Betting concept

Value Bet in Poker: What It Means and When to Use It

Value Bet is a betting move: what it means, when it is right, and when to avoid it.

Quick answer

Value Bet: Betting with a strong hand to extract money from worse hands.

In more detail

Sized to get called by enough worse hands to make it +EV. Thin value betting (a marginal hand expecting 51%+ to be best) separates winning players from break-even ones.

Common questions

What does Value Bet mean in poker?

Sized to get called by enough worse hands to make it +EV. Thin value betting (a marginal hand expecting 51%+ to be best) separates winning players from break-even ones.

Related terms

All-In

Betting all your remaining chips.

Ante

A forced bet all players must post before each hand.

Barrel

A continuation bet on a later street (double = flop+turn, triple = + river).

Blind

A forced bet posted before the cards are dealt.

New to poker? Start with our preflop strategy guide and the free TAG cheatsheet.