Telling the Right Story
Bluffing is a lot like when kids fib to their friends at school to make them look cool. You can’t tell a story that doesn’t make sense, or else your friends will catch on. In poker, bluffing is fibbing, and if you don’t do it well other players will call you out. One complaint that I hear a lot is, “I bet and I don’t know how he calls me with that crappy hand!” Usually the hand goes something like this…
5 limpers into a pot in a 2/5 game
Flop: 10d Js 3h
Action: Checks around
Turn: 2c
Action: Check around, late position makes it $20, BB calls, everyone else folds
River: 7d
Action: BB checks, late position makes it $30, BB calls
BB wins the pot with Jc4d
Late position mucks
One of the main problems with this hand is that the bluffing didn’t make sense. Any smart player would conclude that if it was checked on the flop, there are no flushes or straights, and the aggressor was not in the blinds, so J4 off suite is probably good in that situation. Since the betting came on the turn and river, it could easily be assumed that the better has a 10, 2, 3, or nothing at all. Either of which is crushed by a Jack (even with a crappy kicker.) A better play would have been to bet on the flop. In late position a bet of $10 or $15 could have taken down the pot. The BB would have to assume you had a Jack and his kicker was no good. In the rare event that he does call you, a bet on the turn would get him off of his hand.
Remember, it is not profitable to bluff just to bluff. You can’t assume that your chips are going to be enough to get someone off of a marginal hand. It has to look as if you have something. Therefore, if you are trying to represent top pair, you can’t bluff on the turn when the lowest card comes out. Bluffs need to look consistent to how you would play the cards you are representing. I’ve seen several players make superhero calls with King high, leaving their opponent dejected and asking how they made that call. Almost always it is because the bluffer was telling a story with their chips that didn’t make sense. Know the story you are trying to tell, and bluffing at the right times will be much easier.
