10 No-Limit Hold’em Bluffs to Master

By Jonathan Little

PokerCoaching.com
Table of Contents
Introduction ...............................................................................................1
Raise with a Wider Range Preflop ...............................................................3
Attack Limpers ......................................................................................... 14
3-Betting Preflop with a Wider Range ....................................................... 16
Go All-in when Short Stacked .................................................................... 19
Go All-In Over a Raise when Short Stacked ................................................ 22
Min-Raise then Continuation Bet, even when Short................................... 30
After You Call a Bet, Bet when Checked To ................................................. 33
Lead when the Board is Good for Your Range ............................................ 35
River Over-Betting .................................................................................... 37
Betting for “Obvious” Value ...................................................................... 39
Conclusion ............................................................................................... 42
Welcome! I am excited to share with you 10 no-limit hold’em bluffs that you
must master. This ebook is not meant to be a complete guide on bluffing. It is
instead designed to ensure you add these 10 bluffs to your strategy so you
become substantially more difficult to play against, which will result in you
getting paid off far more often with your strong hands. For a full, in-depth guide
on how to crush no-limit hold’em check out my Tournament and Cash Game
Masterclasses in PokerCoaching.com.

The vast majority of poker players, especially those who frequent the small
stakes cash games and tournaments, think the optimal winning strategy is rigid,
tight, and aggressive. While winning most of the pots that belong to you plus a
few more when your opponents play poorly is a nice way to keep variance low
and to have an edge, your edge will consistently be small. If you are playing
against players who are not world-class (you will rarely encounter a world-class
player unless you play the highest stakes), you will win significantly more money
by playing in a manner that exploits their suboptimal tendencies. This means
getting maximum value from your premium hands, as many amateurs already
know how to do, but also by stealing pots that do not belong to you.

I do not want you to get the idea that playing in a generally tight, aggressive
style is bad. The problem is that this straightforward strategy does not maximally
exploit other tight, aggressive players. At this point in time, almost every poker
player has studied one of the now-outdated books that advocate playing mostly
premium hands. These players are excellent at being patient and getting paid off
when they are fortunate enough to make the nuts versus weak players. These
sporadic large wins are enough to beat the worst players in the small stakes
games.

As you move up, you will face fewer and fewer poor players, to the point that
when you get to the medium and high stakes, there will rarely be an obviously
terrible player at your table. Most middle and high stakes players strive to
ensure they do not make the blunders that the worst players make. This
tendency to avoid appearing dumb opens the door for you to steal pots when

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these tight, aggressive players have nothing, and occasionally when they have a
strong hand but become convinced that you have the nuts.

In general, you will find that each specific player has a point in the hand where
they act in an honest manner. Some players play honestly as soon as they put a
chip in the pot. They raise their strong hands, limp their medium hands, and fold
their junk. Others raise preflop with all hands they deem respectable but then
only continuation bet the flop when they have what they believe to be a strong
holding. Many players in today’s game continuation bet the flop with a wide
range but then play the turn in an honest manner, only betting when they are
confident they have the best hand, opting to check with their trash and marginal
hands. More maniacal players are willing to play in an aggressive manner all the
way to the river. You must diligently analyze your opponents’ tendencies so you
know exactly when and where to apply pressure.

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The simplest way you can become more aggressive and make yourself more
difficult to play against is by raising before the flop with a range that is wider
than only premium hands. This will make you significantly more difficult to read,
which in turn will induce your opponents to make errors. In general, you win at
poker because your opponents play poorly. If your opponents have a difficult
time putting you on a range of hands, they will play worse against you compared
to someone who plays in a straightforward manner. I am not suggesting that you
start bluffing at every opportunity, but rather that you expand your strategy by
opening with a slightly wider range of decently strong hands.

