Oct 01 2008
No Limit Holdem Semi Bluffing Strategy
Bluffing is one of the most fundamental, and intriguing parts of poker. No limit games increase the power of a well-timed bluff. Nothing is more fun to do than to win a nice pot with no cards.
There are many ways you can bluff your opponent. You can bluff in many different situations. Let’s look at one of these bluffing plays, the semi-bluff.
The semi-bluff is a tactic used for both cash games and tournaments. It can work well in both situations. The most important consideration is that you have enough chips to get paid well when your hand hits.
Let’s say you have Kd-Jd in the big blind. The player on the button makes a raise of 3x the big blind. You call, and the flop is Ad-6d-2h. You now have the nut flush draw, a perfect opportunity to use the semi-bluff.
Instead of checking, you make a decent sized bet, say of the pot. If he has nothing, your opponent will fold. If he has a good hand you might get him to only call you. Also, by betting strong, he won’t think you are on a draw.
Playing the hand this way puts you in control. If the flush hits, hopefully your opponent has a big hand. If he does, you are in for a huge payoff.
If the turn card doesn’t hit the flush, you have two options. You can continue to represent a made hand, and bet again. Or, you can check, and hope to see the river for free.
When you make the second bet you might win right there. If he calls, or makes a re-raise, you can be fairly sure that you are behind in the hand. It will be pretty easy to know what to do.
If you bet small, and he calls, he could have a flush draw also. You will have a good chance to stack him if the flush hits the river. If you get re-raised, you will have to fold if he bets big.
When you decide to check the turn, and he bets, you then look at the odds his giving you. If they are still favorable, you can call, and try to hit your hand on the river.
When we go back to the start of the hand, what happens if you don’t do the bluff? If you had checked the flop, and called his bet, it looks more like you are on a draw. He now might slow down if the flush hits, and even fold to a huge bet. Playing the hand with a semi-bluff strategy puts you in great position to maximize this hand.
These two situations will cost you lots of money if you aren’t careful. For that reason, I would not bet as heavily in these situations. Perhaps not even using the semi-bluff at all as it makes a bigger pot when played out
Making a semi-bluff is a play that can make you big bucks on a particular hand. On the other hand, you will suffer more losses until that big pot comes in. In the hands of the right player, I think this is a very profitable play.