I raised preflop with 57o on a 1-2 table from early position and bet the flop with a pair of 5's and a gut shot and get called by the person on my left and right. The turn is an ace and it checks around. I hit my gut shot on the river. The person on my right bets 35$ (I do not remember how big the pot was), I raise it to 100, person on my left folds, person on my right thinks for about 30 seconds and murmurs "that's the second time you've rivered a straight on me", and folds A5. I said "what makes you think I had a straight?" and the guy on my left says "I would've totally called him". On the very next hand, the guy on his right makes it 30$ from the small blind out of his 80$ stack. He calls. The flop comes AQx. Preflop raiser goes all in with 50$, he calls and wins the hand with QTo. I say to him "you believed me but you don't believe him?", and he goes "yeah, it's different. This was only 50$, and also I've played with you before. You bluff sometimes but no too much". That to me was an insult. I would rather be seen as a maniac. However, a few hands later, a similar situation arose and I hit my gut shot on the turn and also developed a flush draw with clubs on a board with two hearts and two clubs. This time he bets 15 and I raise him to 50 and he calls, and the river was an Ace of clubs giving me an 8 high flush, which I wasn't proud of, and I also knew it would kill the action. I still bet 75 (I didn't think he had clubs) and he folds saying "I needed a heart, not a club".
Have you ever been told that you're a nit, or that you don't bluff that much? And how do you take it? I myself have the same opinion about alot of people (including him). So when and how much do you think is the right bluffing frequency? I myself put people all in with nothing every now and then, but I it's not enough.
If you're never getting called when you raise, you're not bluffing enough.
You want to keep your opponents off balance. And that means not knowing whether you are straightforward, or if you are bluffing. So you adjust until you are keeping people off balance.
The other thing about bluffing though, is the story.
For example, if you are min-1/3 pot betting your draws, but there is no real flush/straight draw on the board, a river-shove is dangerous. At the end of the day, it has to be clear to your opponents that you are playing for their chips rather than trying to buy the pot.
There is no definite right frequency for bluffs. Rather it is about taking the opportunity when it presents itself and executing it flawlessly.
For example,
Suppose you are holding 78s (hearts) from UTG. Generally, not the position I want to play such a hand from...but as it matches your example somewhat, let's stick with it.
Flop comes Qc6h9c with the 6h matching your suited hole cards and the Q9. Here you have an open ended straight draw.
But when you bet your draw, your doesn't know whether you have hit queens or whether you are on a straight or flush draw.
Turn is 2h.
You now have the option to continue betting your straight draw, or, alternatively, a chance to bluff, representing the flush. So continue on betting. You can choose to continue to C-Bet, building the pot, or a true raise, increasing by half pot or more.
In this scenario, it will be clear that the flush draw is still just that...a draw. So betting it like you've hit the jackpot makes no sense.
However,
HOWEVER, if it was a dry board (ie unconnected rainbow), the big bet on the turn no longer makes sense. As such, the bluff will be more likely to get called...and your hand pitched in the muck.
That said, if you are a tight player and finding it hard to get others into a pot, you need to play more hands/bluff more. Take advantage of the opponents' playing style.
And this is the key part:
There is no single way to play. All your play needs to be in response to how your opponents are playing. Everyone playing loosey goosey? Tighten up. Everyone playing nitty? Throw in more bluffs.
Next, the idea with bluffs is to play them selectively. There is little sense bluffing the chip lead if you're a small stack on your way out. However, a stack of 10-20 BB in the Big blind seat is ripe for pressuring. They are getting to a push-fold position and susceptible to bets coming into them.
I tend to label my opponents as Fish, LAG, TAG, NIT...and give them colour codes so this jumps out at me. Generally, I avoid/limit bluffs against LAG's and fish as they are more susceptible to call. No point trying to bluff a call station. Instead, for those guys, more often I bet the made hands and check or min-bet the draws.
But against TAGs and NITs? Better to bet higher, making it uncomfortable for them to continue chasing draws/improving weak hands.
Table image is developed over time. Don't like being called a straight-forward player with few bluffs in their bag? Play more speculative hands. Don't like being called a call station? Fold more. Son't like being called a maniac. Titghten up. The image you portray is yours to define...but you can't play like a LAG and then expect everyone to fold when you make a non-sensical bet.
The benefit of being thought of as a nit is that you can play more hands and bluff more.
The benefit of being thought of as a fish is that you can find more callers when you hit a big hand.
I try to change it up -- especially with those I play with regularly with...so whatever image they *think* I have doesn't remain constant.
So target those people who don't defend against aggression. And leave the rocks to someone else.
Cheers,
JT
