The Mini Bluff

HERE'S A SIMPLE BLUFFING TECHNIQUE you can use the next time you play Texas Holdem poker... I call it the "Mini-Bluff". The Mini-Bluff is an easy way to win BIGGER POTS when you bluff... AND... decrease the chances that your opponents will call your bluff. It goes like this: When you want to "buy the pot" and bluff out an opponent you think is weak, what you do is make the MINIMUM RAISE possible in the current round of betting. After they call, make your REAL BLUFF on the NEXT round of betting... and take down the pot.

Here's what I mean... Let's say you're playing $1-2 no limit with good positioning. Josh makes a pre-flop raise of $15. The next few players fold... and the action is to you. You look down at J-10 of diamonds. You know this is a "hidden hand" that could bust Josh if something good hits on the flop... so you call. It's just you and Josh heads-up. The flop hits:7h-9s-2cNot exactly the flop you had hoped for. It gives you an inside straight draw... which means you have outs... but YOU KNOW BETTER than to chase an inside straight draw. Josh represents the flop and bets $25. You know he doesn't have anything... there's no way that flop helped him. He's been representing the flop all night with that same $25 bet... So YOUR READ on Josh is that he doesn't have anything, and that YOU can buy this pot. What do you do? The answer is to make the MINIMUM RAISE. Come back over Josh and make it $50 to play. (This is your "Mini-Bluff".) By doing this, you're taking control of the action and finding out EXACTLY where you stand in the hand. Most likely, Josh will call your raise. If he has something really good, he'll re-raise you. And in that case you should probably fold. BUT IF YOUR READ WAS CORRECT-- and Josh DOESN'T have a strong hand-- he'll just call... The reason he won't fold is because HE made the original bet. And since you only raised him the MINIMUM amount, it won't be enough to scare him off. OK, so Josh calls, and the turn hits: 7dThat pairs the board... but is no help to you. Josh is first to act again, but this time taps his fist against the table and checks. Just as you'd hoped. NOW it's time to make a REAL bluff and buy this pot. You come out firing $100 in chips... Josh shakes his head and says, "I can't call." He flips over his A-J. You throw your cards into the muck FACE DOWN... leaving everyone wondering what you had. And you rake a nice pot.

Here's why the Mini-Bluff technique is so powerful:
1. It gives you control in the hand. When you raise your opponent, you automatically assume a level of CONTROL. If your opponent re-raises, he takes control again... The entire POINT of a bluff is to get your opponent to fold. If he feels like he's in control, he won't fold... and your bluff won't work.
2. You get a better read on your opponent. In our example, Josh could have easily had something like A-9 (and hit top pair) or an over pair or whatever. You didn't THINK he had something good, but it's tough to know for sure. Your Mini-Bluff eliminates the confusion. If Josh had a monster, he would have either gone back over the top of you with a re-raise... or would have bet after the turn card. Instead, he just CALLED and then CHECKED the turn. That's pretty much a dead giveaway that he didn't have anything.
3. It builds the pot. In this case, you won $25 more by "setting up" your bluff with the Mini-Bluff. That's $25 more in your pocket at the end of the night... If you use the Mini-Bluff technique five times a game, that's a nice chunk of change added to your wins.
4. There's less risk involved. A MINIMUM RAISE is much safer than trying to buy the pot outright... especially when you're not completely sure your opponent is weak. The Mini-Bluff prevents pot-commitment and leaves you room to GET OUT of the hand if necessary.
5. Your bluff is more believable. The Mini-Bluff raises "red flags" for your opponent... mostly because he's not used to it. It doesn't APPEAR that your bluffing-- and that's the whole point, of course. After he calls your Mini-Bluff, he's going to be weary of you... confused about your hand. And THAT is the perfect setup for taking down the pot.

So that's the power of the Mini-Bluff. It's a great technique to add to your poker "bag of tricks"... But as with all strategies, use the Mini-Bluff SPARINGLY. Don't get careless with it or use it too much. The Mini-Bluff is NOT a replacement for your regular bluffing patterns. It's meant to keep your opponents off balance and MILK them for a few extra dollars once in awhile. Also, only perform the Mini-Bluff when you've got good positioning and sense weakness at the table... the same conditions as any other bluff.

From:
Roy Rounder
Poker Tips Newsletter Issue: September 9, 2007