Sensing weakness
When all cards are on the board and you have absolutely nothing
things might seem hopeless, but they are not. You can still
use your reading skills and position
to win the pot. If you’re acting behind a player you think
is holding a good hand, but not the nuts, you should try to
push him out of the pot. This is what you should do:
Almost all in
People who are bluffing often put all their chips into the pot.
This might look impressive and intimidating but it’s actually
a rather risky strategy.
A better play is to make a double bluff - a bluff at bluffing
at weakness. Exactly how you do this depends on the betting
structure and how big your chip stack is relative to both the
pot and your opponent's stacks.
The general idea is that you should bet less than but close
to the maximum. This will make your opponent think that you
expect not only a call, but a raise, and that you will be pleased
when it comes. Your opponent will believe that best he can do
in this situation is get a split pot. He might well think that
you are setting a trap for him, and if this is the case he will
probably fold.
This is how you should proportion
your bet:
•
In a pot
limit game where the pot is smaller than either of your
stacks you should bet 75-85% of
the pot.
• In a no limit
game where you have a larger stack than your opponent you should
bet at least 75 %
of his stack.
• When
you have a smaller stack than your opponent you should bet 75-85%
of your stack.
If the plan backfires
As mentioned, the key is to make your opponent think that
he can’t make you fold by raising, and that you are
trying to trap him. If your brilliant plan backfires and he
does raise, you of course have to fold. If he calls you lose
but he probably would have called a bigger bet as well. Either
way you save some money by not going all in. |
