shippopotamus on getting max value

Although I may not be running that great lately, I feel like my ability to read hands and make good value bets is easily the best of any player at the .25/.50 NL level. Determining whether or not to make a value bet is based on all of the information that you have before you. The following things are what I really considered deeply when wondering if I should bet and how much:

1) Position
2) Stack sizes
3) How many players
4) Who are those players (ranges & tendencies)
5) Board texture
6) Hand representation
7) My image

Here's a couple recent hands and my thoughts:

http://weaktight.com/897775

A weak player limps, and a good player in the CutOff raises for what I believe is isolation purposes. I don't want to raise the bad player out and play heads up vs the strong player so I elect to call, sb calls, limper calls. I flop TPGK, and the good player leads for 2/3 pot which is no surprise as his CBET is 100%. I don't think raising is a terrible play, but calling to see what the bad players do is way more optimal in my opinion, because if one of them raises I will fold. Both players behind fold. On the turn the CO checks over to me and that's when I really start to go through my best value routine in my head:

1) I've got position on him, he's giving away his chance to bet again.
2) The pot is $20 and the effective stack size is $42 a pot size bet commits me and never folds his strongest hands should he have been tricky and checked to me with AA, AK, 99. I don't think there's much value in making a big bet here.
3) He bet into 3 other players, so I think he's got something.
4) The other players were donkeys, who pay off a lot, if he thinks he could get value from them with hands I beat like KJ, KT, . Villain is a pretty good 24/21/5.0 player.
5) The board presents gutshot straight draws and also a flush draw, if he had a set, AA, or AK he would probably continue firing. If he had a combo draw I don't see him checking to me either.
6) By calling on the flop I haven't really given away the strength of my hand at all. I could have a pair of Kings, a pocket pair, maybe A9, but most likely a flush draw type hand.
7) I've been playing a ton of hands and hardly ever giving up my button.

This leads me to bet out 1/3 pot to keep everything I can beat in the hand - KJ, KT, QQ, JJ, and I'm not too worried about him having a flush draw. By betting $7, I make it look a little bluffy to get calls from all sorts of his range and I'm creating a SPR of 1 on the river if he calls.

On the river he checks to me so I go through the routine again.

1) He gave up his very last chance to get value from his biggest hands, so I'm no longer worried about them.
2) The effect stack is the same size as the pot.
3)I've only got to beat one player
4) I no longer think he has a set, AA, or AK. So either he has KJ, KT, QQ, JJ, TT or a missed flush. I'm beating 100% of the current range I'm putting him on.
5) The river bricked every single draw and the only way the river changes anything is if I had a hand like a pair of 5s and a flush draw.
6) By calling on the flop, and making a small bet on the turn I think I've created some doubt in his head that I might have a flush draw. This is the perfect river card to bluff on because he will be thinking either I flopped a set with 99 or I'm bluffing.
7) I'm really really bluffy.

Conclusion, easy shove and hope he calls with QQ.

http://weaktight.com/898166

In this hand, the button player is really fishy, so I decide to isolate from the SB with T9o and really deep stacks. I c-bet the flop and he calls which indicates that he has any pair or any draw. The turn gives me top pair, which I'm pretty sure is the best hand. So I bet a little more than half because I want to get money in but I don't want to balloon the pot so much. The river brings a K which is sort of scary but I go through my drill.

1) He has position on me.
2) There's $31 in the pot and we have $75 left, I don't think I ever win if I bet a huge amount and he calls, and I don't think he ever raises the river as a bluff.
3) Pot has been heads up the whole way.
4) Opponent is fishy and is range includes all flush draws, all straight draws and all pairs. I beat all of the pairs he made on flop and I still have the draws beaten unless he had hearts with a King.
5) All of the straights bricked, and the flush bricked which indicates that I should check/call the river to get him to bluff at it. The problem with check calling is that this opponent is not overly aggressive and when he bets, he bets large. Even though checking and calling is definitely profitable, I think I have way more value in betting and getting called by the weaker pairs that he flopped.
6) The board isn't conducive to hitting my range of hands that I would raise with preflop, so if he thinks I'm was bluffing the turn, he's definitely going to think that I might be bluffing the river.
7) I don't think my image matters all that much here, but I do tend to go from start to finish with bluffs a lot.

Conclusion: Bet to block/get thin value.

More to come, but position is easily the most important when I determine whether or not I'm going to value bet. When you act last on the river you have that last piece of information that your opponent isn't positive whether or not they have the best hand. They basically tell you that they have either this, this, this or this. When you're out of position, you really need to know your opponent in and out.