Poker – Raising To Bluff Or To Semi-bluff Part2
To Semi-Bluff
Semi-bluffing is defined as betting with a hand that, if called, probably isn't the best hand at the moment, but has a chance to improve with more cards to come. It's a cross between betting as a bluff and betting for value, when you know there's not much value at the moment. Consider the following example:
You have The flop is K*843^, and a player
before you bets.
You might now raise as a semi-bluff. This play is a good one because three different factors are working for you all at the same time:
1. You might actually have the best hand at this point, and everyone will fold. Another player could be holding another 8 with a bad kicker. He might fold, not knowing he has you beat.
2. Your raise could induce the other players to check to you on the next round, thereby giving you a free card and an opportunity to check again. You now get to see both the turn and the river cards for free, if all goes well.
3. You can improve your hand. If you hit an ace or another 3, you will probably win the hand.
A fairly advanced tactic paid off for you in this instance, and you can see why it's useful. If you're going to try raising as a semi-bluff on the flop, there are four important things you should know:
1. Your real goal is to win the pot right then. If there's any chance that you will get a caller or two, however reluctant they are, you should generally not raise to semi-bluff. The exception to that rule is if you know your raise on the flop will induce your opponent to check to you on the next round, even when he has a very good hand.
Semi-bluff opportunities arise very frequently during the course of a hold 'em game. It's very important that you understand and truly believe that your real goal in semi-bluffing is to win the pot right then. If you misplay your hand in these situations, you'll have a big leak in your game, because situations like this arise so frequently. I'm therefore going to restate the above rule to make it very clear how to play:
If you're in a semi-bluff situation and you feel that your raise will not win the pot for you right then, you should usually fold rather than raise (or call).
2. Semi-bluffing does not work well when you are facing a lot of players, regardless of what the flop is. If there are a lot of players to see the flop, someone will usually think he has the right odds to see the next card, whether there was a raise on the flop or not. Semi-bluffing also doesn't work against players who habitually play every hand and call every bet.
3. Semi-bluffing does not work well when the flop is ofob vious help to anyone who should be holding high cards, like players in early position or players who raised before the flop. In other words, if you can tell by a player's position and the cards on the flop that he'll be calling any bets, you should not bet as a semi-bluff.
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Raising To Eliminate Poker Players Part4
The problem, though, is that your flush is only 9-high. Anyone with a higher ♦ will beat you if another comes on the turn or river. Your hand is good at the moment but very vulnerable. Using the table from Chapter 7, you can see that anyone holding a higher ♦ has only a 27.8% chance of getting the flush to beat you.
Since you know you are going to win this hand almost three out of four times, you should raise to give him the worst possible odds to draw to the hand (and a chance to fold). Sometimes your opponent will be holding something like J48* and fold, not wanting to risk being beat himself when another ♦ comes. On your good days, a player holding a higher ♦ will fold when you raise, another ♦ will come on the turn or river, and you will look soooo good when you drag the pot. Congratulations on being smart enough to know how to play the hand.
You hold 2V2*. The flop is A4A*2±.
Just like you can't afford to slowplay bottom set, you can't afford to slowplay bottom full house. Do not be lulled into a false sense of security just because you have a full house and it is high on the scale of poker hands. Anyone holding a pocket pair could hit it on the turn or river to make a higher full house, and anyone holding an ace and a 3 or above could hit his kicker to make a higher full house also. There's also the very real possibility of the dealer's running off a pair on the turn and river. Sure, you're still a favorite against these draws happening, but still, you'd rather they fold and let you win the pot right there. It's better to win a small pot than to lose a big one, and that's what a raise to eliminate players will help you do.
Your poker hand in hold 'em is always relative, because its strength depends largely on what cards are on the board. For example, what if I told you that you'd make four-of-a-kind on your next hand? You'd be pretty excited. But what if I added that the board would be A4A*AVA42*, and you'd hold 343V against three other players? How do you feel about your four-of-a-kind now?
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