Bluffing

One of the great myths concerning poker is that you have to bluff a lot in order to be a winning player. "You cannot beat the game by just always ending up with the best hand," it is argued. "You must bluff in order to win, and it is important to advertise so that you get paid off when you have a good hand," according to some players. But this latter argument overlooks the fact that the advertising is a by-product. The purpose of a bluff is to give yourself the opportunity to win a pot when your hand is not good enough to do the job.

In a full limit hold'em game, it will usually take the best hand to win most major pots. A potential bluffer cannot bet enough money in a limit game relative to what is already in the pot to move his opponent(s) off a hand that has even an outside chance of winning. A potential caller is frequently getting 10-to-1 or even better pot odds to call. Many of the ideas some players have concerning bluffing emanate from the world of big-bet poker (pot-limit and no-limit). In big-bet poker, a bluffer can make a large enough bet to move his opponent off a better hand. Bluffing is a critical skill in big-bet poker.

Now, all that being said, bluffing is an important skill in limit poker, as well, but not to the extent that many people think. Pots with either lots of players or lots of money are normally won by the best hand in a limit game. The pots where you are supposed to bluff are mostly those in which there are few players and no one has shown much strength. It is important to your bankroll that you pick up your fair share of these small pots when no one has much. A few of these small pots in a typical six- to eight-hour playing session can have a significant impact on your bottom line at the end of the year. And you do not have to be successful in most of your bluffing attempts for them to be profitable. The pot is laying you odds, so don't become discouraged when some of your bluffs are not working. You are risking only a small fraction of what you can win.

There are times in limit poker when a bluffing opportunity will present itself, and you need to recognize when this occurs and capitalize on it. I have mentioned that most bluffs in a limit game are aimed at small pots and few opponents, but there are certain other things you should look for when foraging for a bluffing opportunity. The following hands discuss some of these situations.

Hand No. 1 ($20-$40 game): You are in the big blind with the A K. A middle-position player limps in, another middle-position player raises, and everyone folds to you. You call, as does the middle-position limper. There is $130 in the pot and three players.

The flop is J 7 3, leaving you with overcards. It is checked to the preflop raiser, who bets. You call and the other player folds. There is $170 in the pot and two players.

The turn is the J. What should you do?

Answer: Bet. This is a good time to bluff. As a caller, you have certain advantages over the raiser. As a caller, your hand is more likely to be tied in with the flop than a preflop raiser, so you should be quick to represent something. Here, you can represent trip jacks, since you called out of your blind and your opponent does not rate to have a jack. If he raises, you can fold. But he will frequently fold, fearing that he is playing with only two outs if he has a pocket pair, or no outs if he has just overcards. As an aside, the confrontation of A-K vs. A-K is common in hold'em, and lots of these confrontations are not split pots.

Hand No. 2 ($20-$40 game): You are in the big blind with the J 7. An early-position player, a middle-position player, and the button limp in. You take a free play. There is $90 in the pot and four players.

The flop is 10 3 2, giving you a flush draw with an overcard. You bet. The early-position player folds, the middle-position player calls, and the button raises. You call, as does the middle-position player. There is $210 in the pot and three players. The 6 comes on the turn. Now, everyone checks. The river is the 10. What should you do?

Answer: Bet. You bet the flop, representing a top pair of tens, into three opponents. You just called when raised, which is what a player with top pair, weak kicker might do. You checked to the raiser on the turn when a blank hit, and got a free card. This tells the table that the button raiser was drawing, wanting to see the river for free. The river card now pairs the top flop card, making it look like you might have trip tens. You cannot win by checking, but have a good chance of succeeding with a bluff.

Hand No. 3 ($30-$60 game): You open-raise from middle position with the A 10. Only the big blind calls. There is $140 in the pot and two players.

The flop is K 6 3, leaving you with an overcard. Your opponent checks. You bet and he calls. There is $200 in the pot.

The turn is the 6. Your opponent checks. What should you do?

Answer: Check. A bluff is unlikely to work here. After you raised preflop, your opponent called your flop bet with a board of K-X-X rainbow. He probably has a top pair of kings, or at least some kind of made hand he will play. There is no draw out there for him to have unless he called your raise from the big blind with specifically 5-4.

Hand No. 4 ($10-$20 game): You are in the big blind with the 4 3. Only the under-the-gun player and the small blind limp in. You get a free play. There is $30 in the pot and three players.

The flop is K 7 5, giving you a gutshot-straight draw. The small blind checks. What should you do?

Answer: Bet. This is a perfect situation for a bluff. You have only two opponents. No one has shown any strength, since the pot was unraised. One of your two opponents has checked to you. The flop came one big card and two little cards, and is rainbow, which make a draw unlikely.

Hand No. 5 ($15-$30 game): You're in the cutoff seat with the 10 8. An early-position player limps in. You limp in as well, as does the small blind. There is $60 in the pot and four players.

The flop is A Q 4. It is checked to you. What should you do?

Answer: Check. Contrast this with the previous problem. A flop containing both a two-flush and an A-Q combo means all kinds of draws are out there, making it difficult to win the pot outright by betting. Besides a flush draw, there are numerous gutshot draws with common playing hands like K-J, K-10, and J-10. Despite the small pot, some players may well take off a card anyway for one small bet, figuring they may have more than just outs to a gutshot if you are betting something other than top pair. Others will play a gutshot even when the current pot odds are bad, figuring that they can collect additional money when they hit. Finally, if the flop were more ragged, you would know that when you are called you are up against some kind of made hand and not a draw. But with this flop, you really don't know where you are at when you get called, so the decision whether to bet again on the turn is muddled.

Hand No. 6 ($10-$20 game): You are on the button with the A 10. Two early-position players and two middle-position players limp in. You decide to vary your play and raise. Everyone calls. There is $140 in the pot and seven players.

The flop is K 9 8, giving you the nut-flush draw and an overcard. Everyone checks and you bet. Only an early-position player and a middle-position player call. There is $170 in the pot and three players.

The turn is the 2. It is checked to you and you bet. Both opponents call. There is $230 in the pot. The river is the 8. Both opponents check. What should you do?

Answer: Bet. With two opponents, your ace will most likely not be strong enough to survive a showdown, and it is worth another bet to try to get a player holding middle pair or a smaller pair to fold.