Fixed Limit Poker,
Bluffing
July 13 2008
Limit poker affords a savvy player options that other variations don’t. Because the betting is limited, you won’t get into trouble the way you could in a No Limit game when attempting crafty moves. You can force the action without losing a lot of chips, and at the right table, these moves can be very profitable.
One such move is the semi-bluff. Semi-bluffing can be simply defined as betting without a made hand, but having outs to a higher hand than the board currently presents. That means betting out your drawing hands instead of calling other bets. You do this for numerous reasons.
If there has been no betting in front of you, and you bet out your draw, you could pick up the pot right there. Your opponents may have missed the flop and may all muck to your bet. The early bet looks like you’ve hit top pair and are trying to bet with the lead. By betting, you will either gain information on how strong your opponents' hands are, or you will control the betting. If an opponent has top pair they often will only call, looking to trap you. If you hit your draw on the turn you can check it, as if to appear to fear it, and your opponent will not put you on that hand. You can either raise or wait until the river to raise for the extra bet.
Depending on the tightness of the table and your position, it’s often a good semi-bluff to bet out second pair. If you get any calls you’ll need to suck out, but you’ll often get to see the two draw cards for one small bet.
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