Let’s assume that you call after the Big blinder raised with Ace of spades and 10 of spades. The flop reveals Queen of spades, Jack of diamonds and 2 of spades. In situation like this, a player who can be easily read, will raise immediately. On the other hand, with a strong hand he will check hoping for check – raise. If an observant opponent notices this trend, he actually will not make any mistakes and that’s not the point, is it?

Instead of doing that when you have a draw hand, you can check – raise. In this situation, your opponents are likely to decide that you have a stronger hand than it really is. The size of the check-raise should not be too large, in fact, most likely, with a strong hand, you would not have to scare away your opponents. This technique is especially winning because of the so-called two- level bluff. The bottom line is that you make a small check-raise on the flop (ant its size is so small that the opponent is likely to call), and then “fire” a big bet on the turn.

Thus, the bet on the flop makes the bluff more effective on the turn. An even more effective weapon is a three-level semi-bluff. A good player can decide on the flop, that you will bet on every street, even if you do not form a hand. On one hand, the bet on the river is a pure bluff, but on the other hand, it is a part of a great semi-bluff. If you decide to bluff until the end, having no hand, it’s probably the best scenario. After all, your bluff is supported by the bets on previous streets.

Against a loose – aggressive player

If your opponent is a loose – aggressive player, you should better check. You may be in better position and you may have 12 outs but there is really no point to bet in this situation. A loose player most probably won’t fold a strong hand and if he has absolutely nothing he is going to fold. On the other hand, like the aggressive player, he can also raise which will cost you a bet. But after your check he can bluff and bet on the river. In this case, if you already managed to improve your hand, you can win on the river.

Against a loose – passive player

If your opponent is a loose – passive player, you should be willing to bet on the turn. The logic here is similar, as in the previous case. Besides, you should not be afraid that he’ll check – raise (the player is passive) and also most probably he won’t use a bluff and place a bet on the river. In other words, the benefit that gave you the check in the previous case here disappears

Against a tight – passive player

If your opponent is a tight passive player, the best decision for you also is to check. Do not forget that this is a tight player and he most probably won’t call on the flop if he has not a strong hand. This is especially true in situations where the flop consists of higher cards, in this case, your opponent can not have two over cards, so the probability for him to call with a draw is not too high.

Situation 2. If we change a little bit the situation and instead of an Ace you have a Jack and your opponent is a loose – aggressive player. When you had an Ace, the recommended move was to check but with a Jack, the best decision may be a semi – bluff bet on the turn. The point is that the number of hands you beat with a Jack are much less than the number of hands you could beat with an Ace. In the end, it turns out that the bluff bet on the river of your opponent for you is no more interesting and profitable. Of course, you should take also into consideration that there is a possibility for check – raise and if this possibility is high, the best decision again will be to check.

It was mentioned above the one to one game and no wonder, since the bluff or semi – bluff are not effective when you play against more opponents. Simple mathematics shows that the probability of one opponent to fold is 30 percent, for two opponents to fols is 9 percent and for three opponents to fold is only 3 percent. Besides, if you have a good draw, your action on the flop will not be a semi – bluff but value bet. In most cases to try a semi – bluff does not make sense and because the profit you are going to get from the fold of your opponents is less than the potential profit you are going to get if they stay in the game and you manage to complete your draw.

Situation 3. For example, there are three limpers in the game, the Small blinder raises and you call (from the position of BB) with 8 of spades and 7 of spades. The flop reveals K of spades, 5 of spades and 3 of hearts. The Small blinder places a bet, you call and the other two players call as well. The turn reveals a 9 of hearts (making your flush draw also a open ended straight draw) and the Small blinder again places a bet. In this situation if you raise, you’ll kick out the limpers with draws and not very high pairs maybe even with a K. But there is a very small chance you can overcome the Small blinder. He raised during the pre – flop, bet on the flop and on the turn – obviously he has a very nice hand. You can succeed in very rare situations when the limpers are pretty tight and the Small blinder is very aggressive but able to fold a good hand such as Q-Q or J-J. Nevertheless, the exception only confirms the rule – you should not use any bluff against few opponents.

The aggression is key factor in Texas Hold’em but the most effective and important weapon in the arsenal of the aggressive player is the semi – bluff. Semi –bluff i.e. bet or raise with a draw hand works effectively thanks to the combination of two factors. Ideally, your opponent folds and you take the entire pot. However, even if he calls, you still have your outs and that allows you to form a winning hand. In fact, the idea of a raise with a draw hand seems unlikely. Indeed, is it not easier simply to call?

Let us look at the situation from the other side. If you have both a nuts flush draw and a two way straight, you are going to win the pot with a probability of 55 %. In other words, in more than half of the cases, your bet will come back to you together with the pot. Maybe you prefer your opponent to fold but if he calls, you invest only 50 percent into the pot from which you take 55 %. Let’s assume that you have a flush draw and there are two more players in the game. In case both of them respond with a call to your raise (your investment is 33 % of the pot), 36 % probability to form a flush means that you have very good chances from mathematical point of view.

