Questions About Semibluffing (split)

relevant link imo http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerfo...ng-178446.html . my understanding is that semi-bluffing is betting/raising with a hand that is rarely best on the given street, but has a chance of improving to the best hand on later streets. your equity when called is like a safety net, to use a terrible analogy, making it easier to show a profit with your essential bluff (because you never expect to have the best hand when you MAKE the bet) because some percent of the time when you are called you make the best hand, extract money on further streets etc etc. semi-bluffing also helps disguise hands and make you harder to read. this is only a basic understanding of semi-bluffing typed out by a complete fish. but it's a start if you don't understand the concept as yet.

Originally Posted by rpm

relevant link imo http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerfo...ng-178446.html . my understanding is that semi-bluffing is betting/raising with a hand that is rarely best on the given street, but has a chance of improving to the best hand on later streets. your equity when called is like a safety net, to use a terrible analogy, making it easier to show a profit with your essential bluff (because you never expect to have the best hand when you MAKE the bet) because some percent of the time when you are called you make the best hand, extract money on further streets etc etc. semi-bluffing also helps disguise hands and make you harder to read. this is only a basic understanding of semi-bluffing typed out by a complete fish. but it's a start if you don't understand the concept as yet.

I'd just like to point out, given the original question was about QQ being a semi-bluff, that most hands have the potential to improve. However, the whole point of the semi-bluff is to be doing it with a hand that has a LOT of chance to improve, that is, a hand with quite a bit of equity. If you're trying to "semi-bluff" with a hand that only has 1 or 2 outs ie. QQ. It's more like just bluffing with complete air, in fact there's really no difference between bluffing with QQ and bluffing with 27o if you are 100% sure you are behind.

So you have to ask yourself the question, what kind of realistic equity do I have in this hand. QQ has a whole ton of Showdown value especially on a board with only one over and as a result you are far better off, if you have a villain on a range of bluffs or better hands, getting to show down asap and as cheaply as possible.