Betting in Texas Holdem

You think you have the best hand and can win more money
This is the simplest type of bet, and is often called a value bet. You make this type of bet when you want to get called. This is a pretty straightforward concept, but note that you should not make a value bet (especially on the river) unless you think there is a good chance of getting called by a worse hand. There are frequent cases where a bet is a big mistake even though it's very likely you have the best hand, because a worse hand will not call you but a better hand will. For example, let's say you have AJ and you bet the flop of J89. Your top pair looks strong so you bet again when a 2 comes on the turn. Now the river is a Ten and your lone opponent checks to you. Even though you still have top pair and probably the best hand, you should also check. If you bet, it is almost impossible for your opponent to call you unless he has made a straight. If he doesn't have a straight he will fold, so your bet has not benefitted you. If he does have a straight you will lose the hand whether you bet or not, but by betting you will lose more money. So you can see that your final bet could lose you money, but could not make you money. This is a common enough situation that it is well worth remembering.

You think your opponent has a weak hand and will fold
This is largely the opposite of the value bet, and includes the common idea of a bluff. A bluff is a bet that you don't want to be called. But note that a "pure" bluff is made with a hand that has little or no chance of winning if shown down, whereas players more typically make this type of bet with hands that have some value to them. This is often called a semi-bluff because it combines some elements of a bluff with some elements of a value bet. For example if you have the Ace and Ten of hearts in your hand and two hearts come on the flop, you might make a bet even though you have no hand at the moment. Your primary hope is that your opponent(s) will fold, thus the bet is partly a bluff. But if they do not all fold another heart may come on the turn or river, giving you the nut flush. In that case your bet could be seen as a value bet, increasing the size of the pot when you hold a winning hand.

To gain information about an opponent's hand
Sometimes this happens almost "accidentally" when you make a bluff or semi-bluff bet--if your opponent calls, he is telling you he has some type of hand. But you can also make a bet purely for the purpose of gaining some information, often called a probe bet. Let's say your opponent is first to act after the flop and he checks. If you now check also, you really have no idea where you stand in the hand. Because you showed weakness by checking and taking a free card, many opponents will now bet out on the turn no matter what card comes. By betting on the flop however, you would have forced your opponent to declare something about his hand. Since the bet size will double on the turn, it's much better to get this information sooner rather than later.

To reduce the number of players in the pot
This is usually done with a raise and most often done pre-flop, but can also occur later in the hand. There are some types of hands that do much better againt fewer opponents (big pairs, for instance). Your hand may be good now, but if several players are in the pot with drawing hands it becomes likely that one of them will end up with something better than yours. An overpair is a good example because although it is a strong hand, it has very little way to improve and is very vulnerable against several opponents. If a bet is made and you can immediately raise it, you will shut many players out because most people won't call two bets cold. This is sometimes called a squeeze. While this may seem like a value bet because you usually do it with the currently best hand, the aim is quite different. A value bet tries to get more money in the pot with what is already assumed to be the winning hand. A squeeze tries to improve the actual chances of winning the hand, often at the expense of ultimate pot size.

To prevent a future bet by an opponent
This is one of the trickiest plays to grasp, but also one of the most useful to learn. It works best from late position, and is based on the fact that bets on the turn and river are bigger than bets on the flop (this is always true in Limit games of course, but even in No-Limit games it generally holds true because players usually size their bets according to the current pot size). The most common form is often called the free card play. Let's say you're in a $2-$4 game and you have a good flush draw on the flop. You would, naturally, like to see both the turn and the river cards to maximize your chances. The first player to act bets, two players call, and now it is up to you in last position. If you call the $2 bet, you will get to see the turn card. If it doesn't make your flush, the first player will probably bet again and you will now have to pay another $4 to see the river. So you must pay $6 total for your draw. But what if you had raised on the flop? The bet was $2 and your raise would be another $2, for $4 total. But the likely result would be everyone checking to you on the next round. No one really likes to get raised, and you will often hear the expression "check to the raiser." When this happens, you just check right behind them and see the river card for free. If you still miss your flush, you just saved yourself $2 trying for it. Note that this type of play is not only for draws but can also be used when you have a weak made hand, something you don't want to fold because it might win at showdown but also something you want to bet as little money on as possible. Then you can bet or raise on the flop as a defensive bet, hoping that it will entice everyone to check to you on the turn and/or the river and thus letting you reach the showdown as cheaply as possible.

A good player will utilize all these ideas in a way that makes it impossible to know why he is making any given bet. Is he value betting a huge hand, playing a draw, or trying to bluff you with nothing? The most important thing is to avoid predictable patterns in your betting. Some players (particularly new ones) only ever value bet. Obviously, it won't take long for observant opponents to read them like a book. A surprising number of players try to be deceptive all the time by checking their good hands and betting (bluffing) their bad ones. It may work for a while, but again an observant opponent will soon be taking all their money. Don't fall into either trap. Look carefully at how you tend to play each type of hand; remember that giving your opponents information ultimately means giving them money.

