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In the card game of poker, to bluff is to bet or raise with an inferior hand, or with a hand believed to be inferior. The term is also used as a noun: a bluff is the act of bluffing. // Poker Room at the Trump Taj Mahal Poker is a card game, the most popular of a class of games called vying games, in which players with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a central pot, which is awarded to the player or players with the best combination...
Pure Bluff
A pure bluff, or stone-cold bluff, is a bet or raise with an inferior hand that has little or no chance of improving. A player making a pure bluff believes he can only win the pot if all opponents fold. The pot odds for a bluff are the ratio of the size of the bluff to the pot. A pure bluff has a positive expection (will be profitable in the long run) when the probability of being called by an opponent is lower than the pot odds for the bluff. Pot odds is one of the most important concepts in poker strategy. ...
In probability theory (and especially gambling), the expected value (or mathematical expectation) of a random variable is the sum of the probability of each possible outcome of the experiment multiplied by its payoff (value). Thus, it represents the average amount one expects to win per bet if bets with identical...
For example, if after all the cards are out, a player holding a busted drawing hand may decide the only way to win the pot is to make a pure bluff. If the player bets the size of the pot on a pure bluff, the bluff will have a positive expectation if the probability of being called is less than 50%. Note, however, that the opponent may also consider the pot odds when deciding whether call. In this example, the opponent will be facing 1-to-2 pot odds for the call. The opponent will have a positive expectation for calling the bluff if the opponent believes the probabability the player is bluffing is at least 33%. The large and growing jargon of poker includes many terms. ...
One is said to be drawing in a poker game if one has a hand that is incomplete and needs further cards to become valuable. ...
Semi-bluff In games with multiple betting rounds, to bluff on one round with an inferior or drawing hand that might improve in a later round is called a semi-bluff. A player making a semi-bluff can win the pot two different ways: all opponents fold immediately or by catching a card to improve the player's hand. For example, a player in a stud poker game with four spade-suited cards showing (but none among their downcards) on the penultimate round might raise, hoping that his opponents believe he already has a flush. If his bluff fails and he is called, he still might be dealt a spade on the final card and win the showdown (or he might be dealt another non-spade and try his bluff again, in which case it is a pure bluff on the final round rather than a semi-bluff). Stud poker is any of a number of poker variants in which each player receives a mix of face-down and face-up cards dealt in multiple betting rounds. ...
In all poker games, if more than one player remains after the last betting round, all of the players expose and compare their hands to determine the winner or winners. ...
Bluffing circumstances Bluffing may be more effective in some circumstances than others. Bluffs have a higher expectation when the probability of being called decreases. Several game circumstances may decrease the probability of being called (and increase the profitability of the bluff): - Fewer opponents who must fold to the bluff.
- The bluff provides less favorable pot odds to opponents for a call.
- A scare card comes that increases the number of superior hands that the player may be perceived to have.
- The player's betting pattern in the hand has been consistent with the superior hand they are representing with the bluff.
- The opponent's betting pattern suggests the opponent may have a marginal hand that is vulnerable to a greater number of potential superior hands.
- The opponent's betting pattern suggests the opponent may have a drawing hand and the bluff provides unfavorable pot odds to the opponent for chasing the draw.
- Opponents are not irrationally committed to the pot (see sunk cost fallacy).
The large and growing jargon of poker includes many terms. ...
One is said to be drawing in a poker game if one has a hand that is incomplete and needs further cards to become valuable. ...
The large and growing jargon of poker includes many terms. ...
In economics and in business decision-making, sunk costs are costs that have already been incurred and which cannot be recovered to any significant degree. ...
Optimal bluffing frequency If a player bluffs too infrequently, observant opponents will recognize that the player is betting for value and will only call with very strong hands or with drawing hands when they are receiving favorable pot odds. If a player bluffs too frequently, observant opponents snap-off his bluffs by calling or reraising. Occasional bluffing disguises not just the hands a player is bluffing with, but also his legitimate hands that opponents may think he may be bluffing with. David Sklansky, in his book The Theory of Poker, states "Mathematically, the optimal bluffing strategy is to bluff in such a way that the chances against your bluffing are identical to the pot odds your opponent is getting." In poker, the strength of ones hand (that is, how likely it is to be the best according to the rules of the game being played) is often called its value, but discussions of poker strategy often use the term in a more specific sense to describe a type...
