A Semibluff Succeeds

It's one of those nice and quiet Sunday afternoons. Usually, this would be my day off, because on Sundays there are no big pot-limit games in my regular cardroom. But because I haven't played any long limit hold'em sessions in quite a while, I head to the casino to play a little $10-$20 hold'em, which is the biggest limit available.

The game is unusually soft on this day. There are quite a few weak, easy-to-manipulate opponents, and I am up almost $500, a far-above-average win. It needs to be said that I have been rather fortunate. In five hours of play, my aces and kings have both held up, and I have flopped a set twice. (I have also picked up two pots from the blinds while holding absolutely nothing, but my opponents had no clue that in both cases, I was on a stone-cold steal.)

Now, a new player enters the game. Well, this player is not actually new; I have played with him on numerous occasions. When I had just started playing for a living, he was one of the regulars. This player – let's call him Johnny – plays rather tight, but he is also very tricky. He likes to push small edges and often bets with marginal hands if he senses that the opposition may be weak. At the same time, he isn't afraid to fold even reasonably good hands if it seems likely that someone holds a better one.

As I said, Johnny and I have been at the same table very often, but because he has moved abroad, he doesn't play in my regular game anymore. Johnny still remembers me as the rock who plays only A-K, and who would never continue in a hand with less than top pair. After all, that's how I played when I started out: rock-solid, ultradisciplined, and very tight. Of course, over the years I have improved my game considerably (by occasionally semibluffing and even bluffing, and by making my tight image work by stealing a few pots here and there), but he doesn't know that. For him, I am still the tight, unimaginative player I used to be.

Now, that is the crux of the play I'm sharing with you today. It is the fact that Johnny still views me as someone who would never bet or raise without having the goods. There are also some additional factors that, from his perspective, make it highly unlikely I am making a move to make him lay down the best hand, not to mention the fact that by the way I play my hand, I am able to disguise my holding. Here's what happens.

A waitress has just brought a delicious meal to the table. Even though I usually don't like to eat while playing, the game is so good that I simply don't want to take a break. The food is good, too: I have a spicy, delicious combination of steak and green vegetables in a rich, thick Oriental sauce. I'm in the big blind with the K 9. Five players have limped, including Johnny, who is in the cutoff seat, so I get a free play. The flop comes J-6-3 with two clubs, giving me a king-high flush draw in addition to some (but not lots) of high-card and backdoor-straight potential. Even though I often play my flush draws aggressively, I had been quite active from the blinds earlier in this session and decide to simply check to see how things develop. It gets checked around to Johnny, who bets in his unusual, strange manner.

Now, as I said, Johnny is a tricky player. He likes to play deceptively, and often checks when most people would bet, and bets when most people would check. For instance, while most people would almost always slow-play a monster like quads or top full house, Johnny loves to simply come out betting. In this hand, it seems to me that he has a genuine hand, though – even though it is unclear to me if he is betting a made hand or a draw. All in all, I don't like his bet, as he might well be pushing an ace-high flush draw, leaving me drawing dead or close to it.

Both the button and the small blind flat-call his bet, and now it's up to me. While I often would go for the check-raise with my flush draw in a multiway pot like this, in this case I decide to just call and maybe lure the two players behind me into the pot, as well. My reasoning? Because most people in this game know that I often play my four-flushes aggressively, I might now be able to make quite a bit of money if I hit it, especially because of my passive play throughout the hand. (A second reason for not raising is, of course, the threat of a higher flush draw than mine being out there.) After all, because I have given no sign of aggression whatsoever (being in the big blind in an unraised pot, having checked and called on the flop in a six-way pot), I am fairly certain I can get some of my opponents to pay me off generously if I hit my flush, perhaps with hands as weak as one pair. Anyway, there is one more caller, so five people stay for the turn, which is an offsuit 5. Now, this is an interesting card, as it may well have helped one of my opponents. After all, with five people seeing the turn, and with people routinely playing hands like 7-4 suited in this game, I know this card might have given one of my opponents considerable help.

Everyone checks to Johnny, who once again makes a bet. Now, he is just about the only player in this pot who can't have a 7-4, because, as I said, his preflop standards are rather tight. The most likely hands for him to hold are top pair, second pair with an ace kicker, or the ace-high flush draw. He also might hold a set, but I usually read him very well, and I don't sense that much strength in him. In fact, I sense fear in Johnny, fear that the 5 may very well be a bad card for him.

So, when both the button and the small blind fold, and when I see that the remaining player behind me doesn't seem very interested, either, I decide to make a move. I check-raise Johnny as a semibluff, to make him throw away his one-pair hand that currently beats my king high, and also to pave the way for a river bluff in case he does hold a bigger flush draw than mine. The player behind me indeed throws away his cards, and now Johnny goes into the tank. You can see him thinking: Does Rolf have the 7-4 here, or is he making a move? But then again, what kind of move could he be making? If he is making a semibluff here, what could he conceivably have? With a flush draw, he probably would have check-raised on the flop or even bet out, and he isn't the type of player to make any move without the flush. In fact, he hardly ever makes a move! Plus, it is clear that Rolf can easily hold the 7-4 here. After all, he is in the big blind, and with six players in the pot and relatively little raising, calling one bet on the flop with a gutshot may well have been the proper play – even for a tight player like him. Should I call? Should I fold? Does he have it – or doesn't he?

Johnny looks again at his cards, at me, at my huge pile of chips, and at the food that is there waiting for me. It is clear that he just doesn't want to fold, but everything basically seems to indicate that he is up against a straight, or at least some other very strong holding. He knows I almost never bluff (at least that is his perception of me), I'm winning (usually, people who are winning are less likely to make any moves than people who are losing), I am eating (people who have just gotten food usually bet and raise only when they've got the goods), and the way I have played the hand is exactly how someone with a straight draw would play it: check-call while drawing, and then check-raise when it gets there.

After long deliberation, Johnny finally decides to throw away his cards, showing K-J offsuit. I would have been drawing to only nine cards if he had called me. I have just won a good-sized pot while holding just a draw, and have been able to make my opponent lay down a fairly strong hand, a hand much stronger than mine. I stack my chips, and feel warm inside. I have used perfect timing for this semibluff to succeed and have chosen the ideal opponent for it, knowing that probably more than the other players, he would give me credit for having the best hand. Now, back to my steak with the Oriental sauce and green vegetables. It tastes even better than before.