No Limit Texas Holdem Poker Semi Bluff
De CidesaWiki
A much more effective weapon to have in your poker arsenal than the 'stone cold hope your opponent folds' bluff, is the semi bluff. Everyone else sees the bluffs created by pro players on ESPN where that they had 2-5 off suit and took down a pot that had an Ace on the board, by bluffing and getting the other player to fold. However , the semi-bluff is more of a bluff that you make when you hit 'part' of your hand and you are pretty sure your opponent hit nothing. Let me demonstrate what I mean.
You have A-7 suited in the Big Blind and are able to verify a flop. The flop then comes K-7-6 rainbow. You found middle pair with top kicker. That is a hand capsa susun that you can make a stab at using what I call a semi-bluff. If your opponent(s) does not hold a King, your bet causes it to be seem like you do have one, hence completing the mentality of the bluff. However , the semi-bluff can work to your advantage because you still have 'live' cards or the possibility of hitting your hand if you do get a call. A� You get the best of both worlds. If another 7 hits on the turn or river you have made your hand. If an Ace hits, you have probably made your hand as well, so you can confidently bet this hand and not be terribly worried if you get yourself a call.
By comparison, on what I call a 'naked' bluff, if you get a call or a raise from your opponent, you are probably likely to have to shut it down unless you think you can bluff him on another street. If you have nothing and he calls your bluff, you are in big trouble. If you are making a semi-bluff, then you do have some options and may want to continue in the hand.
The same goes for hands where you have a big draw. Let's say you are holding 6s-7s (suited) and the flop comes Ks-8s-9h. In the event that you bet here is it a bluff? Sure, you have nothing but a 7-high in your hand. However , it really is a semi-bluff because you have an up and down straight draw plus the flush draw giving you 17 cards that may hit your hand. This really is a great time to throw a bet at this pot because your probability of hitting a card that will make your hand are so high.
Especially in online poker where many times you are never sure what selection of cards your opponents will be playing, I like to make use of the semi-bluff more than a naked bluff. Obviously, this can depend on the game you are playing, or the purpose you have reached in a tournament, but overall, the naked bluff looks great on TELEVISION, but has a lot of risk when it is utilized in online poker play.
