PokerWorks

If you've been playing poker for a while now, you've probably already semi bluffed in Texas Hold 'Em on a number of occasions, perhaps without realising what you are actually doing.

Semi bluffing is very different from an outright bluff. When you bluff somebody, you generally either have a pretty poor hand or a reasonable hand but bet with the intention of representing a much stronger hand. You bluff to take the pot then and there and under no circumstances do you want to be called. When you semi bluff, you still want to take the pot then and there but should your opponent call it's not exactly the end of the world.

Here is an example situation of where you might want to semi bluff:

You hold 6h,7h in the big blind. A reasonable hand to play in a multi-player pot. A player raises early in the betting. He is called by two others, then the small blind, finally you call also.

The flop:

5h, Kd, 8h

Let's pause for a moment and examine the flop. This is a great flop for you, despite you having no pair, you have a large number of out cards. Any 4 card or 9 card would give you the nut straight. The 4h and 9h card give you the straight flush and any heart card would give you the flush. So, here we can semi bluff to try and take the (already quite large due to pre-flop raises) pot and bet out or raise any small bets.

The initial pre-flop raiser is likely to call you even if he missed the flop, simply because there is so much already in there. So your bet must be enough to represent a poor value call to him if he missed the flop. If he hit the King, he may well re-raise you. Even with pocket Queens he may well re-raise the minimum to see where he stands. So, your bet mustn't be too big that a raise or re-raise will cripple your chip stack if it comes.

If you get to see the turn and river and you make, for example, the nut straight, it is very unlikely your opponents will put you on that hand. Because you were aggressive with your betting before you made your hand, they are likely to assume you hold a lesser value hand and may well call or even raise you if they suspect they have a chance of winning.

If you hit an out card and you are paid off by your opponents, a semi bluff or bluff is probably not a wise move to make for a while. Your opponents will remember the last time 'you got lucky' and you could be faced with re-raises all-in in similar situations in future.

In an ideal world the table will fold to you and we won't have to see the turn card. The point of semi bluffing, just as in bluffing, is to take the existing pot as soon as you can. If you are called you still stand a great chance of hitting a very big hand and by showing aggression on the flop, you may get to see the river card for free if you miss the turn, as players will be aware of betting and being raised by you.

Where you should draw the line on semi bluff bets is up to you. It is sensible to show some aggression with your semi bluff but not so much that you are risking large parts, or all, of your chips. Always be aware if you are raised or re-raised a large amount when you semi bluff. Can you afford the call? Is your opponent giving you terrible odds for a call? Always take care of your chip stack and use semi bluffs wisely.