Suckout King
05-18-2006, 02:08 AM
This is a situation that occurs commonly. It is a small pot and you are playing against a guy who you believe has been bluffing a lot and doing so a little recklessly.
In one hand the pot is small - you hold a hand that you are sure is best but you are not entirely sure of his holdings and you know that the turn or the river could easily put him back ahead.
Option a) Obvious option -
you do a raise and not a small raise that might lead to him calling. There are two problems with this i) you are not neccisarily getting maximum value from the hand and ii) you are tipping him off that you know when he is bluffing. This is not neccisarily bad but if he has been bluffing a lot and you have a good read of when - do you really want to possibly use up this edge on so little a payday. Sometimes it is worth pondering a little. Sometimes this can induce a reraise and it can make it less clear that you know when he is bluffing.
This option will generally bring in the best profits in the short term and should always be seriously considered. Tricky play is great but you might get caught out if you slowplay a sub premium and you might never get the BIG hand against the guy if you fold here.
Bells and whistles - You can show your hand or state what it is. This may seem strange but it is saying DO NOT try that again! Quite often this can be handy. If there are safe profits and an aggressive bluffer/chaser is getting in your way then you want them to back off. In tourneys there are also situations where you do not want to get involved with someone and a small hand can give you the breathing space to finish in the money and get some good chip accumulation off the other players then this is a good idea. Some players win some chips and go REAL aggressive - if you are near the money you are sometimes better getting rid of some of the other opposition first. Why take a guy on with 2 left and the other guy is real short of chips - knock him out then win the HU with your reads
b) option 2 - Slow play and hope either for profits in that hand or use this hand as advertising for a later hand. This play is both risky AND relies on you contining to read the opponent right at every street. This play has a clear "handle with care" sign over it. One slight slip and your toast. If played correctly though this can both get you profits in the short term and not sacrifice the long. Sometimes people give out tells later on in the hand - if you think this might be the case and you have the discipline to fold then this is worth a shot. I would class this option as great either on the river or against someone who is not likely to rebet heavily on future rounds or where you are confident in a combination of your ability to read your opponents stength on later rounds and your discipline to fold if the wrong card comes or you are unsure and a lot of chips are at stake. The stronger your holding the better this option is though.
Option 3 fold
This option definately is not the best in the short term but you are saving your reads for when it matters. If someone bluffs you successfully almost certainly they will try again and you might get a better spot to sucker them in. This option is again not the first choice but can pay dividends. In HU, in tourneys where someone is going to be at your table for a while it is really worth thinking about.
I generally go for options 1 or 2 but sometimes I feel that option 3 is something I should give more thought to. At low levels you do not need to worry TOO much about letting people know you are bluffing but later on in big tourneys and at higher levels it is definately something to bare in mind.
In one hand the pot is small - you hold a hand that you are sure is best but you are not entirely sure of his holdings and you know that the turn or the river could easily put him back ahead.
Option a) Obvious option -
you do a raise and not a small raise that might lead to him calling. There are two problems with this i) you are not neccisarily getting maximum value from the hand and ii) you are tipping him off that you know when he is bluffing. This is not neccisarily bad but if he has been bluffing a lot and you have a good read of when - do you really want to possibly use up this edge on so little a payday. Sometimes it is worth pondering a little. Sometimes this can induce a reraise and it can make it less clear that you know when he is bluffing.
This option will generally bring in the best profits in the short term and should always be seriously considered. Tricky play is great but you might get caught out if you slowplay a sub premium and you might never get the BIG hand against the guy if you fold here.
Bells and whistles - You can show your hand or state what it is. This may seem strange but it is saying DO NOT try that again! Quite often this can be handy. If there are safe profits and an aggressive bluffer/chaser is getting in your way then you want them to back off. In tourneys there are also situations where you do not want to get involved with someone and a small hand can give you the breathing space to finish in the money and get some good chip accumulation off the other players then this is a good idea. Some players win some chips and go REAL aggressive - if you are near the money you are sometimes better getting rid of some of the other opposition first. Why take a guy on with 2 left and the other guy is real short of chips - knock him out then win the HU with your reads
b) option 2 - Slow play and hope either for profits in that hand or use this hand as advertising for a later hand. This play is both risky AND relies on you contining to read the opponent right at every street. This play has a clear "handle with care" sign over it. One slight slip and your toast. If played correctly though this can both get you profits in the short term and not sacrifice the long. Sometimes people give out tells later on in the hand - if you think this might be the case and you have the discipline to fold then this is worth a shot. I would class this option as great either on the river or against someone who is not likely to rebet heavily on future rounds or where you are confident in a combination of your ability to read your opponents stength on later rounds and your discipline to fold if the wrong card comes or you are unsure and a lot of chips are at stake. The stronger your holding the better this option is though.
Option 3 fold
This option definately is not the best in the short term but you are saving your reads for when it matters. If someone bluffs you successfully almost certainly they will try again and you might get a better spot to sucker them in. This option is again not the first choice but can pay dividends. In HU, in tourneys where someone is going to be at your table for a while it is really worth thinking about.
I generally go for options 1 or 2 but sometimes I feel that option 3 is something I should give more thought to. At low levels you do not need to worry TOO much about letting people know you are bluffing but later on in big tourneys and at higher levels it is definately something to bare in mind.