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Raising from Early Position

Many amateur players raise with only premium hands from early position when
the action folds to them, perhaps with this range of only the best hands:

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Instead of raising with only the best hands, add in many weaker, but still decent
hands in order to confuse your opponents and give you better board coverage,
meaning more flops can conceivably connect well with your range. Notice that
the tight early position raising range above has a difficult time making the nuts
on flops containing all middle or low cards. You want at least some potential to
flop the effective nuts or a hand that is worth playing aggressively after the flop,
such as a straight or flush draw, that your opponent will not expect. You do not
want to make it easy for your opponent to turn all of your potential holdings into
bluff catchers simply by raising the flop.

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So, instead of raising a tight range, raise with a range that is closer to the GTO
(game theory optimal) range like this from early position when the action folds
to you:

6
This range contains many more suited hands, including lots of A-xs, K-xs, suited
connectors, and almost all pocket pairs. Adding these hands to your range gives
you the potential to have the nuts on all flops. If you only raise with the best
high-card hands, it is impossible to have (and represent) the nuts when the flop
comes with all middle or low cards.

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Raising from Middle Position

Here is a strong range to raise when folded to from middle position (specifically
the lojack, which first to act if the table is 6-handed):

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This even looser range does not contain junky high cards and middle cards such
as A-7o, K-9o, and J-7s. These hands should almost always be folded from
middle position. If you pay attention, you will observe many otherwise tight
players raising these hands from most positions because they think all decently
big cards or decent suited cards must be excellent. It is important that you play
the correct distribution of hands when you are working to loosen up your raising
requirements.

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Raising from the Cutoff

Here is a loose, but strong cutoff (the seat to the right of the button) raising
range:

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As you get closer to the button, you can start raising with many worse hands.
This is because there are fewer people yet to act who can either wake up with a
premium hand or get out of line and exploit you. For example, when you raise
from the hijack seat (the seat to the right of the cutoff), the cutoff, button, small
blind, and big blind can re-raise (also referred to as “3-bet”), putting you in a
difficult situation with your marginal hands. From the lojack, you also have to
worry about the hijack too. As your position gets better, you can raise with a
wider range.

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Raising from the Button

Here is a strong range to raise from the button when you are folded to:

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This may seem like an incredibly wide opening range, but it is justified because
you will frequently win the pot immediately when both blinds fold. When one of
the blinds calls your preflop raise, you will often win the pot with a continuation
bet when the caller fails to improve on the flop, regardless of whether or not
you improved your hand.

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If you play the small and medium stakes games, you will undoubtedly see
countless players limp (just call the big blind) with a wide range of hands from all
positions. Their goal is to see a cheap flop and try to improve their junky preflop
holding into a premium postflop hand. They think that if a hand is not premium,
it is undeserving of a raise. Since these players usually have junk, a powerful
strategy to maximally exploit them is to raise with a decently wide range, looking
to win the pot preflop when the limpers fold or with a postflop continuation bet
when only one or two players call.

The ideal limpers to attack are those who limp with a wide range and will then
either fold to your preflop raise or call preflop and play meekly postflop. You will
find that the vast majority of weak small stakes players act in this manner,
making these games incredibly profitable. In general, if your opponent plays in
this manner and makes it to the turn, it is safe to assume they have a strong
hand, meaning you should usually give up when you are total bluffing.

That said, it is important not to blindly attack the limpers because some players
limp with all of their hands, including their strongest ones. Others only limp with
their best hands, hoping an aggressive player mindlessly attacks them.

There are two main times you should not attack the limpers. First, if the limper is
someone who rarely limps or plays a very tight strategy, you should not attempt
to aggressively bluff them. It is too likely they have a strong hand that will not
fold. A good rule to follow is that you should not attempt to bluff overly tight
players. Second, if the limper only limps occasionally and limps from early
position (even if they limp a lot from later positions), you should shy away from
attacking them, again because it is too likely they have a decently strong hand
and are hoping to trap you.

When determining how much to raise over the limpers, you should typically
make it slightly less than a pot size raise when you are in position and slightly
more than a pot size raise from out of position. In order to determine how much
a pot sized raise is in any situation, use the equation:

Pot size raise = 3(last bet) + any additional money in the pot

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For example, if three people limp at $1/$2 and you want to make a pot sized
raise on the button, you would raise to 3 times the last bet (the $2 limp) plus the
additional money in the pot (the first two limpers plus $3 from the blinds).

