Hold’em Poker : Semi-Bluffing and Defensive Betting

Seems like most folks are usually talking about pre-flop strategy, so I wanted to speak a little bit about how I play soon after the flop. Perhaps I can assist others, or possibly they have advice to improve my play.

I think that 2 of the most critical plays immediately after the flop are the semi-bluff and the defensive bet. That is because these are the plays you produce when you havent hit a hand but you could have a very good drawing hand. Its easy to wager on a hand if you flop a monster. Except I think that these 2 are the very best techniques to wager on a drawing. Each one is wagered depending on you competition(s) and your postion. So here is how I wager on it, so tell me what you think.

Early Placement – Tight Opponents:

A semi-bluff works fairly well in this position. Come out gambling and if a tight player didn’t hit a hand he’ll probably lay down, and if he is unsure you might get a call. But watch out, if that tight player comes back over the best it may be time to obtain away.

Early Place – Loose Opponents

This can be were I like to do a defensive bet. Determine how several chips you might be willing to risk on your draw and wager. This is usually a much smaller bet than normal. It’s been my experience that the loose gambler will usually just call a bet rather than re-raise. Even so, in case you check to them, theyre additional likely to throw in far more chips than your willing to pay.

Late Position – Tight Competitors

It is the finest time to do a semi-bluff, specially if most of the table checks. If that’s the case you’ll probaly pick up the pot now. If a player before has wager, you might have to choose if he has a hand or not. If not, then reraise and he will probably go away since he was trying to steal the pot. In case you feel he does, properly then it’s time to compute your odds, and come to a decision if the pot odds are worth the call.

Late Location – Loose Opponents

This one is really a bit tricky, simply because it is more difficult to put a loose gambler on a hand. And if your in late place against loose player, chances are they have already bet. This really is had been I usually decide to take a chance and appear back over the best of them and hope they don’t call, and if they do, nicely then its time to wager. Chances are though even a loose gambler will go away in the event you arrive back strong enough.

Remember although that these are moves I only generate right after the flop comes and I have a reasonable drawing hand (usually not a gutshot either). Maybe 4 to the flush or the open ended straight, for instance.


Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Search on this site:


Categories: