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Semi-Bluffing

In The Theory of online poker, David Sklansky defines a semi-bluff as “a bet with a hand which, if called, does not figure to be the best hand at the moment, but has a reasonable chance of outdrawing those hands that initially called it".

Notice that when you are semi-bluffing, there are two ways that you might win the pot. First, no one may call and you will win the pot immediately. Second, if you do get customers, you still may improve to the best hand.

It is the combination of these two possibilities that makes this class of plays profitable, and as we shall see, semi-bluffing plays a crucial role in any winning holdem strategy.

Also notice that the semi-bluff necessarily means that more cards are to come.
Obvious examples of semi-bluff situations in holdem are when you have flopped an inside straight draw, or second or third pair with an overcard kicker.

In these examples, you would prefer that all of your opponents fold. However, if you are called, you still have a chance to win if the right card comes on the turn.

A specific example of a semi-bluff situation is when you hold against not too many opponents, and the flop comes In this case, an eight will give you the absolute nuts, and a nine or a ten will give you an overpair (to the flop ), which also may be good enough to win.

You might not want to semi-bluff when you are in last position.

That is because you may be check-raised, and instead of seeing the next card for free, it will cost you two bets.

Thus, the factor that determines whether to bet in this situation is often how frequently you think you will be check-raised. This is partially dependent on the opponents you are up against.

Keep in mind that some players constantly will go for a check-raised, while other players seldom will make this play. (More discussion on this concept appears later in the text.)

On the other hand, your bet in this spot may buy you a free card on a succeeding round, which is another reason to semi-bluff. As usual, experience and knowledge of how your opponents play will help you make the right decisions in these holdem situations.

Here is another example of a correct semi-bluff. You hold and the flop is Notice that you have middle pair with the very best kicker, plus “back-door” flush potential. (Backdoor flush potential means that you will make a flush if both the fourth-and fifth-street cards are of your suit.)

The correct play is to bet if you think you have any chance of winning the pot immediately. If you get called, you still can win if an ace or a trey comes on the turn. Against poor players who call too much, semi-bluffing may not be correct in this situation (although a bet might still be worth it, since you may have the best hand and will often be called with worse hands).

Following are some other examples of correct semi-bluffs. First, let’s look at a four-flush or open-end straight draw-especially with a pair- with one card to come. Suppose you hold and the board is Notice that you have a pair plus a flush draw

This means that there are 14 cards left in the deck (out of the remaining 46 unseen cards) that will give you a strong hand. ( If you had an open –end straight draw and pair, there would be 13 cards left in the deck that would give you a strong hand.)

This is usually enough potential, along with the possibility that all of your opponents may fold, to make a bet the correct move. If you do not have a pair-that is, you have only a straight draw (eight outs) or a flush draw (nine outs) – your hand is not as good.

However, this does not mean that it is correct to check (and then call if there is a bet ), but rather that you should be only if you think there is a decent chance that all of your opponents will fold.

Let’s look at the small pair with an overcard kicker. Suppose you have the flop is and there are six people in the pot.

It is still correct to bet against typical players. However, it would be different if you had and the flop came There is a good chance that other players would like this flop, as straight draws are now likely.

Another example would be if the flop comes with two suited cards. once again be less inclined to semi-bluff, especially against a lot of opponents, since a flush draw will surely play against you. Now suppose the flop is and you hold ( giving you a “gut shot” ) against many opponents.

This is another time when semi-bluffing is usually correct. However, if the flop comes and you hold the same 7♦ 5♣, it is probably best not to semi-bluff, because with a ten-high flop, it is easy for two poker overcards to call.