Poker Lesson 31: Semi-Bluff

Some bluffs are the hot sauce that makes poker exciting. It is spicy, interesting and can either be tasty or burn the person running the bluff. What makes it interesting is that you are trying to win with a hand that has no business still being in play on on the Turn or the River. If bluffing is hot sauce though, the semi-bluff is a vanilla ice cream cone. It is intriguing, tasty, but not something a person will get themselves excited about. This is because a semi-bluff is done with mediocre cards that can quickly become a winner. In other words, what is a bluff after the Flop can become a legitimate winning hand on the River.

With that said, a semi-bluff is a valuable tool in a tight-aggressive game. In fact, if applied correctly, it can be the basis for the majority of your winnings.

Let's say you have been dealt the following cards:
Kh Ah

and the flop comes:
8s 10h Jh

With these cards you would bet. You are kind of bluffing because at this point you are holding nothing but potential. You have the possibility of hitting a nut flush, but a possibility is all you have. In a high limit game, considering the general weakness of the Flop, a bet or raise could result in you winning the pot right there. In a low limit game, though, you probably will not be able to claim victory at this point.

Because of the financial nature of a low limit game, players will hang in longer simply because it does not cost them much to hang around for the Turn and the River. For this reason it is almost never worth semi-bluffing in a low limit game unless you are trying to build a reputation as an unpredictable and insane player.