Questions About Semibluffing (split)

[EasyPoker]

{Edit - Moved from http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerfo...rn-178504.html by spoonitnow}


Probably trying to semi-bluff by raising the flop, no?

[jaytoi]

It's a 2 outer draw he's on against any Kx, 4x so it's more like a pure bwuff.

[rpm]

Probably trying to semi-bluff by raising the flop, no?

is this a joke?

[EasyPoker]

is this a joke?

no

have i misunderstood what a semi-bluff is?

[!Luck]

Semi bluff is betting a 3H4H9D and you hold 6h7h.

You don't have any chance of having the best hand NOW, but giving the next card you might!

[EasyPoker]

What if a third queen comes? Or does it just make his move a pure bluff?

[spoonitnow]

In general:

Are we getting him to fold a better hand? If so, then it could be a [semi] bluff.

Are we getting him to call with a lot of worse hands? If so, then it could be a value bet.

If it's not doing either of these, then it's usually a shitty bet (or raise).

[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.

[spoonitnow]

Yeah you're pretty much right on there rpm. A pure bluff is when we don't expect to ever win the pot when we're called, but a semi-bluff allows us to win the pot sometimes even if we're called, which is pretty cool.

On really dry flops, semi-bluffing will often be something like you have a lot of runner draws or cards that you can make a +EV turn barrel, or you can even turn something like bottom pair into a bluff if you rarely think it will be good at showdown.

[Donachello]

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.

[jaytoi]

bluff- getting better to fold
vbet- getting worse to call
semi-bluff- getting better to fold, or as a backup improving ones own hand
semi-bluffing with hand that could or could not be behind- no such thing lol, silly bet, just check, or perhaps blocking bet if villian is super aggrotard who will overbet pot when checked to but wont raise with worse.