how do i be more aggressive? |
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Posted Sat Jun 18, 2005 7:10 pm GMT by scoreyual
in every tournament i play in, i always find myself very conservative. even when i tell myself to try to bluff, i don't. what hands should i bluff on? how do i be more aggresive with worse hands?
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Posted Sat Jun 18, 2005 7:55 pm GMT by suitedaces84
Do not bluff on flops where draws are likely. If the flop is something like 7  8  5 it's very likely that someone is drawing to a flush or straight. If you want to pick this pot up you'll usually have to bluff on multiple streets, hope they don't hit their draw, and don't actually have a made hand they're calling you down with. Not only will this bluff be more difficult than most, it will be more expensive than most bluffs.
Do not bluff players idiots who are unbluffable, then whine when they call your all-in with mid-pair and end your tourney. Take some time to figure out who the call stations are, and do not bluff them, it's that simple.
Don't overbet with your bluffs. That is, don't try to steal a 100 chip pot with a 500 chip bet. This bet may pick the pot up more frequently than a 75 chip bet, but for it to be profitable it will have to work more than five out of six times. The 75 chip bet will only have to work three in seven times to be profitable.
Do not bluff multiple players in unraised pots--it's just not worth it.
Do not bluff if you've just been caught bluffing,
Bluff creatively (sp?). Let's you've got A Q and put in a preflop raise. The flop is K  K 6  . How would play this if you actually had a K? You probably wouldn't quickly fire a pot sized bet, would you? So why would you bluff by betting the pot? Try a check-raise on the flop, or a check-call on the flop, followed by a check-raise on the turn. Or just calling the flop w/position. A call on the flop is often scarier than a raise. Play the hand the way you would if you actually had a K. You'll also win more chips this way.
Do bluff when you have outs. You've got 8 7 the flop is 5 6 Q . Even if you're caught you haven't lost much EV and your hand is now cleverly disguised. And you're bluff will have to work much less frequently for it to be profitable, as you'll be getting a return of about 60/100 due to your draw (that's assuming you've got position and can get a free river if you bluff the flop). This is known as a semi-bluff.
Do bluff when a pair hits on the flop. It's less likely that someone hit their flop if the board is paired. And players are less likely to chase when they may be drawing dead. If you are met with resistance, call off the bluff.
Do bluff preflop raisers when the flop is rags, they likely missed their flop. Again, if met with resistance, call it off.
Posted Sun Jun 19, 2005 5:48 pm GMT by zeroswarm
A good answer there by suitedaces. Bluffing when u have still got outs (or a semi bluff if u like) is a good strategy.
I'm not sure if your on about sngs or multi table tourneys. I find it easier to bluff in sngs than in mtts. Early in mtts the play is so loose and wild the only person your liable to bluff is yourself! 
Posted Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:57 pm GMT by NickFlynn
Here's a couple of ideas to think about:
1) How many people are in the pot with you? It is (at least) twice as hard to make two people lay down a hand as it is to make one person do it.
2) Watch your opponents in the hands you aren't playing - some people just won't lay a hand down. Needless to say, it's hard to bluff these folks. Know who they are, and don't try to bluff them.
3) Make the bluff proportional to the pot. If you bluff half the size of the pot, and win it 34% of the time, you are ahead of the game. If you overbet on your bluffs, you need a much higher success percentage to stay ahead of the game.
4) Bluff because your opponent has shown weakness, not because you think it's time to bluff.
5) Know when to give up the bluff to a re-raise.
6) When you get caught, don't let it affect your game. Getting caught bluffing can be a good thing - it loosens up your table image and gets you calls later on that you wouldn't have gotten.
7) Semi-bluffs (see previous post) are good. It's nice to have outs.
- Nick
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