Correct performance of a “semi bluff” is what sets up one man to become a full time poker professional.
The “semi bluff” is when a poker player takes what would be the perfect or winning hand, and makes the hand history significant by making the hand histories of such hands stronger than would actually be the result of a hand. Then, the player makes the hand stronger still by betting or raising the hand in question. The raising may be the value bet, or an open raise. Or it might be a continuation bet, or a re-raise.
The purpose of the semi-bluff is to win the pot where there is a strong probability that the opponent will fold. The play is to create a strong impression in the opponent’s mind that you have a better hand than you really do. You do this by following a relatively simple procedure. You ATvertain from the flop with a bet of approximately the size of the big blind. If your opponent calls, you shouldpat the flop to reduce the likelihood that your hand will be beaten on the turn when you check the turn.
Careful selection of the cards for all levels of hands is critical, because the possibility of a strong hand exists. Select cards that, when summed up in terms of a percentage of all possible outcomes, have a higher percentage in the direction of a strong hand than do the cards which have been lumped together.
This is probably the most powerful tool in the semi-bluff toolbox. Information on the cards remaining after the turn and the likelihood of draws exist in the form of “hand ratings”. A hand rating is a numerical measure of the strength of a poker hand, which is arranged in ascending order. The stronger the hand the higher the rating, with hands of the same rank being equal to the sum of the first two digits (e.g.: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2). The stronger the hand the higher the ranking, and the higher the hand the more important the ranking. (A good example of this would be the hand Saudi, King/Queen, King/Jack, King/10, Queen/10, Jack/10, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.)
The strong card is an important part of poker, almost as important as the hand. Because of the high ranking of many hands, the chances are that no player will have the combination of cards needed to beat you. Hands such as top pair, top kicker, and flush/full house hitting are much more likely to beat you than hands that are unlikely to win, but have better possibilities in the right situation (such as pairs, two pair, and three of a kind).
Highest ranking unmatched cards, 10, J, Q, K, Ace have the least statistical chance of beating you, even though they are the least likely to be unparalleled, and the least unseen. Unmailed hole cards lose their statistical advantage after the flop if you qualify for the flop, and only have a 30% chance of winning if no one has one of the highest cardsute. In terms of hands, the weakest hand is the pair, two pair, and three of a kind, chosen from the Advices tab in Hold’em Manager. However, if no one in the table has one of these hands, then the Advices tab becomes rather irrelevant.
To improve things, you can use the Alert tool in Hold’em Manager to mark certain hands as playable or not. This is a useful tool to make decisions before the flop. Marking a hand as playable when you believe there may be a better hand available, gives you some idea of the most possible hands that can beat you.
Hand selection is important to win at Hold’em. Do not call large bets without a very strong hand. Most experienced players will count cards to know which hands are playable, but especially experts. Choose from the smallest hands with the lowest total card count as your opening hand. However, be sure to stay in only when you have a strong hand. Playing too many hands is a problem if you play in several tables especially when you have novice players shooting in.
Don’t play the minimum cards if you have a tell that the cards are better than yours. Although your hand is still probably the best hand on the table, there will be times you will be outdrawn or when you are so low, you should fold to avoid losing a lot of money.
Although you want to be aggressive, you should be patient. Be aware of your stack and fold once it is outgrown.