3 barrel bluff
I usually know I’m going to bluff a hand before the first round action gets to me. I usually only like to bluff in the correct spots, when the table feels weak and I think I can pick it up with a well placed bet, or if I have a draw and I am against the right player.
I’ve noticed that one of the main ways I lose money even when the cards are holding up is trying to hard to bluff a person who is not bluffable, or in the wrong spot. Twice in my home game a couple days ago I ended up betting off a good hunk of chips by representing a large hand. There are players who will check to you, which is usually a good sign of a chance to steal if you are also weak, but who will call no matter what you bet. These players are the most dangerous to players who play tight aggressive. They exhibit the signs that you can win if you push hard enough, but really they aren’t going to let it go.
A 3 barrel bluff looks good for representing a hand but it also can seem like you are trying too hard. Do you bet hard with a big hand on every street? Are you known to check raise your big hands? Then betting hard on every street even into a player that is checking can be picked off pretty sweatlessly if the player knows your style. Yet another argument for changing up your game, particularly in the bluff style: don’t always come full-on hard if that’s not how you play your big hands.
When the cards aren’t dead cold, I usually win the most when I bluff the least.
But there’s definitely something about the feeling of taking money that definitely wasn’t meant to go to you.
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POSTED IN: poker blog
1 opinion for 3 barrel bluff
kevin
Oct 15, 2007 at 10:19 am
Sometimes when I win a hand early I will show to let people believe I play tight and usually just bet a power hand. It seems to serve me well two hours later when I bluff a bit.
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