It turns out that actually, the draw hands are stronger than they seem to be and that means you should play them aggressively. Don’t forget that except the 36 % probability of forming a strong hand and winning the pot there is always a chance your opponents to fold. That is why semi bluffing is such a powerful weapon.

• Bet on the flop and the turn;

• Check – call on the flop and check – raise on the turn;

• Check – call on the flop and bet on the turn.

In case you are in late position you have two options:

• You can bet (raise) on the flop and bet on the turn after your opponent has checked;

• You can call on the flop and raise on the turn (in case you need to play against an aggressive player).

In order to get less readable you need to use different variants of semi bluffing although there are cases when a particular style or method of playing is preferred. For instance, if you have a lot of outs (flush draw plus straight draw or over -cards), you need to play aggressively on the flop. In case your opponent raised during the pre -flop from late position (i.e. maybe he is trying to steal the blinds), you should be willing to raise or check –raise on the turn. Analogically you can play against tight – aggressive players, they usually try to fire the “second barrel” and they are more willing to fold in respond to an aggression.

In order to hide somehow your semi – bluff, from time to time you need to play strong hands as well. In most cases the scenario is the same but there is an exception: check – call on the flop and bet on the turn from early position. Although this variant of semi – bluff is very “cheap”, with a strong hand you most probably will check – raise on the flop, so maybe it is better not very often to use this type of playing like a semi – bluff since it is easy to read.

Of course, you don’t need to use semi –bluffing every time you have a draw, you need to change your style of playing. Therefore, it is better to check – raise on the flop and bet on the turn against a tight – aggressive player. Check – call on the flop and bet on the turn is better to use against a passive player (a good support for your bet on the turn will be an over card on the flop which will confuse your opponent or improvement of your draw hand). The check –raise situation on the turn generally is the same, except for the fact that the opponent should be an aggressive one. This makes sense, since the aggressive opponent will place a bet on the turn more often than the passive player and will allow you to check – raise. The passive opponent will not do that so it will be better for you to bet yourself when you play against such a player.

Limited games (and not only) transform with the course of time. At the moment the game with many opponents has practically disappeared and the game itself became much tighter and much more aggressive. More and more poker games are played one – on – one and in this case the use of bluffing and semi bluffing in Limit games becomes increasingly important. If you don’t use semi – bluffing, you’ll find yourself in a very unpleasant situation: first, if you are going to play check – call with the community cards and bet on the river without improving your hand, in most cases you will be forced to call by an aggressive opponent. Second, you will become easily read, your bets or raises will mean a pocket hand and your opponent can take the right decision very easy. Why is semi–bluff that important?

Just for a moment put yourself in your opponent’s place. If he knows that you raise only when you have a strong hand, in most cases it will be much easier for him to take the right decision. The opponent will fold with exception of the cases when he has higher hand. But in case your hand is less predictable i.e. you have a pocket pair or you use semi–bluffing, you’ll achieve one of the main goals in poker. In fact, you push your opponent to make a mistake. In some cases he’ll fold better hand, in other cases he’ll be more willing to fold your strong hand. Exactly this is one of the main advantages of the aggressive play – your strong hand in most cases is paid off.

The aim of this video is to make you aware that advanced players will bet on the turn or river card when a scare card hits.

First of all you have to identify who the advanced players are on the table. I was playing with this player for a while in this session and saw them making a lot of squeeze plays, which I added to my player notes. When you come back to player notes you can pickup information which you would have forgotten about otherwise, so make use of them.
What I mean by squeeze plays is when someone would limp into the pot, they would raise the pot to try and steal the dead money. From this read alone I can identify they are an advanced player.

In this hand I was dealt pocket 9′s in BB. The advanced player raised the pot in position and I decide to call to see a flop.

The flop comes 882 which is a good flop for my hand. The initial raiser makes a standard continuation bet which they would do on this board texture, so I call.

The turn card is a K, which is a scare card for me. A high card like a A or K is a scare card because if they were making a squeeze play with a premium hand like AK then they have hit. However, considering they have been aggressive with squeeze plays, they were definitely raising pre flop with a much wider range of hands.

So when they bet the turn scare card, I decide to call. The river goes check/check and I win the pot. If villain had made a large bet on the river, then I would consider they may have the K.

The induced bluff is used mainly on the river or in heads-up situations, but it can be profitable also in other phases of the game … the flop, the turn or in multi-way pots having several active players. The main advantageous points to consider for adopting this technique are the following:
particularly impatient or aggressive or ’tilting’ players, your position worse than that of the potential bluffer … and a big pot of course. None bluffs or should bluff for a few cents. The induced bet should be used when we think that we have the best hand on the river and our value bet would have just a few possibilities to see a call.