Position Play

There are many names to identify where players are sitting in relation to the dealer's button. Each particular position has its own strengths or weaknesses.

• The player to the left of the dealer is the small blind, and must act first after the flop.
• The player to the left of the small blind is the big blind, and is in another early position after the flop.
• The player to the left of the big blind is called "under the gun" (often UTG for short). This player is the first to act preflop and is considered to be in the worst position, even though they do not act first in any other betting round (the blinds do) because they have to invest an entire bet to get into the action without yet knowing how anyone else will play their hand.
• The player with the dealer's button is the last to act after the flop and has the most advantageous position. They are called "the dealer", "on the button", or usually just "the button".
• The player to the right of the button is called "the cutoff". This position is one of the best for blind-stealing at a full nine-handed or ten-handed table.
• Players in all positions are referred to as being in early, middle, or late position. Players in an early position are the first ones to act in a betting round (like the player under the gun) and late position players (like the cutoff and the button) are some of the last to act.

The importance of your position varies with many factors. For example, in No-Limit Holdem position is much more important than in Limit Holdem. However in either form it is always better to be in an late position, and it is important to identify what hands are generally playable in each positions.

Let's say you're under the gun. You have Queen-Ten unsuited and decide to limp into the pot. The player after you raises, and everyone folds back to you. Now you're in a jam. Chances are good that this player has a better hand than you. If they have any ace, king, or pocket pair, they are statistically better than you. You'd suspect that someone who raised has at least a hand like that. Now you can either fold (so your first bet was essentially wasted) or call again and go into the flop as an underdog (throwing good money after bad). What's worse is that if you call, you will be acting before this player for the rest of the hand. But let's say you're on the button with your Queen-Ten unsuited. Now if it's raised by that same player you can just throw it away without wasting a bet. Or maybe everyone will fold to you, in which case you can just call and see what happens on the flop or you can even raise because you are now only up against the blinds. Raising is only a viable option because of your favorable position.

Or let's say you have a marginal hand that really only plays well in a multi-way pot, such as Ten-Nine suited. This hand has lots of straight and flush potential but is a long-shot to really hit a good flop. The only way it is profitable in the long run is to play it cheaply (for one bet only) and to make sure the pot will be big when it does hit. To meet those requirements you need several players to call pre-flop and no one to raise. Only if you are in late position can you judge whether this will be the case or not. If you try to play this hand in early position, even if you don't get raised you might get only one or two callers behind you. Played from early position this hand is usually a net loser; played from late position and when the right conditions have been met, it gains a positive expectation.

So you can see that some hands are only playable from late position and too weak to be played in early position. But even with a hand strong enough to be played from anywhere, being in late position has major strengths over being in early position. Early position raisers are assumed to have a good hand and it tends to scare players away. Early preflop raises force opponents to call two bets at once with nothing in the pot yet. In late position, there may be players who have already called one bet. Those players are already involved in the pot and only have to call one more bet to stay in, so they usually will. Thus players in late position with a good hand have the ability to manipulate the pot size, which will make future bets easier to call in the upcoming betting rounds.

Blind Stealing

The simplest reason is that it tends to end the hand quickly. Since it figures to be a small-pot hand, with at most three players, it is unlikely to generate much profit no matter how it is played. From a "time is money" perspective, it is more attractive (even to the blinds themselves) to decide this hand immediately and begin a new one with (hopefully) more players and more money.

The other major reason for raising the blinds is more complex but no less important. Although stealing is an aggressive play which typically looks to make a small profit, it is also essentially a defensive move. It is well known that blind hands are the hardest to "read", because they could contain literally any two cards. You can assign a reasonable range of hands to players in any other position, simply because most people won't voluntarily put money in the pot with pure garbage. If you see a flop like 852, you know it is extremely unlikely that a player has made two pair. But if the big blind got to see the flop "for free", then it's quite possible he could have started with 85 or 82 or 52. Many large pots are lost because of "surprise" hands, and nothing has more potential for surprises than a blind hand allowed to see a free flop. By raising pre-flop, you force the blinds to define their hands a little more clearly. This, combined with the fact that you will act after the blinds on each post-flop betting round, will often help you steer clear of danger when one of the blinds decides to call your raise.

Note that we have not even mentioned what cards are in your hand, which are largely irrelevant. Blind stealing is based not on the strength of your cards, but on the strength of your position. It is a form of bluff, and like all bluffs it is based not on the value of your hand but on the likely weakness of your opponents'.

Also note that although we used the player on the button for our examples, anyone in late position can make a similar play. In fact the player in the cutoff seat (one position before the button) is often the one doing the stealing. Although this entails slightly more risk, it has an interesting additional advantage. If the cutoff's raise makes the button fold, the cutoff position is now the last to act after the flop. If the button had remained in the pot, he would be last to act instead. So this maneuver is sometimes called "buying the button". This advantage, combined with the fact that raises from the cutoff usually get a bit more respect than raises from the button, make this a favorite play of experienced players.