Pulling the trigger on a bluff

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Jordansimo

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Hi guys, fishy and newby question here, but I'm a newby fish so it's ok

I'm playing around the $1.50/$3.50 heads up sit and go's on pokerstars and I have a pretty hefty leak

My opponents are playing their hands fairly face up, especially the daily regs at that level. OOP they will check-raise top pair plus regardless of board texture. If they just check/call, they are capping their range as they will either have a draw, overcards, floats, or second/bottom pair every time.

The problem is, after c-betting, I just become super weak and can't bring myself to pull the trigger on the turn/river as many of them will call me down super light. The stupid thing is that I know full well what I'm doing wrong but still can't do it. I'll just check and be happy to give it up if they lead into me on the river

Can anyone give any tips on conquering my inner wimp and making more aggressive plays when my opponents are capping their range?
 
Jon Poker

Jon Poker

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If you are going to bluff on the flop by c-betting into a board with no equity either than 2 overcards that in itself is a leak. Heads up players are all different - if I notice you check flop and give up on the turn and whatnot - I will call you with almost nothing everytime and exploit you as much as possible.
What I am saying is if you raise A10 and get called and the flop comes out 8 hi - dont cbet it, unless you have some sort of draw you can pickup on.
You also have to think more about the story you are telling rather than what 2 cards you are holding. If you made a decent raise preflop and got called, go to a king hi flop and you cbet - well dont let an opponent off the hook just because they call with weaker pairs here - you have to play this as if you have the king - bet confidently and accordingly in sizings. If you cannot bring yourself to go for the triple barrel for fear of being called down - then you shouldn't be bluffing at all. No risk, no rewards. How much you bluff and how often should be dependent on your opponent. I hope this makes sense. Good luck
 
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Jordansimo

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Jon Poker said:
If you are going to bluff on the flop by c-betting into a board with no equity either than 2 overcards that in itself is a leak. Heads up players are all different - if I notice you check flop and give up on the turn and whatnot - I will call you with almost nothing everytime and exploit you as much as possible.
What I am saying is if you raise A10 and get called and the flop comes out 8 hi - dont cbet it, unless you have some sort of draw you can pickup on.
You also have to think more about the story you are telling rather than what 2 cards you are holding. If you made a decent raise preflop and got called, go to a king hi flop and you cbet - well dont let an opponent off the hook just because they call with weaker pairs here - you have to play this as if you have the king - bet confidently and accordingly in sizings. If you cannot bring yourself to go for the triple barrel for fear of being called down - then you shouldn't be bluffing at all. No risk, no rewards. How much you bluff and how often should be dependent on your opponent. I hope this makes sense. Good luck
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Thank you for the detailed response, absolutely makes sense and I appreciate it. I understand what you mean by not bluffing without equity, but just so I'm clear on it do you mean that if I'm not betting with a made hand, I should be on some sort of draw and playing it as if I have a strong made hand? Sorry if that question doesn't make sense.

I was always of the impression that if I raise pre and miss the flop completely, I should be c-betting on dry boards that have likely missed my opponent, and give up immediately on boards that have connected well with their range if I don't have any equity. I understand your example completely as I would check back that hand regardless as it has some showdown value, but if I had like J5s and was pretty much dead against any of his holdings would it not be correct to c-bet or would that be putting my frequencies too far out of line?
 
Jon Poker

Jon Poker

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Jordansimo said:
I was always of the impression that if I raise pre and miss the flop completely, I should be c-betting on dry boards that have likely missed my opponent, and give up immediately on boards that have connected well with their range if I don't have any equity.
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This is certainly the foundation for understanding when to bluff - you do not want to be mindlessly c-betting flops for no reason. The problem is by sticking to this 100% and never changing things up you become predictable. If i notice you c-betting lots of flops that are dry and uncoordinated and then give up on later streets - I will flag this as a sign of weakness. Same with the opposite.

What I am saying is - how you would you play out a hand raising pre then flopping top pair top kicker? C-bet flop, barrel a safe turn, then value bet the river? Remember - you arnt just betting blind - you are also telling a story. Is it believable, why would you be betting in this spot? Why are you using this size? There needs to be reasoning and logic behind what you are doing - you are halfway there trying to use hand ranges. My question to you is if you are betting a "dry" board because it likely misses your opponent - why wouldn't you double barrel on a safe turn card that would still have you ahead of your opponents range?

A strategy I like to employee is consistent bet sizing almost across the board - this mixes in when I have made hands and when I am running bluffs. Makes it very hard to decipher when I've got it and to pick off my good bluffs. But if you flop no equity and your only outs would be 1 or 2 over cards...its best to play pretty passively - no sense committing money when if you are not ahead you are drawing slim. You can always check-call a flop bet and float to a turn with 2 overs if that's your style.

EDIT :: One other note I meant to add as a closer is remember the stakes you are playing in as well. Let's face facts - if you are playing micro heads up matches, $2 or less, you are going to run into some opponents who just won't fold. Adjust your strategy and play accordingly. Some players are so terrible they just cannot be bluffed - they will hero call you with high cards and bottom pair. So if you try and get caught - that's fine, you had the guts to go for it. Next time make sure you have a monster and make them pay!
 
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Jordansimo

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Jon Poker said:
This is certainly the foundation for understanding when to bluff - you do not want to be mindlessly c-betting flops for no reason. The problem is by sticking to this 100% and never changing things up you become predictable. If i notice you c-betting lots of flops that are dry and uncoordinated and then give up on later streets - I will flag this as a sign of weakness. Same with the opposite.

What I am saying is - how you would you play out a hand raising pre then flopping top pair top kicker? C-bet flop, barrel a safe turn, then value bet the river? Remember - you arnt just betting blind - you are also telling a story. Is it believable, why would you be betting in this spot? Why are you using this size? There needs to be reasoning and logic behind what you are doing - you are halfway there trying to use hand ranges. My question to you is if you are betting a "dry" board because it likely misses your opponent - why wouldn't you double barrel on a safe turn card that would still have you ahead of your opponents range?

A strategy I like to employee is consistent bet sizing almost across the board - this mixes in when I have made hands and when I am running bluffs. Makes it very hard to decipher when I've got it and to pick off my good bluffs. But if you flop no equity and your only outs would be 1 or 2 over cards...its best to play pretty passively - no sense committing money when if you are not ahead you are drawing slim. You can always check-call a flop bet and float to a turn with 2 overs if that's your style.

EDIT :: One other note I meant to add as a closer is remember the stakes you are playing in as well. Let's face facts - if you are playing micro heads up matches, $2 or less, you are going to run into some opponents who just won't fold. Adjust your strategy and play accordingly. Some players are so terrible they just cannot be bluffed - they will hero call you with high cards and bottom pair. So if you try and get caught - that's fine, you had the guts to go for it. Next time make sure you have a monster and make them pay!
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Thank you sir, I understand and appreciate everything you've said. I'm grateful for you taking the time to write such a detailed response when you didn't have to, it hasn't gone unappreciated and hopefully I can pass it onto someone else one day. All the best
 
Jon Poker

Jon Poker

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You're welcome. Good luck on improving your game
 
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