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  If you have a pair of Aces in your hand, and another one falls on the turn, you will probably be putting in the sort of bets that you hope somebody calls in the hopes of getting the poor saps at the table to add to a pot that will ultimately be in neat little stacks in front of you. Any poker book that talks about this sort of action should include that type of value betting in a chapter entitled "Duh".



  If in this situation you are thinking, "I hope they call my bets", and one of your opponents is looking at the King on the board like starving man eyeing a bucket of chicken, then you have mastered the concept of thin value betting. Being able to make that sort of bet when you are only marginally ahead shows the sort of courage that often separates a talented amateur from an emerging pro. The problem with thin value betting is that once an opponent has sniffed out that you are capable of this, they will respond accordingly. This won't do your long term earning potential any good.



  People who have developed the ability to win with the thin value bet for some reason often lack the talent for bluffing. These two skills work hand in hand, and keep an opponent firmly on their heels. Your opponent will never know if you are trying to get him to cough up some dough or simply scare them into surrendering the pot to you.



  Work on developing both of these skills and using them liberally at the poker table. Once both are mastered you will become the thing players fear most in an opponent: unpredictable.