I'm sorry to say I can't remember exactly where I heard this, but I recall a pro offering the following advice. I'm dutifully passing it along as it seems sensible to me.
It is advisable, generally speaking, to try to get "tight-weak" or "loose-weak" opponents heads up. By "weak" I mean players who lay their hands down without a great deal of pressure. By getting such players heads-up you stand a very good chance of simply scooping the pot with a good sized bet post-flop. If the player calls, you can shut it down and minimize your losses, but such losses should be more than off-set by the number of pots you will win. Your success, of course, depends mostly on a proper read of your opponent, but knowing which flops are best to bluff is important too. Our anonymous professional said that the ideal flop has one high card and two low cards in it - your opponent is unlikely to have connected with this and will be unable to call your continuation bet.
How big should your bets be? Our pro suggests that your post-flop bluff be about 2/3 the pot, but it depends on the situation. The idea is to bet the smallest amount that you think will be enough to make your opponent fold, that way you minimize your losses if they got lucky and connected with the flop. Think of it as a "value bluff"; the opposite of a value bet (when you think you are ahead and bet the maximum amount you think your opponent will call.)
Try to get heads-up by raising a guy who limped in (limping is usually a sign of a weaker player). If you get called by someone else behind you, that might be okay if they too are weak. Our pro says betting a "one high - two low" flop is effective three-way as well as heads up.
As always, general rules like this can go out the window in any number of specific situations. If you have a loose table image, even a weak player might decide to play back at you. This is just another example of how "playing the person" is often more important than "playing the cards"
No comments:
Post a Comment