Mastering semi-bluff adds valuable weapon

A semi-bluff is a bluff made with a hand that is usually behind at the moment but has the potential to become the best hand in the future. The most obvious example of a semi-bluff is when you raise the flop or turn with a flush draw or straight draw.

Let’s say your opponent raises, you call with 4s 3s, and the flop comes Ks 6c 5s.

If your opponent bets, raising is strong option, because any spade, 7 or 2 will probably give you the best hand. If you merely call, you have to hit your hand in order to win, but if you raise, you can win by completing your draw or by making your opponent fold a better hand. Having two ways to win is better than one.

It’s important to think about your implied odds and overall range when making a semi-bluff, because you don’t want your opponent to know that you have mostly draws in your range. That’s why strong players will raise a Ks 6c 5s board with a set, two pair, strong top pair or a draw. This puts opponents in difficult situations because they won’t know if they’re up against a premium made hand or a draw. Either way, an opponent is in rough shape with a hand such as K- Q.

If you can frequently put your opponent in awful situations with hands as strong as top pair, you’ll find many of the small pots being pushed your direction.

Semi-bluffs vary in strength and potential. In general, the fewer outs you have, the higher your implied odds tend to be because your draw is less visible.

Suppose someone raises and you call with Qc Jh on the button. The flop comes 9d 8d 3c.

If your opponent bets, raising is an excellent play as long as the stacks are somewhat deep. If your opponent calls and the turn is a diamond or a 7, your opponent will often assume that you hit your “obvious” straight or flush, allowing you to win the pot with a turn bet. If a 10 comes, your opponent will assume you missed your draw, allowing you to get paid off after you’ve made the nuts. If a Q or J comes, you’ll have top pair with some value.

In this example, you’ll get your opponent to fold with a turn bet when the draws you don’t have arrive, and you have a decent shot of getting paid off when you hit, making this an ideal semibluff situation even though you only have a gutshot with overcards on a scary board.

On boards that are less draw-heavy, hands such as bottom pair become decent semi-bluff candidates. Say someone raises, someone else calls, and you call with 5c 4c on the button. The flop comes Js 6c 4h.

If the first player bets and the other player either calls or folds, you have a reasonable semi-bluff situation. If the continuation bettor has a jack, he’ll have to worry that you have him beat with a set. If the second player calls, he probably has a marginal made hand and will likely fold to your aggression. If one of your opponents calls with a pair, you have a decent chance of improving and could also win the pot with an additional bet on some turn cards.