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The goal of this little article is to introduce new texas hold'em players to bluffing and semi-bluffing. Note this is specifically for limit texas holdem and not for pot limit or no limit. It isn't for tournament holdem either. All though the rules for playing are very similar in each game, the way one plays is much different so not everything will apply to other facets of holdem. By "limit" holdem we mean a structured bet like $5/10. We would also call this a "ring game".
I'm not sure who coined the term "semi-bluffing" in poker but I will give much credit to David Sklansky for his chapter on this subject in the book, The Theory of Poker. While I knew of semi-bluffing and used it in my game prior to reading their book, the way he formalized the subject was great. I would suggest picking that book up when you want to take your game to the next level. Not everything will apply to low limit games but it is always good to read more literature on poker. It gets you thinking about your game.
Bluffing - most people already know what bluffing is but I'll spell it out here anyway. A bluff is a bet or raise made in attempt to win a pot despite the fact that you have little or nothing as far as a hand goes. The goal of the bluff is to get the opponent(s) to fold right then. You will lose if they call.
Semi-Bluffing - a semi-bluff is just that, it is a partial bluff with some truth in the play. A semi-bluff is similar to a bluff in that you bet, check raise or raise but a semi-bluff differs in that it has a couple more ways to win then a bluff does. With a bluff a person can only win if the opponent folds. With a semi-bluff you can either win by them folding right then, by improving to the best hand or by catching a scare card and betting them out on a subsequent round.
I'm going to try to give you two good examples of using bluffs and semi-bluffs. There are a variety of times when both would be ok but these stand out to me in particular.
Bluff Examples: A common bluff is that you are on the button and a couple tight players check to you on the flop. The board has no draws and it is either Ace or King high (such as As 8c 4d). A bet here could very well win the pot regardless of what you have since they are unlikely to want to chase if you already have a pair of Aces. Bluffing from late position when everyone checks on the flop and then on the turn is also common. Another one would be if the board comes back with all rags (low cards) and you are in one of the blinds. Coming right out betting or check raising a late position player would be a decent bluff example. Another good example of a bluff would be to raise or check raise someone if the board pairs on the turn card. It will be very unlikely that they will want to call since they assume you already have three of a kind. Another bluff I like to make is if I have a good read on a player that they have missed their flush draw or straight draw. Often times I will win by merely betting my broken flush draw against theirs.
Semi-Bluff Examples: Here is a semi-bluff that I put on a person a few sessions ago. I had 89s and there were a few people in preflop. The big blind raised. He was actually a tight pretty decent player so I figured he had AK or better (AA or KK, maybe QQ). The flop came back Jack high giving me the flush draw. He came out betting and I called. The other people folded. The turn card paired the board making it something like J646. He came out betting again. I was about to just call but then something said raise so I did that and he thought for a while and folded. Normally I would semi-bluff on the flop by raising my flush draw as long as it wouldn't cut off too many players behind me (I want them in with that hand). I didn't do that in this case on the flop because it was likely he would make it three bets. The turn card brought a perfect opportunity to semi-bluff. The reason this was a perfect semi-bluff example is because it clearly shows the three ways it can win: by having the opponent fold right then, on a later round, or by improving to best hand. My guess was that he would fold but if he called, I still had the chance to catch my flush and win. He may have even just called with two overcards and then if he missed on the river and I bet he would most fold. Most people semi-bluff when they have an open-ended straight draw or a flush draw. Those are good moves but don't do it if it cuts off people behind you. In other cases you may raise to cut people off. Here is an example of a semi-bluff I did in another game a bit ago where I wanted to raise to limit the people in the hand. I had A5 of spades and someone raised from the small blind (another tight player). I was pretty sure he had a big pair (AA, KK, QQ). The flop came back and it was T66 with two spades. I was after the preflop raiser so when he bet I raised. I did that because I actually wanted to limit the competition behind me because it might improve my chances of winning if an A hit. My five kicker wasn't great so the less players the better. It turned out I lost that hand because neither the flush or the A hit but I was correct in that if my A did hit, it would have beat his QQ. I could also potentially semi-bluff again if the turn card brought another T making it T66T. If he bet again I would most certainly raise since it would be very hard for him to call now with even AA.
