Folding in the Face of a Death Rattle

  In the animal kingdom there are some creatures that can bluff artfully. The frilled lizard spreads out a menacing looking hood to scare off potential predators while the puffer fish will inflate like a balloon in the hopes that its enemies will think it is huge. Both of these critters are relatively harmless and their fearsome displays are simply a deception. Of course not every animal is kidding when it signals you to back off. If you're hiking through the forest or desert, and hear a rattling sound somewhere near your feet, this would probably be a good time to reaffirm your personal relationship with God, because something very bad and potentially fatal is about to happen to you.  The point is that sometimes a display of aggression is just a feint and other times, like with the rattlesnake, the actions are combined with long fangs and deadly venom. In the game of poker the rub is learning to know the difference.  If your opponent raises before the flop, this could mean everything from the possibility that he is clutching a pair of aces in his hand to the chance that he has absolutely nothing and just wants to scare people out of the hand. If you get to the last betting round and your opponent has raised every time, treat this situation with the same caution that you would that frightening rattling sound at your feet during a hike. Not many players have the stones to triple bluff, let alone quadruple bluff. Three or four raises in a row is a cue that something really ugly is about to happen to your chip stack if you call his final raise. When that third of fourth raise comes along, and you haven't made a powerful hand, the smartest thing to do is fold your cards. Chances are they are not bluffing.  Good Luck!