Setting up a Bluff
Posted: 2008-02-26 21:55:34
If you plan on consistently doing well in tournaments, you must find ways to be creative and accumulate chips. What I mean is, it is very hard to win by just sitting back and waiting for AA or KK. You just wont see premium hands enough to maintain your stack. In order to be successful, you have to have a sense of when and when not to pull the trigger.
Below, I will discuss a hand that illustrates setting up a bluff perfectly.
Blinds are 100-200 and I am in the cutoff with a 9k stack, and hold AceHearts, 7Clubs. It folds to me and I raise to 550. BB Smooth calls with a 7k stack behind.
Flop is 9c Jh 2h.
Now at this point i start to think to myself, that because I hold the Ace of hearts, it is impossible for him to "love" a heart if it comes on the turn or river, as it will be impossible to hold the nuts. If he leads, and I flat call, he will more than likely put me on a flush draw. If he checks, and I check, he is likely to think the same. My point is by playing the hand this way you are trying to make him believe you are drawing. And if that draw hits you are making some sort of move at the pot, even if you still only have ace high.
Turn. 5c
He checks, I check.
River Kh.
Now there are so many different ways to play this hand now. Depending on what BB does, there is such bluff potential on this board with the way it was played.
For one I played this hand like someone drawing to a flush, and even 10 Q is possible, chasing an open ender. Keep in mind that even though we dont have anything, we at least know he doesnt have an ace high flush. I am pretty confident that if he bets, I am raising, and if he checks, I am betting.
It is possible he will have a hand and call, but at least we are making educated bluffs, instead of raising and hoping for a fold. This is just one very simple example of playing a hand with the intention of bluffing the whole way. If you can introduce even 1 or 2 of these opportunities into your tournament game, I think you will see immediate results.