Pot size raise = (3 x 2) + 2 + 2 + 3 = $13

Since you typically want to make it a bit less when you are in position, you
should make it $12. If you were out of position, you should make it $14.

Suppose early in a tournament with 8,000 effective stacks with 100/200 blinds
with a 200 big blind ante, the lojack limps and you are in the small blind with 9c-
9d. Many players automatically raise in this situation, and that is often ideal
against most weak limpers, but if the limper is known to be especially tricky,
calling 100 more and seeing the flop for cheap could be ideal. If you wanted to
raise, you should make it roughly 1,00.

When you limp behind a tricky limper with a decently strong preflop hand, be
sure you accurately assess your hand’s strength after the flop. Do not feel that
you deserve to win the pot every time simply because you started with a strong
preflop hand. If you have 9-9 on J-7-5 and your opponent wants to put a lot of
chips in the pot, you are almost certainly crushed and should fold.

When you expect the limpers to be almost entirely weak, you should look to
raise them with a wide range, especially with hands containing two high cards
that really want to win the pot preflop or play against one player postflop.

Suppose at $1/$2 no-limit with $200 stacks, four players who you think are weak
and straightforward limp and you have A-9o, K-10o, or J-10o on the button. If
you think they will frequently fold to a preflop raise, make it $15 and steal the
pot a large chunk of the time. If only one player calls, feel free to continuation
bet $10 when checked to on pretty much any flop and collect the pot whenever
they have nothing. If multiple players call, play much more straightforwardly
postflop because when multiple players see the flop, someone is likely to have a
decently strong hand. With hands that have large implied odds (meaning they
have a lot of potential to make premium postflop hands that win almost every
time) such as 3-3, A-5s, and 8-7s, you should usually limp behind and try to flop
well, assuming the rake in your cash game is not too high.

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Similar to raising with a wider preflop range when your opponents fold to you,
you should look to widen your 3-betting range when someone raises in front of
you. Most amateur players call open raises with the vast majority of their hands,
opting to 3-bet with only the absolute best hands. For example, when facing a
middle position raiser, the tightest, most straightforward players only 3-bet with
A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and A-K. Slightly looser players may 3-bet with other strong hands
like 10-10, A-J, A-10s, and K-Q.

A range that contains only the best hands is referred to as a linear range. Notice
that a range of 10-10+, A-10s+, A-J+, and K-Q contains no bluffs. When someone
who 3-bets with a range this tight gets 4-bet, much of this linear range is in
marginal or terrible shape because their opponent likely knows their range is
strong and will only apply aggression with hands that fare well against it.

It is important to realize that you are not actually playing your specific hand
against your opponent, but instead, you are playing your range. With most of
this linear range, if you face a 4-bet from an observant opponent, you will be
forced to fold or put in a significant amount of money with a likely dominated
hand, both of which are not attractive options.

3-betting with a linear range is usually only a good strategy against someone
who open raises with a wide range and then calls 3-bets with numerous hands
that are dominated by a strong linear range. As you move up in the stakes, these
players stop populating the tables because those who play in that manner
quickly go broke.

Instead of 3-betting with your best hands and calling with your marginal hands,
you should 3-bet with what is referred to as a polarized range. A polarized range
contains your best hands that can reasonably continue against a 4-bet as well as
some hands that are a bit too weak to call a preflop raise.

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For example, from the button with 40bb stacks against an active middle position
raiser, here is a strong strategy:

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Notice the 3-betting range (the hands in red) still contains the absolute best
hands, but instead of containing numerous other decently strong hands, it
contains various hands that are not quite strong enough or barely strong enough
to call a preflop raise. You will find that you are much better off 3-betting with A-
10o and marginal suited hands compared to calling with them against most
players who will tend to 4-bet (re-re-raise) or fold. Your calling range (the hands
in blue) consists of hands that flop well. Calling with these hands gives you the
best chance to see the flop and realize your equity.

