's iceman?

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Its a very nice day here in Southern California. I'd be willing to bet that Ice Man and Crew are outside playing some beach volleyball.

[Ice Man]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
where's iceman?

[/ QUOTE ]

Its a very nice day here in Southern California. I'd be willing to bet that Ice Man and Crew are outside playing some beach volleyball.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, I spent my day cooling my jets watching the Bourne Supremacy. Man, the whole thing is thinly-veiled homoeroticism, unlike Top Gun.

Its too hot out to play "V-ball" with the flyboys. Too much sun is unsafe, especially on a hot day. I don't like hot days because they are dangerous. Heat exhaustion can cause your ego to write checks that your body can't cash. At the very least, it leaves a bad taste in my pants.

I'm not interested in taking the Hershey Highway to the Danger Zone.

[Oski]

[ QUOTE ]

The general concept is that if your opponent will only call or raise your river bet with a stronger hand but fold with a weaker one then check and if your opponent will call with a lessor hand bet for value. To be proficient at this takes skill in reading opponents and cards.



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This is a (James)worthy topic. I think a lot of players make the mistake of betting when they will be called or raised by a better hand. Also, I think there is a lot of value in inducing bluffs. If you check, many times the resulting bet is a bluff attempt - very often if the player has something decent, he will check to see the showdown for no additional money, especially if you have a propensity for checkraising. But, when its a bet, it often is a bluff.