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The Value Of Deception In Poker
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If you asked a novice player to define deception in poker he would doubtless say that it all had to do with bluffing, and that's the reason why he will stay a novice.
Deception in poker is fundamental to your success, and you will notice that this holds true as you play at higher stakes levels. Basically, predictable behaviour is to be avoided at all costs when you play poker, and the harder it is for opponents to put you on a hand, or read what you have, the more likely you are to show a profit.
If you bet or raised every time you thought you had the best hand, and checked or folded every time you thought you had the worst of it, you would gradually find that you lost all your chips to intermediate players. Strong players will run circles around you. In order to maximize wins, and give yourself the correct odds to draw for hands like straights and flushes, it is frequently correct to deceive your opponents by either showing weakness (checking when you are strong), or showing strength (betting, raising, or even re-raising, when you do not have a made hand).
The check-raise is one method of deception that used to be regarded as low or unethical in poker, but is an essential weapon in community card games like Hold'em. Let's say that you hold 44 before the flop and there has already been a pre-flop raise. If the flop comes A,4,7 and you are first to act it is correct to check. The pre-flop raiser is highly likely to bet again, either representing an Ace or because he has an Ace. You can then check-raise when the betting comes back to you. This strategy gives you a lot of information about the other hands you are up against. You also make it far too expensive for drawing hands to stay in the pot. This is particularly true if you check-raise on the turn in limit games, as the betting stakes double at this point. If you are betting out in a limit game and someone checks to you on the flop, checks on the turn only to raise you when the action comes back to him you must pause for a second. It is a display of strength, and a classic limit trap. Unless your hand is very strong and your opponent has clearly misread you it is prudent for you to now think that you are behind.
When you have a very strong hand it can be correct to slow-play by not betting out. Please note that a lot of players fall in love with slow-playing hands and end up losing hands they should have won, or failing to maximize returns on hands that they do win. Slow-playing a hand is often motivated by greed, and by the desire to squeeze out extra bets from the table. If there are many opponents in the hand, or if the pot is already large you should definitely not slow-play. If you have pocket Aces and there are already 5 players in the hand it is correct to raise. If it is a no-limit or pot-limit game you must raise to the maximum. If it is a limit game you should know up front that most players will call the raise and you will need some good fortune on the flop for the Aces to hold up. It is also not correct to slow play a hand when a free card could beat your hand, or when a free card would not help an opponent to make a second-best hand.
There are times when it is advisable to show strength when you do not have the hand to back it up. If you are in late position, or on the button, you should consider betting or raising on the flop when you only have a drawing hand, or any hand that still needs to improve. The reason is that on the turn you will now have control of the betting. If the turn helps you to make your hand you can bet again, and some players will not be able to read you for the hand you now have. If the turn does not help you it is likely that you will be able to check, ensuring that the next card is free. If you have a drawing hand a free card is of great value to you, and taking control of the betting when the limits are low is the easiest way to achieve this.
For example, if the flop came 8,J,2 and you bet most players would assume you had a J in your hand. But if you had 9T in your hand this would be the right play for numerous reasons. If the turn brings a 7 a lot of players will fail to put you on the straight, which is the nuts at this point. If the turn brings a rag everyone will check to you and you can check as well, hoping that the river brings a 7 or Q, or you can bet again to try and take down the pot. This strategy is also referred to as the semi-bluff. It is a bluff in the sense that you do not have the best hand yet you are betting as though you do. On the other hand, you do have reason to believe that your hand could become the best hand.
Imagine you hold AK of hearts and the flop comes Th,Jh,2s. If another player holds 23 he is technically beating you right now, but there are very few Hold'em players in the world that would not want to trade for the AK of hearts. This is an extreme example where it is obvious that you should bet the hand (19 outs makes you a 78% favourite to improve your hand and many of those outs give you the nut hand). But even if the number of outs makes you an underdog to win the hand you should still make an effort every now and then to seize control of the betting. Players who are aggressive can take over tables and dictate terms. Passive players who call might still win their fair share of hands but only when they have cards. Why limit yourself? You want to establish a table personality that causes fear not complacency.
Related Poker Articles And News Items:
> A Radical Theory For No-Limit Hold'em Cash Games
> How To Read Hands In Poker
> Playing Suited Connectors In No-Limit Hold'em
> How To Deal With Maniacs At Your Table
> Online Tells And How To Spot Them
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