Yes, it is possible to get paid to bluff.
In a high stakes poker game, you are essentially “paying” a fee to play. This goes on your chips, just like in a draw poker game. There is a small difference, however: in draw poker, the fee is a percentage of certain Jacks or Better that you are paying, whereas in poker, the fee is a fee that is exacted by the poker hand being played.
Bluffing is still an art, however, since you are “paying” a price for the privilege of getting deep into a game, rather than a fee for a service.
Bluffing Techniques
There are a few techniques you can experiment with to get a hand that, when you have it, will be very hard for your opponent to call:
- Add-ons
The first technique you can try is to have a hand that is a multiple of five chips, and then to have a hand that is a multiple of ten chips, essentially the same hand with a different agame number of chips.
When you are dealt a King or Ace in your hand, you should definitely raise, especially if there is a King or Ace on the flop or turn, since you are given odds agin if you hit set. The same principle applies to queens and jacks. You should raise with these hands, especially if there is a high card on the flop, like ace, king, or queen on the flop.
- Doubling Up
If you have a hand that is like eight or less, and your opponent has a big chip stack, he is probably going to call you. With odds like these, you should always call.
Keep in mind though, that you don’t want to be in this situation: you are only risking twenty chips to win 200. So if you have a hand like Q-J, and your opponent has bet 200 into a $10 pot, you should fold, but you are obviously dealing with a lot of risk if your opponent calls.
- Slowplay
Doubling up is the name of a technique that is applied to middle and low pocket pairs.
You can do this by just calling the blind, and checking or calling Egp88 cards if your cards are not that great. If you have a high pair, you are probably not getting that great a deal and your opponents are probably aware of this, but if you have two or three cards in the same suit, and no other good hands nearby, it is probably worth the risk to bet even if you don’t have the best hand.
This move can also be used with middle pairs. If you have a middle pair, you don’t want to give your opponents a free card if you can help it, but you do want to make sure that you don’t give your opponents a free card if you can’t help it, either with a large bet, or by just checking the flop.
Let’s say you missed the flop, but you had a middle pair. If you bet strongly, you may be able to scare your opponents out, and then on the turn give your opponents a free card, whether or not you have the best hand.
- Slowplay
The basis of this move is probably based upon the age-old skills-paradox: to get something for nothing.
Suppose you are holding a set of threes. You may certainly get a fair number of raises if you hand someone aces, but if you throw in a reasonable bet of one-half the pot, you may be able to take the pot and maintain your semi-bluff.
If you let people see cards for free, they will call you in this situation as well, especially if they are foes of yours.
- nightmares
If you have a weak hand, and you think you can beat it, just call. The odds are that you will lose. If you are certain you will win, go for it.
This is a play you should use against only opponents that you want to defeat. Realize that it might take some time to build trust with this tactic. If you are already on good terms with the opponent you are nearing, just let him keep raising the pot.
To make this work, you have to be determined to take the pot down before somebody else does. You must be willing to use this move in the right situations, and you must be able to handle the heat that ensues.
To make this work, you have to be determined to take the pot down before somebody else does. You must be willing to use this move in the right situations, and you must be able to handle the heat that ensues.