In Part 1 we discussed that bluffing in Texas Hold’em poker is more complicated than simply betting when your opponent checks and hoping they fold. There will be pots that your opponent has shown interest in that you can force them to fold by “announcing” that you do indeed have a very strong hand (when you do not) and there is no option but to fold for your opponent. Sensing the timing for such moves is what separates the excellent millionaire cash game players from the rest of us mere mortals. But studying good bluffs and the metagame that goes into the decisions for when good players make such moves is part of the process when you learn poker.
Bluffing in Cash Game Poker
In cash games the conditions suit well-timed bluff attempts. Bluffs are useful to take a few pots that you would otherwise lose and you get plenty of time to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents. When you see a certain play by your opponent that suggests a weaker hand this is bluffing territory. A good read on a player can make bluffing in cash game poker relatively low risk. More often than not semi-bluffing is used in cash games where high draws in particular are played with strong raises.
High stakes poker professionals make semi-bluffs more than full bluffs because at least if they are called they still have 40% equity in the hand. They are more than happy to flip for big pots because often opponents will fold anyway.
Bluffing in Tournament Poker
In tournament poker there is the ongoing issue to do with the rising blinds that force you to make plays that you would otherwise prefer to avoid. Bluffing in tournaments is slightly different and you need to bet hard in certain spots to force opponents to give up hands so you can survive in the blinds. Towards the end of a poker tournament it is more about the situation and chip stack you have rather than individual reads, but if you have a read that an opponent has a good hand then you can still make a good fold. Much of the time in tournaments you need to push around the medium stacks and players you know are a little too tight and will give up the hand to a good bet.
Do not Overdo It
Bluffing is not designed to be implemented in every hand. Sometimes you can feel bored and you get a sudden desperate feeling inside that “I must win this pot no matter what” and you try a marginal raise that really you should not make. I used to fight against this feeling all of the time. I wanted action! The correct move is to look for the correct conditions for a bluff. The timing of the bluff decides its success and an ill-timed bluff can be costly. Each time you make such a move you are risking chips without the back-up of a good hand. You therefore need to be pretty sure it is going to work before you do it.
There will, of course, be times when you run into your opponent slow playing a massive hand or holding cards strong enough to raise all-in. This happens and it is part of poker. But it is another reason not to overdo it too often; your opponents get good cards too!
By Malcolm Clarke