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Holdem Poker Basics |
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No Limit Hold'em is definitely a game of
bluffing. As you play you'll realise that
you don't get the nuts very often. In fact
you won't hit anything on the flop 2/3rds
of the time. On the flip slide, you
opponents won't pick up anything on the
flop 2/3rds of time either. So who wins
when most of the time no-one has
anything?
The most aggressive player usually picks up these small pots but picking up alot of small
pots can add up. To be a consistent winner you'll need to learn how to fight for these small
pots when your opponents are weak.
The basic idea of bluffing is to attack when you think your opponents are weak and there
is a decent probability that they will fold their worthless hand. There is an art to this and to
get better you really need experience to get very good. But I've list here the easiest
standard bluffs to get you started. These have a high tendency to work and are good
ways to practice your bluffing and build up your bankroll while you at it.
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You are on the button, everyone folds to you. Raise to put pressure on the blinds. The
blinds fold. Stealing the blinds is probably the most common bluff. You'll need to work
out what sort of players you have in the blinds though. I find these days most BB will call if
you only min raise, so expect to bet 3BB. Also, if you want to be more cautious wait until
you have semi-strong hand. This is works best playing tight solid. So keep hammering the
tight players if you get them in the blinds. When the finally call or re-raise you know they
have a strong hand and can continue the hand knowing this.
The continuation bet is the next most common bluff. The continuation bet works like this;
you were the raiser pre-flop and on the flop everyone checks back to you. Raise,
everyone folds and you take the pot. This works often because to have just called your
raise pre-flop they only had a semi-strong hand. Their check back to you on the flop again
shows weakness, they didn't hit whatever they needed to. They might even suspect you
don't have much either but in the face of continued aggression most of the time they will
fold and wait for a better spot. This works best when you have position (the last to act).
The semi-bluff is when you don't have anything yet but you bet your draw. That is, you
may have flopped the flush draw and you bet/raise. What you are looking to see is if
anyone has any strength. If no-one else has anything then you can pick up the pot straight
away. If on the other hand someone does call, then you can still draw out. Doyle Brunson's
famous advice is to "always leave yourself outs". I think this is sound advice for bluffers.
Always make sure there is someway to improve your hand if the bluff doesn't work. Over
the long it does improve the expected value of your bluffs because sometimes you will be
called but in some of those situations you will end up making the best hand anyway.
Attacking the busted draw. This one is a little more difficult but once you get better at
recognising a player's cards by the way he has played on the flop and semi-difficult bluff
you should aim to master early.
So there are four basic bluffs to get you started. Notice most of the time I havn't talked
much about what hole cards you need because most the time the important thing is
whether your opponent has anything! Good Luck!
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