The Squeeze Play

The squeeze play has a bit of a daring and clever feel to it. It's a bluff (or semibluff) perpetrated against not one, but several opponents. Someone bets, one or more players call, and you raise. When it works, you feel like a champ, and you rake a big pot. When it doesn't work, "Oops."



Here's a quick-and-dirty squeeze example:



You're playing $5-$10 no-limit hold'em with $1,000 stacks. A loose and aggressive player makes it $30 to go. Two average players call. You're in the big blind with the Q 6. You raise to $150. Everyone folds, and you pick up the pot.



The squeeze is a terrific weapon, and it's one that every no-limit player should use. At first blush, it seems risky, since you're trying to bluff a number of players at the same time. If any one of them calls, you're toast. But actually, its risk/reward profile is often quite good. Here's why:



1. Since you're bluffing after a bet and several calls, the pot is bigger than a "usual" bluff. In the above example, there's already $105 in the pot when it's your action. Your bluff is $140 to win $105, so it has to succeed only about 58 percent of the time to be profitable.



2. After you get past the initial raiser, oftentimes the callers will go down easily. Calling tends to put an upper limit on hand strength. For instance, the loose-aggressive raiser could have pocket aces (though he would raise with lots of hands). The first caller could also possibly have aces, but it's less likely. And the second caller is even less likely to have aces. After all, few players would flat-call with aces after a raise and a call. So, once you get lucky and the raiser folds, the callers (who could only call the first time) often go down easily.



3. The initial raiser is "squeezed." That is, while the callers will usually fold, sometimes they'll be sitting on a monster (or sometimes they'll just be stubborn). If the callers didn't exist, the raiser could call with position, closing the action. But since they do exist, the raiser could call, only to get reraised or overcalled. That danger might induce the initial raiser to fold a marginal calling (or reraising) hand.



An additional advantage to trying the occasional squeeze is that it balances your play. If someone raises preflop and two players call, with how many hands will you make a "straight" big reraise from the big blind? Not many, only the very best. If you never try a squeeze, that big blind reraise gives away far too much information about your hand.



When no-limit games first started being spread again in Vegas (in 2004), many of the "good" players in the games had this problem. If they made a big reraise from the big blind, they had pocket aces or kings every time. You can't play like that! You have to mix it up, and the occasional squeeze is a great way to do that.



You can use the squeeze on any betting round, not just preflop. Indeed, the play is equally useful after the flop. I remember a TV hand from several years ago in which Gavin Griffin pulled off a remarkable squeeze play. I don't recall the details of the hand, but the gist of it went like this: They were playing the final table of a World Series of Poker event, and all of the relevant stacks were deep. Gavin opened the pot from middle position with 8-7. Someone called from the button, and the big blind called. The flop came 6-6-5, giving Gavin an open-end straight draw. Both of his opponents were excellent players. The big blind bet, and Gavin called. Then, the button raised. The big blind called, and Gavin made a big reraise squeeze! Both players thought, and eventually folded.



This play relied on Gavin's opponents being tough players and excellent hand-readers themselves. Gavin opened the pot, and the flop came 6-6-5. From Gavin's perspective, the big blind could have a wide range of hands, including many bluffs. After all, how many "raising hands" does a 6-6-5 flop hit? His opponent could be betting nothing just trying to pick up the pot.

Gavin had a straight draw, though, so he called. Then, the button raised. Could it be a squeeze? It might be. The button had position, and neither player had shown much strength yet on the 6-6-5 flop. He might be trying a squeeze or putting in a raise with a weakish holding to define his hand.



When the big blind called, it defined his hand much more strictly. Obviously, he had something, or else he would have folded. But with trips or a full house, he might have reraised again. So the call indicated a hand of medium strength, with a lingering possibility of a monster. Gavin took a shot by reraising big.



He knew that his opponents couldn't mistake his reraise for anything other than a slow-played monster. The call-reraise play on a 6-6-5 flop was unmistakably a huge hand: a full house or maybe A-6. His opponents would need a similarly big hand to call. Given the action so far, combined with the already large size of the pot, the squeeze had a good risk/reward profile. He had a good chance of success, and he'd win a big pot. And if he got called by trips, he'd have a chance to draw out with a straight.



That squeeze relied on finely tuned hand-reading and solid opponent familiarity. Most squeezes aren't so dramatic. There are two main conditions for a squeeze to possibly work:



1. The player who made the original bet or raise is marked with a broad range, including bluffs and other weak hands. Don't try to squeeze someone who will bet the flop only with a set! Many aggressive players will bet with lots of hands. They are your targets.



2. The calling players aren't so clueless that they'll just call the raise with whatever they called the original raise. They have to know that a reraise usually means business. Most players do.



Once those conditions are met, try the occasional squeeze. It will mix up your play, and let you experience the unique poker satisfaction of executing a well-timed bluff.



Ed is a featured coach at StoxPoker.com. Also check out his online poker advice column, NotedPokerAuthority.com. He has authored four books on poker, most recently Professional No-Limit Hold'em: Volume 1.