When 3-betting, look to make it roughly the size of the pot, which is again 3(last
bet) + any additional money in the pot. If at 100/200, someone raises to 600 and
you want to 3-bet, make it roughly 1,800 from in position and 2,400 from out of
position.

If your opponent calls your preflop 3-bet and then checks to you on the flop, a
reasonable play to continuation bet using a small size or roughly 30% pot on
most flops that do not connect especially well with your opponent’s range.
While there are certainly times to check and bet small, most players will fold
often enough to make a small bet profitable with all or most of your range.

If you 3-bet a decent amount of the time, your opponents will eventually start
fighting back. In general, if your opponents are letting you push them around,
you should fold to their first few 4-bets unless you have a premium hand
because most of the time, they will be playing straightforwardly with premium
hands. Do not fall into the habit of mindlessly piling your stack into the pot every
time you get 4-bet. Remember, you are exploiting the fact that your opponents
will raise a little too wide preflop, fold a little too often preflop, and then
check/fold a little too often on the flop. Since you expect them to only 4-bet
with the best hands, when they actually do 4-bet, proceed with caution.

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When you have a short stack, perhaps 10bbs or fewer, when the action folds to
you, you should usually either go all-in or fold. This is the opposite of what many
amateur players do. They instead raise to 2bbs with the intention of folding if
they get 3-bet or they limp, hoping to flop well. This is a huge mistake because
they frequently blind down to only a few big blinds before becoming extremely
short.

Easy-to-use push/fold charts are available for free in the PokerCoaching.com app
and on the website. In general, you should push with a wide range from late
position and a tight range from early position.

Many players are surprised to see how wide they can go all-in when everyone
folds to them from late position. If you are not pushing with 10-8s from the
cutoff with a 10bb stack, you are playing too tightly. Others are shocked to see
how tightly you must play from early position.

Being suited adds a huge amount of value to your hand. For example, when it
comes to going all-in when folded to, J-9o and 7-6s have roughly equal values.
Most amateur players think any hand with an Ace or King, like A-4o and K-9o, is
much stronger than they actually are. For example, A-4o from first to act at an 8-
handed table should be folded when you have 5bbs. It is far too likely that
someone yet to act has you dominated and will not fold to your small all-in.

I highly suggest you download the PokerCoaching.com app and start using the
push/fold quiz immediately. That will quickly teach you how to play well with a
short stack so you never make a mistake.

Be aware that just because going all-in is profitable does not mean it is the most
profitable option, especially as your stack gets deeper. You can actually
determine optimal all-in ranges for any stack size. For example, you can go all-in
with K-K from the button when everyone folds to you for 100bbs and show a
profit, but making a normal sized raise will show much more profit. With stacks
larger than 10bbs, develop a strategy where you go all-in with some hands and
min-raise some hands.

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For example, here is the GTO strategy from the button when you have 12bbs and
everyone folds to you:

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As your stack increases a bit over 10bbs, you will usually find that the best hands
plus a few hands that are not quite good enough to go all-in min-raise to 2bbs
and the strong, but non-premium hands open push all-in. In this situation, when
you min-raise and someone yet to act goes all-in, call off with the best hands (9-
9+, A-6s+, K-10s) and fold the other hands. These charts are also available for
PokerCoaching members in the app.

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When you get down to roughly 25bbs or fewer, when someone raises before
you, you should consider going all-in with many of your playable hands,
especially if you expect the raiser to raise a little too loose and call your all-in a
little too tightly. The reason for this is that stealing the pot before the flop is
quite valuable when you have a small stack and your opponent will fold too
often. Of course, if you expect your opponent to only raise with premium hands,
you should only go all-in with hands that do well against their premium calling
range.

