The Three-Bet Semibluff

I’d been card dead for several hours. We’ve all been there. I couldn’t make a hand, and hadn’t been dealt many to play either. My image sucked, or at least it did as far as acquiring action. But there are other ways to skin a cat, and being aware of the image your opponents hold of you and correctly adjusting your strategies to newfound realities can reap great rewards.

I’d posted the big blind (BB) in a $40-$80 limit hold’em game at the Bellagio. A tourist raised to open in the three seat. He was the sort that virtually always raised when entering a pot no matter what he held. Mr. Opener simply believed that if he couldn’t raise to open then he shouldn’t play. He was immediately reraised by a well-playing aggressive Asian pro. A loose tourist called the three-bet cold and it was folded to me.

I peered down to the A 6. Mr. Opener made a motion to call out of turn, so I knew it wasn’t going to get four-bet. I calculated my current price, $80-to-$420, or 5.25-to-1 against three opponents; I tossed in the eight chips.

The flop came the 8 5 4 giving me a “community” gutter and a possible overcard, though hitting an ace definitely didn’t have to give me the best hand. Additionally, making a one-card straight didn’t have to win the whole pot or any of it for that matter. I knuckled, Mr. Opener checked behind me and Mr. Asian-Pro fired. Mr. Loose-Tourist called and I took one off currently receiving 14.5-to-1 odds on my community gutter, weak overcard and backdoor nut-flush draw. Mr. Opener called behind me extending my price to 15.5-to-1.

The dealer turned the 9, adding the nut club-draw to my arsenal. I checked again, unsure of what would happen behind me, but keeping an open mind that a semibluff raise play might be effective depending upon what occurred.

Mr. Opener suddenly fired into the pot. Mr. Asian-Pro immediately raised him and Mr. Loose-Tourist folded. I formulated my read on the situation. In a previous hand Mr. Opener had check/called a preflop raiser and led on the turn with one pair. It’s a play a lot of people utilize when they are unsure if their holding is good, but don’t want to give a free turn card to overcards. Some players, including myself, utilize the play as a bluff, though I didn’t think Mr. Opener was bluffing in this spot. Mr. Asian-Pro, being a good reader of situations, knows all this and would raise the turn with an overpair or even as a bluff if he thought he could get away with stealing the pot
Based on the strength of my draw, I had to call the two bets no matter what. I pondered what Mr. Opener’s and Mr. Asian-Pro’s reaction would be if I three-bet as a semibluff.

As long as I didn’t get reraised, it would cost me only one extra bet to turn my two-bet call into a three-bet semibluff. Feeling I was likely up against two one-pair hands and thinking I might be able to make Mr. Opener fold and knowing that Mr. Asian-Pro was capable of making large laydowns when he felt he was beat, I three-hit the turn.
Mr. Opener flashed his hand to his neighbor and tossed it into the muck. Mr. Asian-Pro pondered for a moment and followed suit. Yeehaw, it worked! I placed a dollar on my cards for the dealer and happily scooped the pot knowing I had just gotten away with murder.

I’ll never know what either opponent folded, but I know I couldn’t have held the best hand. And even though I could have won a bigger pot had I called the turn and made my hand, the third bet in my semibluff raise was hugely plus expected value (EV).

These plays often don’t work though, because the pot is laying each player such a large price that they don’t have to be successful very often in order to be profitable.

The fact I possessed a nitty image strengthened my play. If previously in the session I had made more aggressive plays or had been caught raise-bluffing, the play wouldn’t have had the same value because my opponents would possess more doubt about my hand’s strength and been more likely to call.

If you can adjust your play effectively, it pays great dividends when you think about what your opponents think and how they perceive you. Unless a player has played a lot with you, observed you effectively and is sharp enough to read your thinking, how you have played in the last two hours is how they will usually perceive you. Additionally, should a situation occur in which a comparable situation has occurred recently, your opponent will generally perceive you to be making the same play. Of course how he reacts is still player-dependent.

In short, think about what your opponent is thinking. Is there a reason why he might think a given play may be the correct one? If so, lean towards making the counter-play. Is he in an aggressive mindset? Or is he in a passive-defeated mindset? Being in tune with these types of issues can turn a fold into a call or raise that wins you the pot. You won’t always be right, but as a whole your decisions will be better.

And better decisions produces higher EV which leads to bigger bankrolls! And bigger bankrolls are good! ♠

Roy Cooke played poker professionally for 16 years prior to becoming a successful Las Vegas Real Estate Broker/Salesman in 1989. Should you wish to any information about Real Estate matters-including purchase, sale or mortgage his office number is 702-396-6575 or Roy’s e-mail is [email protected]. His website is www.roycooke.com. You can also find him on Facebook or Twitter @RealRoyCooke