Tournament Strategies
After receiving pocket cards, you are immediately faced with a choice: play your cards and either raise or call the blinds, or fold.
Practice Matters
The next reason to bet is as a bluff.
The next reason to bet is as a bluff. These come in a few varieties. There are total bluffs, semi-bluffs and pre-flop bluffs. Many players take interesting lines when bluffing. We will cover these more intricate lines later. For now, here are the most basic examples of bluffs.
The total bluff is when you bet in a spot
The total bluff is when you bet in a spot where you have little or no equity when called. When you have a draw and miss on the river, if an opponent bets and you raise, that is an example of a total bluff. Another example would be if an opponent raised with 100BBs from middle position and you decided to call with J-10s from late position. If the flop comes K-8-2 and your opponent bets, raising is definately an option, as your opponent will have a tough call if he has worse than a king. So, raising to around 2.5 times your opponent’s bet here would be a great total bluff.