Read up on enough poker strategy and you’re bound to come across the concept of value betting. Basically value betting boils down to trying to get the most value out of the situations where you probably have the best hand. When you value bet you’re trying to predict the maximum amount you can raise without the opponent folding.
However, there are also situations where you want to play hands with value without making any raises. This typically amounts to playing hands with showdown value since they’re not good enough to guarantee you a win, but are good enough to go to the showdown with.
The benefit of having hands with showdown value comes from the actual showdown itself, hence the name. So your goal with a showdown hand is simply to make it all the way to the showdown as cheaply as possible. Here is an example of how to play a showdown value hand:
You’re holding T-T in middle-late position and decide to raise the big blind $5. Everyone folds except for the big blind who checks before a flop of Ks-4h-2d is shown. The big blind decides to check while you bet another $5 which is called by the big blind. The turn comes as a queen and you both check while the river is an 8 which also prompts a check from the big blind. Now you’re faced with the decision of whether to bet or simply check to see the showdown.
In this instance, you should simply check because there is nothing to be gained by betting into the player since they’re just going to fold with a weaker hand. Plus your hand is only good for its showdown value anyways so betting into this river is pointless anyways. The basic rule of thumb here is that any bet which doesn’t make a bad hand call or a better hand fold is a bad one.
Some people might point out that, by simply checking and going to the showdown, you’re only accomplishing the same thing as a bet which makes the other player fold. However, you’ve got to realize that a pair of tens doesn’t ensure victory either; thus you only want to get to the showdown cheaply in case you lose. If the other player cooperates in letting you make it to the showdown then go with it.
The key to playing hands with showdown value is keeping your aggression in check. Sometimes aggressive players are bad at playing hands with showdown value since they want to bet and raise all of the time. This only prompts a bad hand to fold well before the showdown which is the opposite of how you want to play a showdown value hand.
I call it “betcheck”, either to see if someone has something or just to end the hand. There is no reason to check all the way if the other one is going to fold to any bet anyway – in my opinion. Some people like to call just to see if they hit something better, if they don’t hit…. cha ching!
) *evil eye* ;o)
the check down on the river is also known as reverse implied because your holding a pair of tens to a board with 2 over cards… if you bet your only going to get called by a hand that beats you anyways.
it is the smart and right play