Bluffing strategy

Bluffing in limit hold’em takes a great deal more thought and premeditation than is required in no-limit. In a no-limit game you can simply overbet the hand at will, giving the illusion to your opponent that he may be behind. If the bet is large enough, it will even price your opponent out of continuing with the hand in the event that he feels the need to draw to a better hand. This strategy does not work in limit. In order to explore bluffing in limit games, we need to explore several aspects, notably: who to bluff, when to bluff and how to bluff.

Who to bluff

Selecting the appropriate opponent to bluff in limit hold’em is critical. You do not want to pick the weakest player at the table as they may not have a clue they are behind in a hand. Also, you certainly don’t want to select the proverbial calling station at your table as they will keep you company to the river, regardless. The opponent you want to isolate is the tight, conservative player that has the skill set to get away from a losing hand. In fact, most skilled players pride themselves on their ability to get away from losing situations and hate calling their money away. This type of player is the perfect target.

When to bluff

Timing when to bluff in limit hold’em is critical. You need to decide early on in the hand the time that you intend to bluff at the pot. The texture of the flop will determine the viability of your decision. It is also critical you have the ability to put your opponent on a hand that you feel you can get him off of as things develop. For example, if you put your opponent on a large pair – let’s say K-K or pocket Queens – and the flop is 7-3-2 rainbow, it may be difficult to get him to lay down the hand. However, if under the same circumstances, the flop is 9-8-5 with two or more suited cards, this would be a desirable situation to start setting up the bluff. It’s imperative you do not simply bluff on the river.

The turn is where you set up the bluff, and, if necessary, you continue the bluff on the river. Without the bet or raise on the turn, it is very difficult to bluff in limit hold’em as the player is getting significant value to call a bet on the river. For example, if there is $500 in the pot and you bet out $50, they only need to be right 10% of the time when making that call. So, if you are not prepared to begin your bluff on the turn, or perhaps the texture of the board is not co-operating with you, leave it alone and pick a hand that you feel is better suited.

How to bluff

First and foremost, you have to allow yourself to get into the mind of your opponent; that means providing them with enough information – based on your actions, or lack of – to enable them to put you on a winning hand according to the texture of the board. If you are unable to facilitate this simple demand, you will not be able to bluff successfully.

If you did not raise or re-raise pre-flop and showed the same aggression post-flop, you cannot expect your opponent to put you on a hand like A-A or K-K, simply because you chose to get aggressive on the turn. You have to select the appropriate board that will enable you to bluff successfully the majority of the time.

Let’s take the example previously mentioned, where you have put your opponent on a large pair (K-K, Q-Q). The flop comes 9♣-8♣-5♠. Your opponent is first to act and goes ahead and leads out with a bet. If you intend to bluff at this pot, now is the time to take the lead in the hand. I would immediately raise in this situation. By raising, your opponent will put you on a variety of hands, such as two pair, a set, flush draw or a straight draw.

Your opponent calls the raise. The turn is a 2♥; an insignificant card in this scenario. Given your post-flop aggression, your opponent will most likely decide to check here. If you choose to check you will need to catch one of several cards on the river to be successful in the bluff: any club, 10 or 7 should be enough to ensure a win in the hand as your check on the turn will almost always cause your opponent to narrow their options and put you on the draw. You hit a club on the river and bet out. A conservative player will lay down in this situation, as they will assume they were outdrawn in the hand.

Let’s take a look at another example. You are first to act with pocket 3s and decide to raise the big blind from early position – camouflaging the weakness of your small pair. Your opponent calls from the cut-off. Everyone folds around to you. You put your opponent on a midpair as they have made this play several times with hands like 7-7, 8-8 and 9-9.

The flop comes 2♣-4♦-6♠. You check and your opponent bets out. You call and the turn is the A♣. This is a scare card for your opponent assuming you put him on the right hand. At this point, if you check the turn and your read on your opponent is correct, then they will most likely check behind you and take the free card. In the event this happens it will be very difficult to get him off the hand on the river. If you’re going to represent the Ace to set up the bluff, now is the time to bet the hand. In the event you get called on the turn, be prepared to immediately lead out again on the river. It is very unlikely that you will get called twice by your opponent without his hand improving and an Ace landing on the board.

Scary days

Many players make the classic mistake of attempting to make the same play when a scare card hits the board on the river. You have been playing A-Q from early position and were called by pocket 9s. The flop came 2♣-4♦-6♠. The turn is a 7♥. You decide to check-call the turn. The K♥ hits the board on the river and you decide to lead out and bluff. You are wasting your money and you will get called in this situation 99% of the time. Even if your opponent puts you on overcards, they will almost always call given the way this hand played out as they are getting significant value to do so.

As I had previously stated, if there is $500 in the pot and you bet out $50, your opponent only needs to be right 10% of the time when making that call. So don’t attempt to throw out a desperation bet on the river and expect your bluff attempt to be successful. More care and consideration is needed here.