Value betting is extremely important in poker because as you may have noticed by now it is really frigging hard to make a hand like top pair or better! You need to be getting the maximum value out of them when you do. When they raise you on the big money streets in particular (turn and river) they are very often letting you know that you are behind. It is even easier at the micros to know where you stand because most players are extremely passive. If your opponent is a recreational player then he could be calling you with anything including no pair/no draw hands. Your opponent probably has a draw or perhaps some worse made hand that he is hanging on with.
You have a strong hand such as top pair and your opponent is just calling. It is usually pretty easy to tell when you are ahead in poker. Value betting as mentioned is simply the act of making a bet when you have the best hand. What is Value Betting in Poker and Why is It Important? You are going to learn exactly when to make a value bet and when to just check. So in this article I am going to break it all down for you step by step.
