What is the valuff in poker?

It is common knowledge that every action, move, play or concept in poker has an English term to refer to it. It is a sport in which Shakespeare's language is very well established, a trend that players must adapt to when they are beginners to start referring to every aspect of poker by name.

One of the strangest and most unfamiliar concepts to be found in the poker glossary is "valuff," a term widely accepted in the global poker community but not actually a word as such.

Where does the word "valuff" come from?

Actually, "valuff" is a word formed from the combination of "value" and "bluff". To understand its meaning, one only has to refer to the meaning of these two words to get an idea of where it comes from.

Let's start from the premise that a bet in poker always has a justification. In poker, one either bets for value (value) or one bets for bluffing (bluff). Over time, and in an affectionate way, it has become accepted to call bets that have been made neither for value nor for bluffing as valuff.

Moreover, given that a bet is highly likely to be poorly made if it is not for either of these two things, the concept "valuff" has been used to talk about those poorly made bets that are neither one thing nor the other, and has been accepted to refer to poorly placed bets or bets made when it is not the right time.

It is common for fishes and even "donk players" to make valuffs frequently, especially on the river. The good thing about these plays is that they do not cause headaches from a strategic point of view. Playing well without making rookie mistakes like these already penalizes those who have made their valuffs, so there is nothing special to do to try to placate a side effect of these bets.

The only thing that valuffs raise is the possibility of widening the profit margin of players who have seen this bet and want to take advantage of the player's bad move. For this, it is advisable to lower the aggressiveness a little to make the table put just enough pressure on the fish or donkey who is betting badly. As long as the moment when he pays for the others lasts, it is advisable to take advantage of it.

What is a valuff in poker?

We can call "valuffs" to bad bets made at any moment of the game, but especially on the river. However, not all bets with weak hands on the river are necessarily valuffs.

Players with poker skills but who still have a lot to learn often confuse valuffs with thin value bets, value bets that are made considering that the number of hands that will pay in the opponent's range is slightly higher than the hands in the opponent's range that are ahead of our hand.

The key to differentiate this type of bets from a well-founded bet is the intentionality, something that can be deduced based on the opponent's cards if we have managed to calculate the range of hands in which the opponent is moving.

Another important point: while valuffs are usually made by inexperienced players, thin value bets are bets only available to high-level players. This is because almost always, a player with average hands will check-bet on the turn during a multiplayer pot. If we check-call on the river, we will be making a value bet, since there will be some worse hands that possibly pay, which benefits our winrate.

How important are valuffs in a poker game?

Rather scarce. We are talking about a type of ill-founded bet that does not have a negative impact on the play of others, nor does it compromise the rest of the table. Therefore, we are talking about a type of bet that really has to pass without shame or glory, since the damaged will be the player who has made it and that the rest can squeeze from time to time.

It is not advisable to abuse the valuffs of another player, especially if you want to profit from it. It is important that the player who has made it does not start to fold in excess in order to prevent his bets from being squeezed by the rest of the table.

Ultimately, the valuffs demonstrate several things:

• The importance of mastering value bets and managing the right data before a bluff on the river.
• The important difference between the play of a fish and a donkey: a valuff is a technical mistake made by a fish; a donkey can make a valuff, but will not even be aware of how to bet right.
• How advisable it is to check when we do not have enough data to make a fundamental bet.

If you want to know more about the types of bets that exist in poker and how value bets and bluff bets are approached, take a look at our post:

• Types of bets in poker: value bets, semi-bluffand bluff bets