Posts Tagged ‘pair of kings’
Poker – Raising To Bluff Or To Semi-bluff Part3
4. You shouldn't semi-bluff in last position if you fear the possibility of a check-raise. Putting in two bets on the flop defeats the purpose of semi-bluffing. Worse, a bet from another player lets you know that you certainly don't have the best hand, and any draw you have may not win if you do hit it. If another player has flopped a set or top two pair and is betting for value, you'll win this hand only about 2.5% of the time if you play to the river, and about 1% otherwise.
In the example above, where you hold and the
flop is K*843^, you have a good semi-bluff opportunity. If, however, the flop were K*J43^ or K*843* with a lot of players, you couldn't semi-bluff. In those cases, if someone bets, you should fold. In the first flop, it's just too likely that someone has a straight draw, if not a pair of kings or even kings and jacks, and will certainly call. In the second flop, the two clubs on the board with a lot of players still in will certainly get you some callers if you bet.
Summary
When you go back and look at the five reasons to raise, you can see that they are interconnected. In other words, it's nearly impossible to raise chiefly for one reason without making it seem that you could be raising for another reason. If you raise to eliminate players, you might also get a free card, gain information, get value from your hand, and possibly make your opponent think that you are semi-bluffing.
If you raise to get a free card, you're probably also getting value from your hand, and you might eliminate someone. If you raise to gain information, you might also eliminate someone, get a free card, and get value from your hand. If you raise to semi-bluff, you might force someone to fold, get a free card, or get some information.
Raising at the right time—and knowing why you're raising-is one of the hallmarks of a great player. It's very important that you understand everything in this chapter. Using the tactic of raising correctly, along with correctly selecting your before-the-flop hand, will help you become the second-best type of hold 'em player there is: Tight/Aggressive (other types of hold 'em players include Tight/Passive, Loose/Aggressive and Loose/ Passive).
Tight/Aggressive means that you see the flop with relatively few hands. When you do decide to play a hand, you take charge of the hand and play aggressively. The best way to be aggressive is to be a raiser, and now you know five good reasons to raise.
Test Your Knowledge #4
If Tight/Aggressive is only the second best type of player, what do you think the best type of poker player is? Answer at the end of the chapter.
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