One is said to be drawing in a poker game if one has a hand that is incomplete and needs further cards to become valuable. ...
Pot odds is one of the most important concepts in poker strategy. ...
David Sklansky at the 1979 World Series of Poker David Sklansky (born in Teaneck, New Jersey) is a professional poker player and author. ...
Optimal bluffing also requires that the bluffs must be performed in such a manner that opponents cannot tell when a player is bluffing or not. To prevent bluffs from occurring in a predictable pattern, game theory suggests the use of a randomizing agent to determine whether to bluff. For example, a player might use the colors of his hidden cards, the second hand on his watch, or some other unpredictable mechanism to determine whether to bluff. Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that studies strategic situations where players choose different actions in an attempt to maximize their returns. ...
Bluff (the game) Bluff is an ancient predecessor of poker played in the 1800s, where only the cards from 10 to Ace were used, and straights and flushes hadn't been invented yet.
See also The large and growing jargon of poker includes many terms. ...
There are several excellent books on poker strategy, and this article will only attempt to deal with the basics that must be mastered by the beginner. ...
In the game of poker, opens and raises are considered aggressive plays, while calls and checks are considered passive (though a check-raise would be considered a very aggressive play). ...
A check-raise in poker is a common deceptive play in which a player checks early in a betting round, hoping someone else will open. ...
In poker, certain aggression plays like steals can be very effective; players must occasionally reply to them with defensive plays with hands they might not otherwise play. ...
One is said to be drawing in a poker game if one has a hand that is incomplete and needs further cards to become valuable. ...
In poker, an isolation play is usually a raise designed to encourage one or more players to fold, specifically for the purpose of making the hand a one-on-one contest with a specific opponent. ...
Position in poker is the order in which players are seated around the table, and the strategic and tactical consequences of this. ...
In poker, one of the motives for betting or raising is to give your hand protection, which means to encourage opponents to fold a drawing hand that might otherwise improve to beat yours. ...
// Slow playing (also called sandbagging or trapping) is deceptive play in poker that is roughly the opposite of bluffing: betting weakly or passively with a strong holding rather than betting aggressively with a weak one. ...
In poker, the term steal is often used as merely a synonym for bluff, but there is a more specific use of the term which is also called an ante steal or blind steal (depending on whether the game being played uses antes or blinds). ...
References - David Sklansky (1987). The Theory of Poker. Two Plus Two Publications. ISBN 1880685000.
- David Sklansky (2001). Tournament Poker for Advanced Players. Two Plus Two Publications. ISBN 1880685280.
- David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth (1988). Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players. Two Plus Two Publications. ISBN 1880685221.
- Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2004). Harrington on Hold'em: Expert Strategy For No-Limit Tournaments; Volume I: Strategic Play. Two Plus Two Publications. ISBN 1880685337.
- Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2005). Harrington on Hold'em: Expert Strategy For No-Limit Tournaments; Volume II: The Endgame. Two Plus Two Publications. ISBN 1880685353.
David Sklansky at the 1979 World Series of Poker David Sklansky (born in Teaneck, New Jersey) is a professional poker player and author. ...
Two Plus Two Publishing is a publisher of books on poker and gambling. ...
David Sklansky at the 1979 World Series of Poker David Sklansky (born in Teaneck, New Jersey) is a professional poker player and author. ...
David Sklansky at the 1979 World Series of Poker David Sklansky (born in Teaneck, New Jersey) is a professional poker player and author. ...
Mason Malmuth is an American poker player, and an author of books on both poker and gambling. ...
Action Dan Harrington (born 1945?) is a professional poker player. ...
Action Dan Harrington (born 1945?) is a professional poker player. ...
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