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"""Aggressively Semi-Bluff with Your Drawing Hands. If you want to excel in Texas Hold'em, effective bluffing is essential. However, ineffective bluffs are one of the fastest ways to lose chips. So, how do you control your bluffing frequency?
The most effective way to bluff is to let your hand dictate whether you should bluff. In other words, use your drawing hands for semi-bluffs in later rounds, such as flush draws, straight draws, or even just one or two high cards. Even if your bluff gets called, these drawing hands can still give you a decent chance of winning.
Those cards are called 'semi-bluff' because their potential lies not only in bluffing but also in hitting your hand as the play progresses. You can learn more about semi-bluffing here. When you're just starting to learn how to use this Texas Hold'em technique, it's not advisable to bluff with air cards that have no showdown value all the way to the river (except in one situation I'll mention in item 7).
Play your strong hands aggressively to build the pot and get more value. One regrettable scenario is when a player with a nuts flush or straight from the start checks through three streets, and the opponent checks on the river. Some players fear scaring off their opponents when they have a strong hand and choose to slow-play, which is a common mistake they often make.
In most cases, it's best to use strong hands for betting to build a bigger pot and protect your winning chances. However, that doesn't mean you should always bet/raise your strong hands post-flop. You might consider checking your strong hands in the following situations:
1. You're unlikely to be outdrawn.
2. There aren't many scare cards that can prevent you from continuing to extract value on later streets.
3. Your opponent's hand range mostly consists of non-showdown hands (inducing a bluff).
But when you're unsure, you can bet (or check-raise if you're not the pre-flop aggressor). It might be disappointing when your opponent folds, but it's better than being chased down or missing out on potential value.""" |
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