Inducing Bluffs

If you have a semistrong hand, you usually don't want to appear weak. Opponents will sense your weakness and become aggressive. They might put you to a tough decision and cause you to lay down the best hand, especially in no-limit hold'em.

However, there are certain situations in which inducing a bluff by appearing weak is your best play. Here are two real-life examples to illustrate what I mean:

Example No. 1: Jeremy was in a $10-$20 hold'em game, in the small blind with the J 7. Two players limped in preflop from middle position, and Paul limped in from the button. Jeremy called, and the big blind checked his option to raise.

Fivehanded, they saw a flop of J 3 2. First to act, Jeremy decided to check, to see what his opponents would do. Everyone checked around to Paul, who bet. At that point, Jeremy decided that the J 7 could be the best hand, so he check-raised, hoping to narrow the field. He got the desired result, as everyone folded around to Paul. However, Paul reraised, which did not thrill Jeremy. Nevertheless, he called.

The turn was the 5. Jeremy checked, and Paul checked behind him. The river was the K, for a final board of J 3 2 5 K. Jeremy bet, Paul flashed the A 7, and chucked his hand away. Jeremy flashed his J and said, "Yeah, I knew you missed," appearing proud of himself while raking in the pot.

Hang on a second! What is wrong with this picture? Besides the fact that Jeremy revealed his hand unnecessarily and taunted his opponent, both of which I frown upon, he made a bigger mistake by betting the river!

Let's back up the action for a second. If Paul had a pair of jacks or better, he certainly would have bet the turn after the harmless-looking 5 came. So, when he checked, it was pretty clear that he was on a draw. We know Jeremy suspected as much when he said, "I knew you missed."

So, at that point, what reason was there to bet the river? If Paul had Jeremy beat, he certainly would have called, whereas there were very few hands worse than the J 7 with which he would have paid Jeremy off. Unless Paul was extremely loose, he wasn't going to call on the river with no pair. Besides, his most likely pair was kings, since he easily could have had a flush draw that included the K.

Jeremy made the correct read, but the wrong play. If he thought that Paul missed his draw, he should have checked and hoped to induce a bluff. Nothing could be gained from betting, whereas if Paul had decided to get out of line, checking and calling would have earned Jeremy an extra big bet.

I know what you're thinking: It's nice to collect an extra big bet, but it's not the end of the world when you miss the chance. That may be true, but what if you were playing no-limit? Now, the missed opportunity could cost you much more! Take, for example, the following hand from a no-limit game with $1-$2 blinds.

Example No. 2: Everyone folded to Tommy in late position, and he looked down to find the A A. He raised to $6, and only the loose-aggressive player (LAP) in the big blind called. Tommy was very familiar with the LAP's tendencies, having logged several sessions with him. Now, he was prepared to put that knowledge to use.

The flop came 8 2 2, and the LAP came out firing $10. Tommy knew that the LAP would have gone for a check-raise with a deuce or any pair, so he was confident that he was in a dominating position. He just called. The turn was the 4, and the LAP checked. Tommy knew that the LAP would have continued betting if he had any semblance of a hand. When he checked, Tommy decided that the LAP had no pair and no draw. Since Tommy had aces up, that meant the LAP was drawing dead. Hoping to induce a bluff, Tommy did the smart thing and checked!

The river was the Q, for a final board of 8 2 2 4 Q. Obediently, the LAP fired out $40 in what seemed like a desperate bluff attempt. Tommy doubled the bet to $80, supremely confident that he had the best hand, and hoping that the LAP had made queens up on the river. Alas, the LAP folded, confirming Tommy's read that he had been betting with nothing.

This was the perfect situation to induce a bluff, and Tommy took full advantage of it. He suspected that the LAP was drawing dead, and he trusted his instincts. He did not blindly bet his hand on the turn, feeling some inexplicable need to protect his hand, as others might have done. He exercised discipline, which resulted in a clear profit. If he had bet the turn, the LAP almost definitely would have folded, and he never would have picked up the $40 gift on the river.

Let the Bluffer Beware

I like to bluff as much as the next guy, probably even more. I like bluffing so much that I'm devoting an entire book to it. But, I know that there are two simple ways to counter any bluffer. The first is to always call him down, but that could turn you into a calling station, which I'm sure he wouldn't mind one bit. The other, more sophisticated way to deal with a bluffer is to induce him to bluff when you are sitting there with a strong hand. It's not something you should do all the time. But, if you have a strong read on your opponent, and you think he sees you as being weak, go ahead and let him think that. You'll be ready to snap him off, and he'll be left scratching his head.

You can find other articles of Matt's in the Online Poker News, which is at www.cardplayer.com.