|
Dealing with Bluffers
Most players you come across are fairly straight forward with their play. They bet when they got it, call when its a marginal hand, and fold when they don't. Some are passive and some aggressive. But almost every time they represent their hands honestly by their betting. Most don't try to pull off big bluffs. But what do you do against the player who does bluff a lot?
Most bluffers are very aggressive and poor players. They usually don't know when to quit their bluff and try attempt it too often to be profitable. Eventually even the slowest of players catch on and start calling them down. A good player bluffs only often enough for it to be effective and believable combined with a high chance of success compared to the board and the hands their opponents might have.
The Semi-bluffer: A player who likes to bet and raise with marginal hands that have a small chance of winning. Usually an inside straight, bottom pair, two overcards and a backdoor draw.
The Pure Bluffer: This player basically ignores his hand. He tries to represent the hand that's on the board by his pre flop and post flop action. He usually tries to play the bluff on tighter players that can fold a hand. It is common to see these players bet/reraising with nothing to try and make an opponent fold. I have seen some bluffers capping the betting rounds all the way to the river on a pure bluff. Some even call the last raise with no hand.
How to handle Constant Bluffers: If you find a player constantly bluffing at your table be prepared to just call him down with any reasonable hand. Sometimes it can be ace high. Sometimes you will lose when they do have a better hand but most of the time you will win because the frequency at which they bluff at makes it unprofitable. A tell to watch out for when dealing with bluffers is anyone who makes a quick decision on the flop then continues to act quick on the turn. Even if a player has a crazy hand, they will still take time to think about their hand. A bluffer has the bluff already set in their mind of how to play it. They don't think usually how to play the rest of the hand so their reactions are automatic.
EXAMPLE: Let us say you are playing Texas Hold'em, and you raise before the flop first in in middle position with AJ and an aggressive bluffing player calls you in the big blind. The flop comes down KKJ. He checks you bet, he raises you. At this point your best plan is just to call him down if he bets into you and bet if he checks to you.
Calling down: This play loses you the least amount of money if you are behind and it allows win the most money if he is bluffing. If you raise anywhere in the pot and this player can let go of a hand then you are only losing money. Calling basically tells him your weak and that may make him continue bluffing. Just be sure that if he does check you bet and not give him a free card.
When to Raise the Bluffer: If your hand is strong enough then I recommend raising the bluffer on the last round of betting if he continues bluffing. More times than not they will still call with ace high or some marginal hand since the pot is larger. If you do have a strong hand, like a set, and you know this bluffer will take his hand too far reraising you on a bluff then it is ok to raise. Usually the flop is a good time to raise it on this opponent. He will probably try to bet the turn anyway's continuing his bluff. At this point calling him down and waiting to raise him on the river would be appropriate and maximize the amount of money won. Give every chance for the bluffer to continue his bluff and pay you off. Most opponents think that if you have a powerful hand you will wait for the turn to make your raise.
When to Fold to a Bluffer: There will be times where you just have to give up your hand to a constant bluffer. If you have a hand that isn't going to develop into something solid, and the bluffer is raising, it makes more sense to fold then to keep playing a dead hand.
|