Value -- most important concept at low stakes

Whenever I have a new student come to me for lessons they always want to talk about a big bluff that they ran or a big call that they made. I tell them all the same thing--live no limit is about value betting not making big plays.

There is only a finite amount of time that one has to study the game away from the table. The best way to spend that time is to practice hand reading and work on maximizing your value against a second best hand. Figuring out an accurate range of your opponents' holding takes a lot of experience. But the time spent developing these specific skills will win you way more money in the long run as opposed to running elaborate bluffs or trying to figure out when your opponent is bluffing you.

The next time you are at the table pay close attention to the amount of value that other players miss. You'll see that there is an incredible amount of money left on the table. There is also an incredible amount of extra money that can be won when you can accurately evaluate your opponents' hand and bet with proper sizing to get paid off by worse.

I cover good ways to achieve thin value and work on these skills in Deuce Plays and Deuce Plays Premium episodes "Hands from a Cash Game."