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Texas Hold'em Hand Play-By-Play Example - Semi-Bluff
The semi-bluff is the act of betting at a pot when you do not yet have a strong hand, but have
a good opportunity of making a strong hand. In this semi-bluff example, I am holding the KQ of spades. I
pre-flop raise with this hand $2 in late position. There are four callers total, so the pot
is a little over $8.00.
The flop brings A 7 8 with two spades. I miss hitting a King or a Queen. However, I have four
cards to the flush.
Both players before me check. If they had an Ace, I would have, of course, expected them to bet with two
spades on the board (stop someone from chasing the flush). The
player behind me may have an Ace, but I figure there is only one player to beat at this point, and though he
may be holding an Ace, I still have 9 cards in the deck that will complete my Spade flush.
I take a stab at the pot, betting $4. This is about half the pot. I do not want to commit too large of a bet
in case I'm walking into a big hand or check-raise. But, my bet needs to be large enough to fold out my
opponents.
The player behind me folds, as well as the two players before me. So, by semi-bluffing the hand,
I am able to win the pot right there and not even have to hit my fifth spade. The semi-bluff was also
well set up with the pre-flop raise. It is very believable that I raised holding AK, AQ, or AJ, and now
I'm betting on the pair of Aces.
Semi-bluffing is an important tactic that should be incorporated into your poker strategy.
However, you should not always semi-bluff a pot when you have four to the straight or flush. First of all,
semi-bluffing is only profitable if you can fold hands and take down uncontested pots. If you are playing
heads up against an
opponent who will not fold, it is often better to see the next card for free or cheap. You also must vary your play
and not become predictable. Sometimes hitting your flush WITHOUT semi-bluffing at the pot previously can make
your hand LESS detectable!
Check out the hand below:
0/0 TexasHTGameTable (NL) - Wed Apr 07 23:13:51 EDT 2004
Table Comatose (Real Money) -- Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 2: Player2 ( $24.15)
Seat 3: Player3 ( $23.50)
Seat 4: Player4 ( $21)
Seat 5: Player5 ( $24)
Seat 6: Player6 ( $62.45)
Seat 7: Player7 ( $24)
Seat 8: FlopTurnRiver ( $22.75)
Seat 9: Player9 ( $30.75)
Player3 posts small blind (0.25)
Player4 posts big blind (0.50)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to FlopTurnRiver [ Ks, Qs ]
Player5 calls (0.50)
Player6 calls (0.50)
Player7 folds.
FlopTurnRiver raises (2) to 2
Player9 calls (2)
Player2 folds.
Player3 folds.
Player4 folds.
Player5 calls (1.50)
Player6 calls (1.50)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Ac, 7s, 6s ]
Player5 checks.
Player6 checks.
FlopTurnRiver bets (4)
Player9 folds.
Player5 folds.
Player6 folds.
** Summary **
Main Pot: $12.35 | Rake: $0.40
Board: [ Ac 7s 6s ]
Player2 balance $24.15, didn't bet (folded)
Player3 balance $23.25, lost $0.25 (folded)
Player4 balance $20.50, lost $0.50 (folded)
Player5 balance $22, lost $2 (folded)
Player6 balance $60.45, lost $2 (folded)
Player7 balance $24, didn't bet (folded)
FlopTurnRiver balance $29.10, bet $6, collected $12.35, net +$6.35
Player9 balance $28.75, lost $2 (folded)
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