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Suppose the cutoff raises to 2bbs and you are on the button with 20bbs. Here is
the GTO strategy:

Many of your hands that are usually ahead but do not fare especially well
postflop prefer to go all-in. This will often be the case with small and medium
pairs, some A-x, and some high cards, depending on how wide the initial raiser’s
range is. A common mistake lots of players make is to call with many hands that

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prefer to go all-in, such as 4-4 and K-10s. This results in them frequently blinding
out while waiting to connect well with the flop.

If you think the cutoff is raising too wide, you should actually go all-in with an
even wider range including many (or perhaps all) of the weak hands that should
usually call. If someone will raise too wide and fold too often to an all-in, do not
be afraid to go all-in!

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Suppose instead the cutoff raises to 2bbs, the button folds, and you have 20bbs
in the small blind. Here is the GTO strategy:

Again, you should go all-in with lots of your playable range including lots of
pairs, A-x, and high cards.

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Instead suppose the cutoff raises and you are folded to in the big blind. Here is
the GTO strategy:

Now you should go all-in with fewer hands because you are closing the action in
a heads-up pot and you are getting excellent odds to call. Still though, lots of
pairs and A-x opt to go all-in.

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As the initial raiser comes from an earlier position, meaning they should have a
stronger range, you should go all-in far less often because it is more likely you
will run into a premium hand.

Here is the GTO strategy from the button against a 2bb raise from first position
at an 8-handed table:

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While you still have an all-in range, you are forced to play substantially tighter.

As your position gets worse, you are forced to go all-in with an even tighter
range due to having many players yet to act who will randomly wake up with a
premium hand.

Here is the GTO strategy from second position at an 8-handed table against a
2bb raise from first position at an 8-handed table:

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Now, you get to play only the best hands and your all-in bets are reserved only
for premium hands.

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While many players incorrectly assume that once you get short stacked that your
only options are to go all-in or fold, you should frequently min-raise preflop with
the intention of continuation betting for 1bb or so on most flops. This play is
best reserved for when you have 15bbs or more, but you can min-raise preflop
with the intention folding to an all-in with a stack as short as 10bbs, especially
when you have strong reads on the players yet to act.

One of the best spots to min-raise with the intention of folding is when you are
in early position with a strong, but not amazing hand, such as A-10o or Q-Jo. You
can min-raise to 2bbs out of a 15bb stack and confidently fold if someone goes
all-in because you are highly likely to be dominated.

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Suppose with a 12bb effective stack you raise from second position at an 8-
handed table with the GTO strategy:

With hands like A-9o, K-Jo, and Q-Jo, your plan is to fold if someone yet to act
goes all-in.

If only one player calls, you should continuation bet tiny (1bb or 2bbs) on all
flops that do not connect well with the preflop caller’s range, which will be most

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flops except for middle boards such as 8-7-5 and 6-5-3. Notice that your preflop
min-raising range is well protected due to it containing 10-10 and better pairs,
which can happily get in for your short stack on pretty much all boards.

Many players make the mistake of continuation betting far too large on most
flops, perhaps for the size of the pot or even all-in. This is an error in pretty
much all spots because when you completely miss the flop, such as with K-Jo on
Q-4-2 or A-6s on 9-8-3, you want your bluffs to lose as little as possible in order
to maintain your stack. With your best hands, you are not concerned with
building the pot because the pot is already large in relation to your stack. So, bet
tiny and then go from there.

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It may sound overly simplistic, but after your opponent bets the flop and you
call, if they check to you on the turn, you should be highly inclined to bet with
many hands that cannot reasonably expect to win at the showdown. This is
because when many players bet the flop and check the turn, the best hand in
their checking range will often be top pair with a bad kicker, and sometimes
their range will contain only middle pair and worse hands. If the best hand your
opponent can have is top pair with a bad kicker, they will inevitably fold far too
often to a turn bet. This is especially true if your opponent will continuation bet
the flop with their entire range (as many players will do).

