Poker News

Ashley Adams

Setting up the Bluff

Successful bluffing involves, usually, a combination of ingredients to be successful. Ideally, you’d want to have some value to your hand, some possibility that your hand might improve on future cards, timid and tight opponents, and goodscare cards. But I’m not going to focus on any of those items in this column. Instead, I’m going to look at something less tangible - something you can’t touch - but something that is ultimately very important and something you can actually do something about. I’m going to look at your image in the mind of your opponent.

Here’s a startling insight that might shock you. Most poker players, especially stud players, have very short memories. We have to remember folded up cards. We are usually pretty good at that. And we need to remember who began the betting and the action of a round. We tend to be good at that too. But, for the most part, when it comes to long term memory - the stuff that is required for keeping a mental book on opponents - most casino players tend to be bad at that.

That’s where your image comes in. You see, most players form their opinion of you based on your action in the last few hands - 10-15 minutes tops. A bad beat you put on them they’ll remember for months. Drawing the miracle flush card on the River to win a huge pot - that will stay with them to the grave. But you? Who has time to remember you? 10-15 minutes of you is all they have the time for - if that. So how do you use this wonderful gem of knowledge, this nugget of insight to your advantage. Simple. You keep track of their short term image of you, and then exploit it.

Here’s an example from a game I was in. I had been getting a bunch of lousy cards., folding 15 hands in a row - including three when I was the bring-in and someone bet into me and a few when I had the high card out but lousy hole cards. Now some might have started to think that they had better start playing a hand or folks would start taking shots knowing I was a weak player. And I thought about that. I also thought about taking a walk for a while, knowing that my opponent’s memory would surely not be good enough to remember how tightly I played after I was gone for 15 minutes or so.

Instead, however, since I was convinced that my short-term image was pretty solid as a super tight player, when I was dealt a King and a Queen raised in front of me, I re-raised. The Queen called me but then folded on Fourth Street when I caught a 9 and he caught a blank. Similarly, a few hands later, I raised in late position with a Jack and won the antes and then again in middle position with an Ace - and everyone once again folded.

Remember though that this image in your opponents’ mind is short lived. Don’t keep on trying to bluff your way to victory - because all that they will remember is your recent raising and winning. They’ll tend to adjust not because they think you’re tricky but because they’ll remember only your recent moves and conclude that you’re aggressive.

And, of course, don’t waste this move if you have a table full of dummies. This works against good (but not great) stud players.

It’s good to know that your general image is tight/aggressive or a loose/passive or wild or timid or whatever. But, from my experience at the stud table, it’s even more important to know your recent image in the mind of your opponent.

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