GGPOKER

Opponent’s information is so valuable that I’m often willing to pay for it.

However, this approach shouldn’t be overused—your spending shouldn’t exceed the actual worth of the information.

Here are two examples:

Example 1 Blinds: $1/$2. It folds to me on the button, and I raise to $7 with A♣2♣.

Flop: J♦8♣2♦. He checks, and I bet $10 into the $15 pot. He calls. Turn: K♣. He checks again, and I bet $30 into the $45 pot. He calls. River: 3♥. The pot is $105, and he leads with a donk bet of $40.GGPoker

This bet feels weak, tempting me to bluff-raise. But without any solid reads on this opponent, I usually avoid expensive plays. Still, I call here.

Sure, my hand only beats bluffs, and with ~28% equity, calling is profitable. But before showdown, it’s hard to know if we’re ahead or behind. In this case, if we estimate we have the best hand only 20% of the time, calling would be -EV.

Yet, I call anyway—because seeing his cards gives me valuable information. Later, I can exploit this knowledge to recover the losses from this hand. However, if he had bet $90, I’d fold—the price for that information would be too high.

Example 2 It folds to me on the button, and I raise to $7 with 10♥9♥. The big blind is a new player I’ve never faced before—he calls.

Flop: 10♦8♦2♥. He checks, and I bet $10 into the $15 pot. He calls. Turn: K♣. He checks again, and I bet $30 into the $45 pot. He calls. River: 3♥. He checks.

Here, a small bet might have some thin value, but not much. If I bet $30, it’s only partly for value since sometimes he’ll call with a better hand.

Against an unknown player, I often check to see his cards—paying for information. Yes, I lose a bit of value, but the cost is small, and I’m willing to pay it to learn about this new opponent.

However, if I had KT (two pair), checking would sacrifice too much value. In that case, I’d make a sizable bet—even if he folds and I gain no information. Because now, the price of buying that information would be too high.