Bluffing in 2-7 Triple Draw Part 2

As I mentioned last time, I’ve been playing mixed games regularly lately, and it’s been a great break from the monotony of no-limit hold‘em. We start a new table, pick which games we want to play (Usually limit hold ‘em, Omaha eight-or-better, stud eight-or-better, 2-7 triple draw, Badugi, and razzdugi), and get going. We play eight hands of each game and, since almost every other game in the room is hold ‘em, our game turns some heads. Stud is a novelty to see and the draw games look like some sort of alien game to a hold ‘em player.

I was playing in another game while I waited for the mixed game to start and one of the players who noticed I’ve been playing that game quite often was asking me a few questions about it. After some rules explanations and discussion of some basic ideas about a few of the games, he said “The thing I don’t like about limit games is that you can’t bluff because the pots are so big and nobody ever folds.” Ah yes, I’ve been hearing this one for ages. It is definitely more difficult to get a bluff through in limit games, but it happens all the time. In this article, I’ll discuss a second hand from the same session in a typical bluffing situation.

This is a 2-7 triple draw hand. In this game, you’re looking to make the worst possible five-card hand by the end with aces being high and straights and flushes counting against you. The best possible hand is 2-3-4-5-7 with at least two suits. It is played with a button and blinds and, after everyone is dealt five cards, there are alternating rounds of betting and drawing new cards.

It folds to me on the button and I raise with 2-4-5-Q-K. Three cards to a wheel that include a deuce is a premium hand that you can open from any position, and I’m happy to have it on the button. Both blinds call and we draw two, three, and two respectively. I catch a 6 and a blank, and they both check to me. Having improved, I bet, and they both call. This time, the draws go one, two, and one. I look at the pips on my card and I have a 3 across. That means it’s a 6, 7, or 8. Since I already have a 6 in my hand, which means I’ve improved 8/11 times or 72 percent of the time. They check to me, and I bet. The small blind raises, the big blind folds and I take a look at the number on the card.

It’s a beautiful 7. Now we get into some interesting stuff. I have the fourth-best possible hand. With a slightly worse hand, something like 8-7-X-Y-Z, I would call in order to keep my opponent from breaking a hand that is worse than mine and also keep the pot a little smaller. With a hand worse than that, like a 10-6 or J-6, I might look to three-bet and get my opponent to break and, if he doesn’t, I can draw (This is called a convertible hand). With the hand I’ve just made, I’m happy to three-bet just for value and show my hand down. If my opponent four-bets and bets the river, my plan is to just call, as five big bets is probably the right amount to put in with 2-4-5-6-7.

My opponent does decide to four-bet and I call. He stands pat (doesn’t draw any cards) and I stand pat behind him. He checks the river, I bet, and he folds.

In this instance, he was trying to do something I mentioned above. He thinks that if he four-bets and stands pat, I’m likely to break a made hand that he doesn’t beat. If he has something like 2-4-5-8-10 and I have a smooth draw with no duplicate cards dead, say 2-4-5-7, he’s a 58 percent favorite. So, if he can get me to break my hand with something like that, it’s a big win for him. It works better when he would be drawing to something a little bit rough that he can’t be mostly sure is a winner if he gets there, but it would be a big boon nonetheless to turn a hand that is currently losing into one that is a nearly 60 percent favorite on the last draw. Incidentally, this situation and others like it are why being in position is so important in draw games. Getting to act last on three extra rounds of decisions is key.

It is absolutely true that bluffing is more prevalent in big bet games. Bets that are bigger relative to the size of the pot are much more likely to get through than those that are small relative to the size of the pot. They do, however, have to work more often. If you play limit games with an eye on good bluffing spots and have a relatively good success rate, you will have great success with bluffing. ♠

Gavin Griffin was the first poker player to capture a World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour and World Poker Tour title and has amassed nearly $5 million in lifetime tournament winnings. Griffin is sponsored by HeroPoker.com. You can follow him on Twitter @NHGG