Poker News

James McKenna, Ph.D.

How often have you been playing in a Texas Hold ‘Em game with fair cards and a player behind you just limps in? Or, perhaps, hesitates before he calls and seems to be doing it reluctantly. Do you relax and think, “OK, At least I’ve got him beat!” This is actually when you should start to worry. This quiet player who likes to just call and hide behind the proverbial bush, may already have you in his or her trap. That’s why this type of bluffing I call “Sneak Bluffing.” It’s one of the hard ones to avoid since the player is seldom aggressive yet plays a pretty tight game. One of these players is a friend of mine and I asked him once, “Do you come to the table with a short stake on purpose or do you have an angle?” He said, “I do it for the players who don’t know how tight and conservative a player I am. I’m hoping that such players will make the mistake of going after me when I play good cards and get caught up in my act that I haven’t been doing too well.” Wow! I knew my friend was much better than he appeared. However, I thought that his short stacks meant that he wasn’t doing very well.

That’s exactly what he wanted me to think. Now that’s pretty sneaky and pretty clever. There’s another type of player who likes to be sneaky when he or she bluffs. It’s the highly structured player who plans his every move. He only plays good cards and maximizes plays when in position. This is a system player who even has a system for when and how he or she bluffs. The problem this player has is that he or she is so structured that when they bet, most people with marginal hands will fold like trained pigs. So, I asked another friend who is like this how he handles his tight reputation. I wasn’t surprised to hear him say, “I take advantage of it. Sometimes when I’ve got lousy cards and I am in a good position, I’ll bet or check/ raise with a stone-cold bluff!” I wondered if he was setting me up to call him next time that he has a great hand. There’s another kind of bluffing style that I refer to as “Dare Bluffing.” These players are daring you to call them because they know they have you beat. They are bluffing with the best hand and they seem to know it. These players are also highly planned in their actions and they are aggressive when they play. That’s because they only play with winning hands and will make you pay if you are chasing with a mediocre hand. Their dares, however, are not always obvious. They could be checking and re-raise a bet when someone bets. Their bets are always at least “Semi-Bluffs.” In other words, what they have is already good and there’s a chance of improving if you call them.

Both of these bluffers who are highly structured, have a plan, and differ in how aggressive they bluff. The “Sneak Bluffer” is slow to bluff and plays a more passive game. The “Dare Buffer” is equipped with a plan to at least semi-bluff and does so in a more aggressive fashion. There are a whole set of players who are not so well planned in their bluffs. They are much looser players who bluff and keep the action going. Some of these unplanned bluffersI refer to as employing “Attack Bluffing.” Others are less aggressive and seem to be playing hands they don’t have but wish they did. I refer to these as using “Dream Bluffing.” Structured players are bluffing with their eyes wide open. Our next article will feature how many players like to close their eyes with little regard to planning when they bluff.

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