Let’s consider for example a limit game where your hole cards are KK or AA, you raise in last position before the flop and one of your opponent calls. The flop is dealt, you bet and your opponent calls you again. On the turn the right thing to do at this point is often to check. On one side it may save you money if your opponent composed a really strong hand, on the other it may induce your opponent to bluff on the river, giving you one more bet as a gift.

Playing poker online is a good way to improve this skill and 888 online poker is my personal choice.

If you want to learn poker—how the game is played in all its nuances—focus on acquiring and maximizing your skills. The more you know about the game, the less you will need to rely on luck. Yes, there will always be an element of luck in poker, but it doesn’t define the game. It really all boils down to the old saying: You make your own luck. And making your own luck takes a healthy measure of skill in poker playing!

Foremost, play your good hands in poker and be done with the bad ones. Unless you have a very solid hand and a reasonable shot at winning, scrupulously avoid getting drawn into showdowns with very assertive opponents.

It’s critical that you don’t needlessly risk your chips on losing hands. Some inexperienced players feel they can bluff their opponents into folding good hands. This brand of poker interplay may occasionally succeed, but it’s more often than not a recipe for losing and losing big.

To absolutely maximize the poker odds, scrutinize your opponents’ styles of play. Never play your game in one set mode. Play your cards in response to your competition: Who are they and how do they play? By utilizing this studied approach, you become a player that your opponents cannot read and boost your poker odds. The less the competition knows what’s in your head, the less you’ll need to rely on lady luck to see you through to a winning pot.

In the big picture, steer clear of ill advised drawing circumstances and, too, betting the ranch—with everything in the pot—unless you categorically feel that you have a realistically good chance of winning the hand.

And whether you are participating in a poker tournament or playing online poker, craft strategies. Never allow emotions to get in your way and govern your decision-making. Let others play their games while you play yours—smartly and calmly. This is the truest route to beating the poker odds.

One of the most sophisticated forms of illusion in poker is for sure the bluff, that is making your opponents believe that your cards are different from what they really are.

The bluff is probably one of the most popular strategy-moves in poker. Every rookie knows that you’re supposed to bluff your opponents, and that making someone fold the better hand is the ultimate victory at the green felt. This is exactly why you’ll find beginners bluffing left and right and being caught red-handed time and time again by the good players. Yes, the bluff is definitely a move that should be part of your poker weapons arsenal, but you should know this about it: the bluff can be a very efficient weapon, but it is extremely volatile, and if you don’t know how to handle it, it will blow up in your face. First of all, you need to know some basics facts about the bluff: there are two types of it, the pure bluff and the semi-bluff. The pure bluff is done on rags basically (you don’t have a hand and you do not even stand a realistic chance to hit a good hand). The pure bluff only offers you one possibility to win the pot: by making your opponent fold. The semi-bluff is a different breed, because unlike the pure bluff, it offers you two ways to win the pot: by making your opponent fold or by hitting your hand. Obviously, semi-bluffs are not made on rags. You need a nice drawing hand to fire out a semi bluff. Semi bluffs are extremely frequent in poker, and the 4-card flush on the flop is the most common example. Every preflop raise however is also a semi-bluff, and you may have semi-bluffed already without knowing that you were actually doing that.

The pure bluff is a more delicate matter. Because it only gives you one chance to win, you’d do better to get this baby right. Otherwise, all you’ll do is to blow a lot of money and become the laughing stock of your table. Let us then take a closer look at the pure bluff. The first thing you need to know about the pure bluff (and this is just as valid for the semi-bluff as well) is that position is of great importance when you decide to go for it. Though sometimes you can bluff from early position, it’s always better to hold back till you hold position on your target. A bluff fired out from late position is always more intimidating than an early position one, because the target player knows if he calls he’ll have to act first on the later streets, something which puts him in a delicate position later in the hand.

One type of pure bluff is the floating move. You may have heard about floating already, it is becoming more and more popular as online poker changes and evolves all the time. To float means to tag along and call your opponent on rags just to see whether or not he/she shows weakness on a later street and then to pounce on him/her for the kill. I know it sounds shrewd but then again, winning poker is supposed to be about just that. Your mission is simple. Bust your opponent’s continuation bet. Most of the time, the continuation bet itself is a pure bluff (sometimes it’s a semi-bluff) and by floating along, you can bust that bluff with your own bluff. It is only suited that the bluffer be beat with his very own weapon, isn’t it? Call your opponent’s continuation bet on the flop if you suspect the flop missed him/her and see what he/she does on the turn. Most people just don’t have the heart to fire a third bullet after the first two missed their targets completely. This is the weakness you’re looking to exploit. Bluff into your opponent with all your might at the sign of weakness he/she gives you on the turn (usually in the form of checking) and make him/her fold the better hand.

From the above description alone, it should be obvious for you why having position on your opponent is so important when floating. Another type of pure bluff is the probing bet. This one is done from early position and it’s basically about firing a bluff blindly into your opponents. Under certain circumstances, probing bets offer nice success rates, although most people view them as way too risky and avoid them. There is a certain level of risk involved in each pure bluff that you make.