Even the very least experienced online poker players know that bluffing is an important aspect of a winning poker strategy. What the beginners often miss is that their experienced rivals are bluffing in situations where they have an ‘escape route’ when called. Known as the ‘Semi-Bluff’, this poker move can potentially win the pot in two ways, making it profitable over time. This article introduces the semi-bluff in No Limit Texas Holdem Poker Games for beginner-level players by running through an example hand – going on to explain when to use the semi-bluff to improve your long term profits.
We start with an example of where both a bluff and a call would show a loss, yet a semi-bluff raise would make a profit. It is the turn and you have J-10 on a board of K-Q-5-2 of 4 different suits. You correctly suspect that your opponent has a pair of queens, giving you 8 river cards which will win the hand for you – the 4 remaining 9’s and 4 remaining aces both give you a straight.
Here we have a classic situation where calling is unlikely to be profitable – since you will only make your straight approximately 1 time in 5, and those times you make the straight with an ace you may not even get more chips from your opponent. If you did not have a straight draw here then a ‘pure bluff’ would be very unlikely to show a profit, your opponent will usually call with his pair of queens too often to make this play pay.
However the combination of your straight draw and chances that your opponent may fold can make this move profitable where trying to hit the draw and bluffing alone were not.
If you bluff then your opponent calls 50% of the time
Of that 50% you will win the (larger) pot approx 1 time in 5 (14%)
Putting some numbers to this example: With $80 in the pot and $100 left to bet, semi-bluffing has the following expectation here over 100 attempts:
50% of the time your opponent folds and you win $80 = +$4000
50% of the time your opponent calls:
40 of these times you lose $100 (your bet) = -$4000
10 of these times you win $180 (opponent’s call + pot ) = +$1800
Net profit = $1800 over 100 attempts or $18 per try.
As you can see from the above example bluffing alone showed a loss, drawing to your straight (allowing your opponent to bet and then calling) also showed a loss, but the big raise combined with your winning chances when called showed a significant profit over time.
For this reason experienced poker players tend to semi-bluff far more often than bluffing alone. The decision on whether to semi-bluff is often dependant on stack sizes, opponent tendencies and your opponents perception of you. While awareness of these situational factors will grow with experience, the concept behind semi-bluffing should increase your bluffing profits right away.
Online players who really want an edge at the tables there are several independent Texas Holdem Poker Software Tools which will watch opponents for you and even suggest profitable plays against them. Be sure to check out what is on the market to improve your profits from the online poker tables.
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