Bluffing is the most mysterious feature of no-limit. It captivates the imagination of everyone, not just poker players. Indeed, it appears that the less people understand about poker, the more they believe it is all about bluffing.
Bluffing isn’t the be-all and end-all, but it’s an essential no-limit skill. This post will touch the highlights.
The Guidelines
A lot of bluffing in no-limit is “smallball.” You place a little stake in an attempt to win a pot that no one else wants. A continuation bet after the flop can be an example of a bluff. Position bets, bets from the blinds following a checked flop, and so on. If no one else appears to desire a pot, chuck something out there and see if you can take the pot down.
This page focuses on large bluffs. I can’t predict you when your opponent will fold, but I can give you some broad practical tips for making the most of your bluffs.
Be In Position
Having position makes bluffing much easier. It provides you with additional information regarding the strength of your opponent’s hand while also putting your out-of-position opponent at risk. It’s like having the upper hand in a combat.
If your opponent is looking uphill at an enormous fortress, he will most likely give up without a struggle. If he has the upper hand, he may choose to take additional risks. Bluffing is about making your opponent feel threatened and vulnerable, which he is more likely to sense if he is out of position.
If you bluff from out of position, you should have a fairly powerful draw and the bluff to be naturally all-in (or near to it). For example, suppose you’re in a $20 pot with $100 remaining. You use the nut flush draw. If you check and your opponent bets $20, you can go all in for an additional $80. Because you are all-in, your opponent cannot force you to make a decision by reraising you. And, because you have a favorable draw, you still stand a high chance of winning even if your bluff fails.
Of course, because you’re reading this book, you probably don’t play many pots out of position.
If you’re in position, you have greater leeway. You don’t always need to have a strong hand or go all in. All you need is the appropriate scenario.
Make The Bluff Enough
My friend once played the following hand. He and his opponent had approximately $120 in a $1-$2 game. The opponent opened for $7 and called on the button with T♣ 8♣. The flop was 9♥ 7♠ 2♣, giving him a straight draw. His opponent placed a $20 wager, and he called. The turn was a 2♥. His opponent staked $50, and he went all-in for an additional $43.
After some hesitation, his opponent called K♠ Q♠ and flipped over the cards. The river was a blank, and king-high prevailed.
As my friend described the hand, he kept saying, “King-high. Can you believe that fish named me “king-high?” “What was he thinking?”
Unfortunately, my friend’s bluff was not big enough. By the time he tried to push his opponent off of his hand, the pot was
$200, and it was only $43 extra to call. Because the pot was nearly 5-to-1, the player with king-high most likely calculated that, despite his bad hand, he had enough pot odds to call.
If you want your massive bluffs to work, don’t give your opponent such strong odds. Good odds cause your opponent to say, “What the heck?” and call with weak hands. If you and your opponent are virtually all-in and you are unable to wager at least two-thirds of the pot, you should not attempt the bluff.
Try To Leave Something Behind
Bluffs are more successful when there is a danger of a larger bet in the next round. It’s one thing to call $100 with your shoddy top pair. It’s another thing to describe it as staring at another $300 that may be bet on the river. Naturally, making that threat requires two things:
- More money (ideally at least twice as much as your current bluff).
- Another betting round.
Say the pot is $50 and you believe your opponent has top pair (and is willing to lay it down). Your best chance comes when you’re in position, have at least $150, and are on the flop or turn. You can place a $50 bet now while threatening a $100 all-in wager later. Or you can bet.
$35 and threatens a $115 all-in wager. There is some leeway in how you bet, but you’ll be far more successful with money behind you than without. Sometimes you’ll go through with the second bluff, and sometimes you won’t. But you will always threaten it.
If you don’t have enough money for a future wager, you’re usually better off having a good draw to back up your bluff. If you have the nut flush draw on the flop or a flush and straight draw combo on the turn, you don’t need money to bluff because you’ll be fine if you’re called. In fact, being money behind can be a disadvantage in that situation if your opponent goes all-in on you.
However, on general, bluffs with money behind them are more likely to be successful than those without.
A Standard Bluff
You are playing $1-$2, with a $400 stack. A loose-aggressive but solid player opens for $7, and you call the button with 6♦5♦. The flop is J♥ T♣ 5♠. He bets $15, and you call. The turn is K ♦. He bets $30. Some players would not gamble the turn on such a dangerous board unless there was at least one king. Not this one, however. He’s aggressive, and he loves to keep betting until he hits opposition. Following your call, the pot will be $107, with $348 remaining in each stack. Let’s run through our bluffing checklist:
- You’re in!
- There is another betting round after this.
- If you raise, you’ll have at least twice the amount in your stack (a pot-sized raise would be $107, leaving you with $241, more than twice as much).
- There is a good probability your bluff will succeed.
This is an excellent opportunity to bluff. You could raise the pot to $107, but it is unlikely to cause your opponent to fold the majority of hands. When deciding on a size, the first rule is to bet as little as possible to get the job done. In this case, a $70 rise should enough, so you could make it $100.
Watch Your Opponents
While every player I’ve ever seen has been bluffable to some degree, some are clearly more so than others. Before you start the bluff, think about your opponents’ hands, which ones they might hold, and which ones they might call with. And, clearly, the fewer opponents you have, the more likely your bluff will be successful.
Pull The Trigger
The final guideline is to pull the trigger. Do not give up! It is much simpler to talk yourself out of attempting a huge bluff than it is to convince yourself into it. To play no-limit well, you must make enormous bluffs when the circumstance requires it. Don’t back down; simply go for it.
It may appear to be a large sum of money, but the math is very similar to wagering a good hand. If you follow the criteria outlined above, your opponent will fold frequently. In our example, we were spending $70 to win $107, so we were receiving odds of around
1.5-to-1. If our opponent folded at least 40 percent of the time, the bluff would be profitable. It may seem like $70 is a lot to bet on nothing, but $107 is much more money, and you can win it with nothing. Some bluffs will work, while others will not, but if done correctly, your bluffs will earn you a lot of money over time.
While I do not want you to be irresponsible, I believe it is better to take a risk and go for it. As I previously stated, it is easy to persuade yourself out of a solid bluff, and good bluffing opportunities do occur regularly, especially in tight games. Learning to roller skate, for example, requires a few falls before getting it correctly.
If you are unwilling to wipeout while learning, you will never learn. So play at stakes that are comfortable for you, and start making large bluffs. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be a true no-limit menace.
