Before any move in poker online, you should always be asking questions. It is after all a game about making the best decision with incomplete information. In this segment, we’re going to look at some of the questions you should be asking about value betting. Specifically, we’ll look at when and when not to bet for value on the river. You’re most playing a marginal online pokerhand here, or you wouldn’t even be worried about betting for value. When you have the nuts, you’re betting for maximum extraction, which is a nuanced distinction from betting for value. Ok, with that out of the way, first you have to ask if your opponent will call your bet. Basically, are you giving him pot odds to call. If you’re giving him pot odds and he has a hand that he would call with on the river that he only has to win with 1 in 3 times and you’re giving 1 to 6 on the money, they you’ll be able to extract a call out of him. You’ll be relying on your memory here, if he’s a calling station, then by all means, make that value bet. Next, have you seen him check-raise before? On the river? If so, you may want to hold your online poker bet. This could be a dangerous situation for you. Sure you’ve put him a range of hands, but have you solidified your hand. You don’t have the nuts here but you’re confident you have the best hand at the moment. Lo and behold you get check-raised after you bet. That really does something to your confidence. Here, it’s better most of the time to not risk anymore of your chips and just see the final card, take down your card and be glad you didn’t get bluffed off of your winning hand, or worse, lost a lot of money to a better hand. Finally, and this is just common sense. Is it even worth the risk for the marginal value bet? Does your tournament life hinge on it? Will it put more than half of your stack at risk? If it puts your table life in danger, then regardless of the circumstances, just don’t do it.