Pulling A Stunt In Poker

July 19, 2008 – 6:17 am

by Texas Dolly

If you want to go far in tournaments, you need to win some hands when you don’t have the goods. This means you have to make some bluffs. Read on and you’ll see some types of bluffs that are used.

The bluffs you might see can be as ordinary as an attempt to steal the blinds, to very complex schemes. You’re behind or have no cards, but you want those chips. You need to get a fold.

Stealing the blinds is picking a spot to make a raise with the hope of all remaining players folding. This can be done from any position as long as you are the first to act. When you are a short stack this is usually an all in bet. As a big stack, this can raise will vary to match the situation of the remaining players stacks, and their tendencies.

Another bluff is the check raise bluff. Let’s say you are the big blind. You call a raise from the button with 78 of diamonds the flop comes AJ4 no diamonds.

You check and he bets the pot. You come back with a pot sized, or more, re-raise. If he doesn’t fold, you will stop betting and cut your losses.

You can also use the semi bluff. You have KQ of hearts. You have called a raise.

The flop comes J74 with two hearts. Your opponent raises the pot, representing a big hand, and discouraging drawing for the flush. This can be a good opportunity to push all in.

You might get a fold. If he calls you have outs, at least nine of them. If he has AJ you will be a mathematical favorite. This is a classic semi-bluff.

Here’s a different type of bluff. You are on an open ended straight draw and have called a raise on the flop and the turn. You are first to act and the only chance to win the pot is to get a fold. Your opponent has raised twice so this is tricky, he might be very strong.

Now on the river you come out with a small raise. This raise is intended to induce a fold. The small bet is to convince your opponent that you have a huge hand, and have been slow playing it. You need to believe your opponent will think this way.

These are just a very small sample of the bluffs you can try. You need to creatively win chips some of the time. You can’t expect to get enough big hand to avoid this need.

About the Author:

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