got caught bluffing and am left with a very small stack... S

I was playing poker today and following the tips on this sight and many other, I decided that a good bluff from the button was in order. I put in 4x the bb and get a couple of callers but mostly folders, prior to my raise the pot was unraised. The flop came down rags and it was checked to me so I made another healthy bet a fold and a call followed. Turn comes and we've got all 4 suits on the board with no 3 cards of a strait. Its checked to me so I put in a larger raise and get called. River comes and still rags, should I have raised again here? I did a very large raise and get called. I had ace high and lose to a pair of 4s.

First question is what could I have done to have made him fold, or was he just a habbitual caller? What needs to be fixed with my approach in this situation?

Secondly, after making these big bets, I'm left with a tiny stack. Normally when I get in this situation I like to camp until I hit AA or some other monster and try and go all in as quickly as possible until I get my stack built up again, but the game today started out full and then after my big beat a few players left and it was down to 4 people. I don't think you can camp on monsters in a short handed game as you would get knocked out by the blinds coming back to you so quickly. What is the best way to try and rebuild your stack at this point? Should I check if bb and call with sb and fold otherwise until I get my hand?

Thanks a lot for the help.

Regards,

Cory

You're obviosly playing in stakes too low to be bluffing in. 25nl? Less? Don't ever attempt this, I've personally found this to be my biggest way to lose money at these levels and have cut it out of my game down there altogether. Wait until you get into stakes where guys might actually consider you have hit a hand too, and it could actually be better than theirs.

Oh yeah, as for re-building your stack, don't worry about this unless you're in a tournament. For some reason I'm assuming you're talking about ring games here. If it's a ring game reload and play away. If you're talking tournaments, all-in with any decent hand in late position. Steal those blinds to make your way back up. Works for me.

Good advice. I have had this happen to me in a tournament, but today was a ring game. I'm reloading and playing away!

you will always run into problems with this. at lower limits, people will be too dumb to entertain the idea that they might be beat. at higher limits, they will be smart enough to figure out that you're full of shit. there is no winning.

I throw out a flop continuation bet probably 95% of the time, i rarely keep it going on the turn without some type of a read that I think the guy is drawing/will fold.

Ok, makes sense. If the flop is rags you can try for the steal, but don't keep trying if you got callers. That's a big help.

Only been playing hold 'em for about 4 months now, but love doing my homework and hate losing, especially when I make myself lose. I can beat the fish but I know my game has holes that need fixing, so anticipate another stupid question or 2. lol

Thanks again for the advice. I'll try not to make the same mistake twice.

Cory

Originally Posted by Greedo017

At lower limits, people will be too dumb to entertain the idea that they might be beat. at higher limits, they will be smart enough to figure out that you're full of shit.

Well stated.

Continuation on a rag board is asking for trouble if you preflop raised. People are putting you on unimproved broadways.

I will continuation bet the flop most times, but give it up on the turn if i dont improve.. i wont continuation bet at all if its a calling station i'm up against, unless i'm semibluffing to build the pot on a ridiculously good draw.. basically, your trying to take down a small pot with continuation bets.. not throw your whole stack in.. if the call you on the flop, re evaluate, consider what they have, whether they will call again on the turn, and make your desicion from there.. often you will find yourself check/folding the turn. Which is fine. Because better players will start assuming all your bets are full of shit and when you get a decent hand they'll have no respect for you, and you will get pay off.

Don't ask us if he was a habitual caller, you played with him! Obviously, if you think he's a guy that calls more often then he should, then you shouldn't have bet.

Your bet on the river was probably a mistake. You should either give up the masquerade or go all in. Leaving yourself with a short stack doesn't help any. For some reason, going all-in is the most convincing way to bluff even if it's only a few dollars more. Sell it, or give it up.

Also, you have to ask yourself if you properly represented your imaginary AA. Do you normally push all in on the turn with big pocket pairs? Did you play your bluff any differently? The same? Obviously, it needs to look the same.

If you're not willing to totally sell it then don't risk your chips betting on more than one street. A poor bluff is always extremely costly. I know. I've made lots of really bad bluffs in my time, lol. Good luck!