Knowing when to bluff and semi-bluff is very important. Winning a pot feels awesome but stealing one feels 10x better and that feeling is addicting. Don't get too ambitious and bluff all your money away. A few tips are as follows. A bluff works best when you know that the person you are playing against thinks you have a certain hand. Bluffs also work best when you are playing a good player instead of a poor one. Bluffs also work best on later rounds when the bet is more. Bluffs also work best against one opponent. Becareful though in trying to bluff really big pots since most people won't fold under any circumstance in that situation. Both bluffs and semi-bluffs present themselves by the texture of the game, your opponents, your table image and of course the cards. When everyone sees you always showing down really strong hands (which they should), you are in the perfect position to bluff them. Another tip is once you start bluffing a hand, don't show weakness. Say you bluff on the turn and get called. I might even prefer betting again on the river instead of checking. If I get called then it just cost me one more big bet and I actually get to show I was bluffing as opposed to checking and giving him a chance to bluff me.
Bluffing shouldn't be a big part of your game in low limit holdem since most of the players are too stupid to fold. I can go a number of sessions without bluffing at all since the games are usually so loose to begin with. Semi-bluffing is totally different though and that I use as often as I can (limited by the cards). Note that if the players are bad it takes away one of your ways of winning with the semi-bluff: them folding right now. Because of that the semi-bluff goes down in value some as the players get worse but I think that these same moves transfer over into what is called "betting for value" so they are still good (just for a different reason). I'll explain what means below. I guess the best answer for how often you should pure bluff is as often as you can get away with it. That isn't very often though in low limit texas holdem so watch it.
A bad time to semi-bluff or bluff is when the opponents are really poor players since it unlikely you can win by betting them out of a pot. Don't try to bluff into more then a couple of players unless you are feeling lucky. Lastly I think bluffing into large pots rarely works.
Betting for value is when you think you have the best hand and you want to make the other people pay. Seems like what you normally do right? It kind of is but there is a difference. Sometimes the cards turn out to be really scary but your opponent is so bad that you still figure you have him beat still so you go ahead and bet anyway just to make more money (aka value). For example you bet the whole way into him with pocket kings and an A comes on the river or the board pairs. Since he is such a bad player he could literally have any hand so I put in another bet instead of checking. So if the players you are against are very bad you'll want to be betting more for value and less on pure bluffs. The opposite holds true in tighter upper limit games. You'll make more bluffs because your good hands will be making you less money (value) since their skill allows them to dodge more of your bullets.
If you raise on the turn card with a flush draw you had on the flop and then catch it on the river, people will be very surprised. This illustrates that semi-bluffing can give your poker game a higher level of deception. Deception means money so pay attention to that. Also a semi-bluff can buy you free cards from timid players. If you raise in the back (late position) with a flush draw or straight draw, or even just over cards, it is very likely they will check to you on the turn giving you the chance to also check and take a "free" card. Also semi-bluffing takes the initiative away from someone else and gives it to you. You take control of the pot and then they are calling you. That has lots of benefits in and of itself.
A person who bluffs sometimes and uses semi-bluffs wins more then someone who doesn't at all. In your progression as a player more opportunities will present themselves because your view of the game will be sharper. Until then I would go easy on the bluffing unless you find a particularly juicy situation. When you do bluff and get picked off, someone calls, then don't feel bad. There is value in that move as well. It is called "advertising" and it will most likely get you more action later on your good hands. People love to catch other people bluffing and it turns them into calling stations (a person who calls too much when they shouldn't). Semi-bluffing on the other hand I would recommend using in your game as much as you feel comfortable with. It is a very powerful tool that will turn you from being a tight booksmart player into an ass kicking expert. Knowing when and when not to use these plays will decide whether you can play with the pros.
