bluff ranges value bet Mike and Scottish pro Gary Blackwood identify three expensive poker mistakes costing players money. The video covers playing too passively preflop, failing to value bet with marginal hands like second pair or ace high, and calling with bluff catchers against weak opponents. Live cash game examples demonstrate proper river betting sizes and hand reading. The lesson includes a bonus tip on managing tilt to protect your winrate. Value betting is how you make most of your money at the tables, especially against recreational players who over-call. The video emphasizes widening your value range to include second and third pair in appropriate spots. Players commonly underbluff due to natural psychology—feeling strong hands comes naturally while bluffing requires deliberate thinking. Three Expensive Mistakes That Kill Your Poker Winrate: Mistake 1: Playing Too Passively Preflop – Lean toward aggressive three-betting and solid ranges instead of calling with marginal hands. Aggressive play keeps pressure on opponents and protects your winrate. Mistake 2: Fearing Thin Value Bets Without Top Pair – Value bet second pair, third pair, and ace high in the right spots. Use small bet sizes (33% pot) on the river to extract value from weaker holdings your opponent might call with. Mistake 3: Calling Bluff Catchers Against Weak Players – Most low stakes opponents underbluff significantly. Bluff-catching is part science, part art—through experience you learn to differentiate between bad and good bluff-catches. Make disciplined folds when opponents rarely bluff aggressively. Reading Your Opponent's Range – Appreciate how wide your opponent's range actually is on each street. Pocket fours, weak pairs, and ace-high combos are all possibilities that make thin value bets profitable. Bonus Mistake: Playing While Tilted – Remove yourself from the table when emotional. One tilted decision can cost 50 big blinds, erasing hours of profitable play. Taking breaks saves significant money. Small Bet Sizes Win Big – Use 30-33% pot sizing for marginal hands. This strategy accomplishes two goals: gets value from worse hands while preventing opponents from exploiting you with larger bets when you check. Apply GTO Concepts Exploitatively – Understand balanced strategies but adjust against weak players. Low stakes players play tighter, bluff less, and call more predictably than optimal theory.