Suppose 40bbs deep the lojack raises and you call from the button. On Js-6h-5d,
the lojack bets 60% pot and you call. The turn is the (Js-6h-5d)-10h. The lojack
should continue betting with almost all top pair and better made hands in their
range, so when the lojack checks, they will usually have a fairly weak range,
roughly top pair with a bad kicker and worse made hands. Many players
incorrectly keep betting with all their top pairs and better made hands, further
weakening their checking range. If they never slowplay (as you should pretty
much always do some portion of the time from out of position) with J-J, 10-10,
6-6, and A-J, it weakens their checking range substantially.

Assuming your opponent checks with a perfectly balanced range, you should bet
roughly 50% of the time using a 60% pot bet with a generally polarized range
including Q-J and better made hands as well as various bluffs with high equity
draws like K-Q but also with some weak hands like A-7s and K-6s.

To make matters even worse for your opponent, if you bet 60% pot on the turn,
they should continue with marginal hands like 9-9, 8-8, A-6s, and A-5s almost
every time. Many players instead fold these hands, resulting in you stealing a lot
of equity.

Suppose you bet the turn for 60% pot and the lojack calls. The river is the (Js-6h-
5d-10h)-2c. If the lojack checks and you go all-in, they should call off with A-10,
K-10, Q-10, A-6, and A-5, which many players will simply never do. On (Js-6h-5d-
10h)-Kd, they should call an all-in with Q-J, J-9, A-6, and A-5, which again, many

33
players will not do. This pattern occurs over and over in most situations when
players give up the betting lead on the turn or river.

If your opponent will over-fold on any betting round, you should add even more
bluffs to your range, perhaps with any hand that cannot reasonably win at the
showdown. Especially against straightforward players who rarely call down on
the turn and river with marginal hands, you should bluff far more often than the
GTO strategy.

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A “lead” is when you bet into the aggressor from the previous betting round.
This implies that you check/called a bet on the previous betting round and get to
act before the previous aggressor on the current betting round.

From a GTO point of view, you should lead only when you are not too deep
stacked on the turn or river when it substantially increases your equity and
expected value because you will then have the range and/or nut advantage. You
should not lead when the turn is neutral or bad for your range even if it is good
for your specific hand. You also get to lead more often as stacks get shallower
because getting all the money in behind with a hand like top pair or a weak flush
is far less costly compared to when stacks are deeper. Most of the time when
you lead on the turn, you should use a small bet size because you are pushing an
equity advantage.

The most common spots to lead on the turn are when:

A middle or low 4-straight comes.

A middle or low 3-straight comes.

The middle or bottom card on the flop pairs.

An Ace-high 4-flush comes.

While there are a few other less common spots where leading is ideal, these are
the four main situations that happen over and over. Playing these spots well will
increase your win rate substantially while also making you much more difficult
to play against.

One of the best times to lead on the turn is when the flop contains all middle or
low cards and the turn brings a 4-straight, assuming you have lots of
combinations of straights in your range and your opponent does not.

Suppose 40bbs deep the lojack raises, you call from the big blind, and the flop
comes 6s-3s-2h. You check, the lojack bets 55% pot, and you call with a range of
mostly pairs and draws.

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On any 5 or 4 that is not a spade, you should lead for 25% pot with your entire
range. On the 5s or 4s, you should lead for 25% pot with roughly 90% of your
range. You get to lead a ton because you have a lot of straights and two pairs in
your range while your opponent has almost none, giving you a substantial range
advantage. It is worth noting that if you were against the button instead of the
lojack, on the 5d turn, you should lead less often (85% of the time instead of
100%) because the button will have proportionally more combinations of
straights in their range since they will raise preflop with more hands containing a
4 than the lojack does.

Suppose 40bbs deep the lojack raises, you call from the big blind, and the flop
comes 9s-8h-7d. You check, the lojack bets 55% pot, and you call. On the 5c
turn, you should lead for 25% pot with your entire range because you have many
combinations of straights and the lojack has almost none. However, on the Jc or
10c turn, you should never lead because the lojack would then have many
combinations of straights. Similarly, on the (Ks-Qs-9h)-10d turn, you should also
never lead.

