blonde poker forum

this isnt a particuarly exciting or big hand. just a question about value betting. this is one of the weaknesses in my game. when im pretty certain i have the best hand but not entirely, i tend to check the river through, when instead i could have got a value bet in on the end. heres an example of a hand i recently played



Seat 1: TRILEX ( 1,650 )
Seat 2: plazapete ( 1,790 )
Seat 3: Klabauter080 ( 2,410 )
Seat 4: Edgy811 ( 5,020 )
Seat 6: RaZZ_Call ( 1,510 )
Seat 7: blackie71 ( 1,730 )
Seat 8: Flack76 ( 2,020 )
Seat 9: Farseer4ik ( 1,260 )
Seat 10: achim1959111 ( 2,610 )
Trny: 33992146 Level: 2
 Blinds(30/60)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Edgy811 [  Qc Qh ]
TRILEX folds
plazapete folds
Klabauter080 folds
Edgy811 raises [180]
RaZZ_Call folds
blackie71 folds
Flack76 folds
Farseer4ik folds
achim1959111 calls [120]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 3h, 7s, 9d ]
achim1959111 checks
Edgy811 bets [220]
achim1959111 calls [220]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 3s ]
achim1959111 checks
Edgy811 bets [700]
achim1959111 calls [700]
** Dealing River ** [ 4h ]
achim1959111 checks


ok, so im pretty sure i got the best hand, but there is a possibility he is slow playing a set or somethin on me. no flush draw on the flop but possible straight draw he could be chasing. should i put a value bet on the river, and if so how much? or should i play safe and check it through?

also, is there a general set % of the pot u should bet as a value bet

This is pretty much about your reading abilities and whether your opponent has a read on you.

In the hand you post I would try a quarter to half pot bet.  My main reasons would be that your hand is not easily read, no obvious draw has hit and your opponent hasn't shown any strength. 

On the other hand, if you had AK on an ace high board there is a clear difference in that your hand can be defined by a sensible opponent i.e when you bet the turn you have almost def a hand no worse than ace very good kicker.  (In fact I am generally worried here if my flop bet gets called by a good player!) So in this situation there is a much tighter range of hands that are likely to call.  (Although the range depends on the player.) 

The other factor is what you do if you are raised.  Although you face a similar decision by check calling, you should still have some idea what you are going to do if raised.  Once again this depends on your read on your opponent - but clearly a sensible opponent knows that you will find it difficult to fold AK unless an obvious draw has come in.  The situation is further complicated by tournament dynamics in that a big stack might put you to a decision for your tournament if you bet, but leave enough behind to be able to fold to a reraise. 

Finally, would it be better to check to induce a bluff?  Once again very read dependent. 

So it really comes down to reading opponents well and assessing whether your hand is easily read.  I only wish that it was simple to do either of these...   

You bet here and sell it for as much as you think 9x will pay you. Dont worry about being craised, cross that hurldle when you get there.

I don't think a set check calls 3 times here

more likely he is trying to get to showdown as cheaply as possible with A9/A7/88 etc

you can't check here as check check is too likely and you miss a bet

bet something like 50-75% of the pot, not too little.  Call a raise, which I would consider unlikely

Pocket 7's an unilkely hand you think?!?

As doubleup says, this would be player dependent for me, ie against a tricky/good player I would check. Against a not so good player I would set them in