Playing against "scared value"

What is the best way to play against players who overbet their strong hands because they fear getting sucked out on?

Have you ever noticed when a seemingly standard player suddenly opens for a surprisingly large amount, like four or five big blinds?

More often than not, this is a sign of "scared value".

The player has a strong hand they know they should open, but they either are unsure how to play it, or they have maybe overplayed it in the past and been punished for it.

So to avoid that happening again, they open for a larger amount, hoping to end the hand right now, potentially wasting a good spot.

Bets like this are rarely bluffs, and they are also usually capped. Nobody does this with Aces, Kings or Queens, but they might do it with Eights, Ace-Five suited or Ace Queen offsuit.

How to exploit scared value

My advice for playing against scared value is to be aggressive with your own value hands. Identify what hands you think they are scared to play, and get it in with a slightly stronger range.

Occasionally, they may surprise you by folding, which is great because with their larger opening size, they are giving you a much better risk/reward proposition on your raise.

Having said that, don't bluff them, as they have signalled they have a value hand, and they may even be grateful you got the money in preflop, meaning they avoid a tough post flop decision.

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