bluffing at the micros
Whether you like it or not, bluffing is an integral part of a well rounded poker strategy. But there is an art to this skill, and we are here to help you hone it.
That's why we put together the
Ultimate Guide to Bluffing.
We'll go over all the essentials: the whens, hows, whys,
and the don'ts; plus laying your foundation, sizing your bluffs, and following through. Our guide is a must read if you struggle with bluffing, or even a great refresher course for you seasoned bluffers out there.
Do you struggle with pulling the trigger on a bluff? Got any other tips you've been successful with? Let's talk about it!
Hey Tammy, what's up? Congratulations, very nice article about bluffing.
One thing that we comment a lot here in the forum is when to bet for value and when to bet for bluff. Many players seem to confound the notion, and many times they turn a strong value hand into a bluff, or they turn the nuts in a bluff, or they turn a bluff into a value:
""
The purpose of a bluff is to get a player with better cards to lay their hand down. When you don't have the best hand, the only way you can win a pot is to bet your opponents off their hands".
However, we have many friends here who play low limits and micro-limits. Bluffing at the micro-stakes is more than an art, and should be do it with caution, as Scourrge states:
"
Patience takes you SUPER far in low buy-in fields a lot of times, and you won't always run well enough to go deep or take one down, but I think looking a little too hard for bluff spots can be dangerous and lead to us being the ones doing the punting."
My personal gameplan doesn't include to many bluffs from 2 NLHE to 5 NLHE. At 10 NLHE I start very slightly and slowly to put some preflop and postflop bluffs. For example, I open at maximum 14% from UTG, but sometimes my image gets to nitty at the table, and I need to try to risk (otherwise I wouldn't play poker), and I open hands such as JTs, T9s, QTs, KTs,(that will looks like AK, AQ, or even AA and KK) that I am not opening 100% of times, but I know that because of my image, I will get many folds and if I get called by a recreational in the blinds (I would only open weak combos from EP when I have information about weak players in the blinds, otherwise fold). As the article describes:
"The ability to successfully execute a bluff depends in large part on your table image."
On the other hand, players love to bluff a lot at the micros, and I love it!
Instead of trying to bluff players who almost never fold the top of their range (or whatever they stick to it), I let them bluff me, most of times. We must consider the image of the player we are going to battle with.
We know by default that many micro stakes players, don't love to leave their monsters and many times they turn value hands into bluffs. We must use this image on our favor, we use this aggressive/exploitative game they make and put the onus on their own backs:
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You must also take into consideration the image of the player(s) you are trying to bluff. A tight player will be more prone to fold even a decent hand against an aggressive bet. A loose player will hang on to his pocket 4s all the way through to the river, making him more difficult to bluff."
Now, the article says about timing for bluff, and I believe it is correct, but, depending on the image we/they have, we can, a few times, open weird combos from UTG to play in position versus a weak player in the blinds. (having information of CO and BTN not to be wild 3-bettors/Squeezors also).
EP is the worst position ever for bluffing preflop, however is the best position for bluffing postflop:
If a tight passive call us from the BB and we are opening from MP, many flops with Tx, Jx, Qx and Ax are very good for bluffing, if we put the right price (not too low, not too high)
When our image is Tight in the table, we can open 22 from UTG, get called from anyone in the blinds that know that our image is strong and C-bet a lot of flops with overcards and broadways and we will get many folds! Sweet
If they don't fold in the flop, most of them will do it in the turn. Many players just call a c-bet flop to see what you gonna do next, so do not slow your bluffs in the turn.
IMO, the perfect strategy for bluffing at the micros is to try to bluff preflop, by raising and 3-betting light, having information, of course. Then I would c-bet, donk, or check-raise flop. I will not have many bluffs in the turn!
I see that many players at the micros love their draws and play their draws as if it is the nuts in a very high frequency: OESD chasers, Flush Chasers (check Polished Poker Vol 1
https://www.cardschat.com/forum/cash-games-11/polished-poker-vol-i-study-group-227214// , the book has a lot of good material for cash games!).
Many players at the micros are very sincere when they have a weak hand or a strong hand. When they have a strong hand they make bigger sizes, and when they have a weak hand or a bluff, they make smaller sizes
(preflop and postflop)
For example, many players at the micros open from the CO, for example, and we defend the blinds, given price. The CO players bets 2/3 pot/ 3/4 pot in a very dry board and we call because CO cannot represent too much strenght right now. In the turn, opens a OESD+FD and the player in the CO double barrels for 1/3 pot! WHAT?!?!?!?
Either the big size or the small size polarizes the range of the bettor: either he has a strong hand or it is scary. Of course that small sizes could be bluff, but it is rare to see players at the micros inducing bluffs: they follow Nathan 'blackrain79' Williams recipe to the maximum: if you have a value hand what should you do? Bet! Bet! Bet!
It is correct, but we gotta have some common sense at the tables.
If we want our bluff to pass in the turn (if we really believe the player we are involved with is capable of folding AA, trips, some bottom sets, which is very rare at the micros, then we should make a very high c-bet turn, something between 66% to 150% pot in the turn, so we can really convince Villain we have something). When we bet small in the turn, either we are inducing bluffs or we are bluffing anyways, no matter if we have a value hand or air:
"A common mistake made by a lot of players who have followed up a pre-flop raise with an aggressive continuation bet after the flop is to check or bet a smaller amount after the turn. (...)"
Very instructive article, I also loved the related links, good for diving in deeper questions and analysis:
https://ibmathsresources.com/2014/02/08/the-mathematics-of-bluffing/
https://www.cardschat.com/poker-strategy.php
https://plus.maths.org/content/bluffing-and-exploitation-introduction-poker-maths
Once again, thank you very much Tammy, Debi, the moderators all the CardsChat staff for doing such a marvelous and sui generis work!
Regards;
Carlos 'Aballinamion' Barbosa