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Semi Bluffing

By Stanley Majors

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Bluffing is an important part of most poker player's games. Knowing when and how to bluff will dramatically increase your win percentages. Semi-bluffing is an extra weapon for your Texas Holdem poker armoury.

The differences between bluffing and semi-bluffing :

Bluffing is defined as an act of deception by a false show of confidence in the strength of your cards. Basically, you're trying to convince your opponents that your hand is unbeatable. When you choose to bluff, you're actually hoping that everyone else folds. If anyone calls you'll be on the losing end of the round.

However, Semi Bluffing falls between normal betting and bluffing. A Semi buff is very similar to a bluff, the only difference being that you can still make a winning hand. So if someone calls your semi-bluff you can still find the last card to make a winning flush or straight.

When to semi-bluff:

The best time to semi-bluff is if you have to good hand that is only one card away from being an almost unbeatable hand. You'll play a semi-bluff before the river, leaving open the possibility of picking up an extra card that should win it for you.

It's not a great idea to bluff really poor poker players, in most cases they don't bother trying to read the game or your hand and they'll simply call after every raise.

Also avoid bluffing if you're playing in low limit poker rooms, you'll find that a higher percentage of hands will go through to a show down.

Written by Stanley Majors
Stanley Majors is an experienced online poker journalist who writes articles on a range of poker topics.

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