Online Poker Strategy - Deception
The game of poker not only requires a certain level of mathematical skill, but also demands a high level of psychological preparedness and combat.
A well-armed poker player is one who is expert in the following weapons of psychological warfare, namely bluffing, semi-bluffing, and slowplaying.
1. Bluffing
Bluffing can be a very powerful winning tool in poker though it is pretty useless
in any game with low limits, however
many players believe otherwise, usually to their detriment. A low limit game can be defined as any game with bets less than $5 to $10. Players will rarely not call to a showdown, so
it would be pointless to scare them out of the pot. Our suggestion to a player
would be to wait it out and bluff until a higher limit is reached or played at;
when at this time it would be recommended that the player rather 'bluff' when he
holds 'something' and there are only 1 or 2 other players in the game and
in the pot. ie: For a player to bet at the flop with a high card on the
board 'represents' a pair, raising when a flush is possible 'represents'
a flush. Bluffing is also a far more useful tool in a no-limit game than
in a limit game.
2. Semi-Bluffing
Semi-bluffing is quite similar to when a player bluffs, except here the
player is actually holding a strong hand. For example, The player is
holding As, Ks and the flop is Js, 3s 4d. He currently only has ace
high, but there is a chance that he may make a pair of aces or kings
or... hit a spade flush! So... if the player bets with this hand, he will be bluffing at the pot, but ... will have a high
chance of holding a strong hand on later betting rounds. Semi-bluffing is a very
useful tool especially in no-limit games.
3. Slowplaying
Slow-playing refers to a player deceiving his opponents into believing that
he has less in hand than he actually holds. ie: The player holds KK. The flop comes K33, so
the player effectively flopped a full house! There is no need to frighten
players from the pot, as it would be unlikely that another player would draw out
that player. The player should therefore wait to
the turn or perhaps even river to play his move and jam the pot with bets and raises.
The player should slowplay if 2 conditions are met: 1) The player holds a fantastic hand and there is practically no chance of any other player drawing on him
2) The player will only get action if further cards are dealt, that better his opponents' hands, however, these cards will not
normally be good enough to beat the players' hand.
Related Poker Articles And News Items:
> Basics Of Playing Position
> Hole Cards That Will Cost You Money
> Basic Online Poker Skills
> Online Poker Strategy - Keep it Simple
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