When you turn lots of combinations of straights, lead frequently (often 100% of
the time when your opponent has close to no straights) using a small bet size.
When your opponent turns lots of combinations of straights, check every time.

36
When you get to the river and your opponent’s range is almost entirely marginal
value hands/bluff catchers and your range is mostly premium hands and bluffs,
you should consider bluffing for between 100% and 200% pot. This will often be
the case after you bet the flop and turn and have a busted draw on a scary river.
Since you would play your premium hands in this manner, you can reasonably
play your bluffs in the same way, especially when you should have relatively few
combinations of bluffs, or when your opponent will naturally expect you to have
relatively few combinations of bluffs.

Suppose 20,000 deep at 100/200, the player second to act at an 8-handed table
raises to 500 and only you call from the button with 6c-5c. The flop comes Jc-8s-
4d. Your opponent bets 500, you raise to 1,600, and your opponent calls. From
in position, both raising and calling with your weak draw are fine plays. The turn
is the (Jc-8s-4d)-3d. Your opponent checks, you bet 3,500 into the 4,700 pot and
your opponent calls. With no showdown value and an open ended straight draw,
you should usually bet the turn. The river is the (Jc-8s-4d-3d)-8h and your
opponent checks.

Notice that in this scenario that there aren’t too many logical draws available on
the flop. Given the deep stacks, you would certainly want to raise on the flop
with your sets for value. By the river, it is somewhat clear that your opponent
has at least a pair, and perhaps a hand as strong as an overpair, although they
could have a busted straight or flush draw. If you make a “normal” bet of 5,000,
your opponent will call pretty much every time, even if they fear you have a full
house. The only way you can possibly elicit a fold is to make a gigantic bet. While
it may seem incredibly risky, this is a reasonable spot to make an over-bet all-in
for 14,400 into the 11,700 pot.

It is important to understand the math behind this play because it is not as risky
as it may seem. You are risking 14,400 to win 11,700. This means your bluff
needs to make your opponent fold 14,400/(14,400 + 11,700) = 55% of the time
to break even. If you are confident in your read that your opponent will fold to
an all-in with almost their entire range, this play may work as much as 100% of
the time, allowing you to make an incredible profit.

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It is worth mentioning that at any point in time, the dynamic of your regular
game may be such that your opponents will call over-bets with a wide range
because they presume they must be bluffs. This can happen when numerous
other players have been over-betting on a regular basis with bluffs or when your
opponents know you like to use over-bets primarily as a bluff. If that is the case,
reverse this tactic and make over-bets primarily for value. Always be aware of
the dynamics in your specific game because this play can vary wildly from
incredibly profitable to incredibly unprofitable.

One betting line that works particularly well against amateur players is betting
33% pot on the flop, 25% pot on the turn, and then 125% pot or more on the
river. This line is powerful because it keeps your opponent in with a wide range
on the earlier streets and then forces them to fold almost their entire range on
the river. This line works so well because many amateur players elect to raise on
the earlier betting rounds with their strong hands, capping their flop calling
range at top pair and perhaps even middle pair. This means they will have mostly
marginal made hands when they get to the river, assuming they don’t improve
by the river, which won’t happen too often.

Suppose you raise to 2bbs out of your 27bb stack from the lojack with Ah-5h and
only the big blind calls. The flop comes Js-3h-2c. The big blind checks, you bet
2bbs, and the big blind calls. The turn is the (Js-3h-2c)-9d. The big blind checks,
you bet 3bbs, and the big blind calls. Betting the turn with your weak straight
draw plus an overcard is perfectly fine. The river is the (Js-3h-2c-9d)-Qs and the
big blind checks.

This is a great spot to go all-in for your opponent’s remaining 20bb stack,
especially since the river brought an overcard that should connect well with your
logical turn bluffing range. Notice that if you bet small, they may call with many
of their made hands, which should be a large portion of their range. If you go all-
in, you force them to call off for all their money with what is now most likely a
bluff catcher. You will find that most opponents make snug folds when you make
them put in all their chips, opting to take their chances with their short stack in a
more comfortable situation.

