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DOYLE BRUNSON’S SUPER SYSTEM 2
If you graduate from limit hold ‘em to no-limit, you might find yourself
doing many things, in addition to drawing to inside straights, that
simply won’t work when all it can cost your opponent is another bet.
A good example of
a bluff that has a lot
of power to it in nolimit,
but will rarely
work at limit, comes
when the board is
one card off a
straight on fourth
street. Let’s say
there’s an A-K-Q-J
out there and your
opponent bets.
You’ve got a 10 in the
hole, and since
there’s no flush possible,
you’ve got the
nuts. Your opponent
bets, you raise, and
he plays back. Now,
there’s no question
he’s also got a
straight.
An unsophisticated
player would
move in on him right there because he knows he can’t lose. But what
good is that? He’s only going to get a split.
However, adding some drama and a little acting to your play gives
you a chance to win it all. You know you’re going to call his reraise but
you don’t have to do it instantaneously. Take your time. Just stall
around. Study the board real hard and shake your head several times
making it appear as though you overlooked the possible straight. You
could even pick up your cards slightly and make him think you’re going
to throw them away. Then put them back down and say, “Okay, I’ll
call it”.
With all your agonizing, he’s got to give you credit for a set. You’ve
made him think you’re gambling the board will pair so you’ll make a
full. If the board does pair on the end, you bet him all your money.
There’s almost no risk to that play. You represent a full and many a time
your opponent will throw his hand away. Of course, it’s almost impossible
to do in limit because all the guy has to do is call one bet.
PLAY POKER LIKE JOHNNY CHAN
Knowing when to bluff has a number of advantages. First of all, the
player who never bluffs gives away too much information. If a player
never bluffs, his opponent can safely fold all marginal and many moderately
strong hands when he bets. In addition, it is much easier for
them to read his hand because a bet means he either has a good piece
of the board or an overpair. A player who never bluffs also has a hard
time getting paid off his winning hands. If you learn how and when to
bluff you become a much more difficult person to read. And getting
caught bluffing once in a while works to your advantage because it puts
pressure on your opponents to call you the many times you have them
beat.
I do a lot of bluffing in tournaments because many players are afraid
to call if losing the hand will knock them out of the tournament. I also
raise the blinds frequently in an attempt to pick up the antes. I am able
to pick up so much free money in the form of blinds, antes, and bluffs,
I gain a significant edge over
those that play a more conservative
style.
Sometimes I talk about
players who have no value
for money and I say that they
are very tough to beat. What
I mean is that they have no
fear, so it is very difficult to
bluff them. In poker getting
the nuts is very hard to do.
That means that you have to
bluff. Any time I play poker,
if I don’t bluff I’m not going
to win. It doesn’t matter
what the size of the game,
small or big, I need to bluff to
win. Another advantage to
learning to bluff well is that
it “takes a thief to catch a
thief,” meaning that if you
bluff a lot you will be able to
tell when your opponents
are bluffing. When you start
playing the higher limits, if you don’t bluff you aren’t going to get paid
off on your good hands.
I
find it much easier to bluff tight players than players for whom
money has no value. This is because when I make a big bet against tight
players, they start to think about how much money it is and they often
lay down their mediocre hands. A player who isn’t afraid of money
won’t do that. I should let you know where I fit in here. I have value
for
money, but if I think I have the best hand I’m going to put the money
in no matter how much it is. So I guess you could call me fearless when
it comes to poker. That makes me a very tough player to bluff and it
puts
my opponents on the defensive, which gives me a license to steal.
PHIL GORDON’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK
If I never get bluffed out of a pot, I know I am calling too
much. Conversely, if I never get caught bluffing I know I’m not
bluffing enough.
Early in a particular tournament or session, I will often test an
opponent by making a bluff. An opponent who will call a reasonable
pot-size bet with a marginal holding is not likely to be
“bluffable” in the future.
There are bluffs, and there are BIG bluffs. The little bluffs –
stealing blinds, antes, and small pots with well-timed bets – are
just part of the game. The big bluff is a work of art. Before I’ll
consider risking a huge portion of my stack on a hand I’m almost
certain is second-best, I’ll run through the following checklist in
my head:
•My opponent believes I am playing tight.
•My opponent has not recently witnessed a bluff from me.
•My opponent has not recently been the target of a big bluff from
another player. Players who have not been bluffed off a hand (and
had their noses rubbed in it) or have caught another player bluffing
are more apt to call.
•My opponent is very likely on a weak or medium-strength hand.
•The tournament situation makes it very hard for my opponent to
call: We’re on the bubble, he has a
big stack and can only get busted
by me, or we’re in the money and
there are many short stacks that
will likely be broke soon.
•The pot is very large.
•I am very sure that my hand is
losing and cannot win without
a bet.
•My opponent is unlikely to
have a very good draw.
•My opponent isn’t anywhere
near pot committed.
•My bet will severely cripple
my opponent’s stack if he calls
and I actually have the hand
I’m representing.
•I have represented strength
throughout the hand, or it is
very plausible in the context of
the betting that I have been
helped enormously by the last
card dealt.
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