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It is vitally important that you work hard to figure out each of your opponents’
river tendencies. Some players always bet their strong hands and check their
weak hands, making their checks susceptible to bluffs. Other players frequently
check their decent made hands when all the draws miss in order to give their
opponent the opportunity to bluff. When you are the aggressor, some players
will only call a turn bet when they intend to call a river bet. Against these
players, bluffing the river is a horrible idea. As you observe your opponents at
the table, work hard to figure out their tendencies then develop strategies to
exploit them.

One of the most common leaks amateur players have is to call flop and turn bets
with the intention of folding all hands worse than an overpair to a river bet.
Their logic is that if their opponent is willing to bet all three streets, they simply
must have top pair beat, meaning their river bet must “obviously” be for value.
Many players in the middle stakes games exhibit this tendency. They make
money in these games by getting full value from their premium hands while
rarely paying off their opponents when they are against a premium hand. Your
goal is to play your bluffs exactly as these players expect you to play the nuts.

Since most of these players tend to raise hands stronger than top pair on the
flop and turn, when they only call flop and turn bets, you can be confident they
have marginal made hands or draws. If you can make these players think you
have a premium hand, three barrel bluffing is highly profitable because it will
result in them folding almost their entire range.

Suppose 100bbs deep you raise to 3bbs with Qh-Jh from the lojack and only the
button calls. The flop comes 10s-8h-4s. You continuation bet for 4bbs and your
opponent calls. The turn is the (10s-8h-4s)-3c. You bet 12bbs into the 15.5bb pot
and your opponent calls. The river is the (10s-8h-4s-3c)-5d.

Although the river is an innocuous card, notice that most of the flopped draws
missed. Also notice that if your opponent has a made hand, the best they can
have is top pair, top kicker. This should lead you to make a large bet of 30bbs or
so into the 39.5bb pot. Over-betting doesn’t make a ton of sense with an

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overpair in this situation unless you planned to have a wide value over-betting
range due to having many potential bluffs, which could be fine if your opponent
is a calling station. If you think your opponent will assume you must have a
strong hand after you bet all three betting rounds, assuming you think your
opponent’s range is mostly bluff catchers, you should go for it and attempt the
bluff.

Three barrel bluffs may feel quite risky, but the risk of getting called is actually
quite low when you are keenly aware of your opponent’s tendencies. You want
to be sure you play your bluffs just as these players would expect the average
player (or specifically you) to play the nuts. This usually means you have to make
as significant a bet on the river just as they would expect you to make with your
strong value hands. If you bet too small, perhaps 15bbs into the 39.5bb pot, they
may decide to hero call, thinking you could be value betting a worse made hand
than their bluff catcher.

Against strong players who think they can read betting patterns well, you should
consider flipping the previous concept on its head by betting small on the river
as a bluff. These players will correctly recognize that a large river bet polarizes
your range, meaning you have either a premium hand or nothing. Since there
will usually be many more combinations of potential bluffs in your range than
premium hands (especially when lots of draws miss), these players will be
somewhat prone to call large bets with a wide range of bluff catchers.

While most strong players view large bets as polarized, some view medium and
small bets as if they are for value. This usually results in these players folding
their marginal bluff catchers to small bets.

In the situation above with Qh-Jh on (10s-8h-4s-3c)-5d in a 39.5bb pot, if you

make a large bet on this river, many strong players will assume you must have a
polarized range containing straights, sets, two pairs, overpairs, and busted
draws. Since every front door draw missed, your opponent will correctly assume
your bluffing range could be quite wide. This will often lead to them calling a
large bet with most of their bluff catchers. If instead of betting large and
polarizing your range, you make a smaller bet perhaps 15bbs into the 39.5bb
pot, your opponent may think you are betting a decent made hand for thin

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value, such as with J-J or Q-10. If your opponent assumes you must be betting
for value, they will fold most of their hands that cannot beat top pair, which will
be most of their range. Also notice that when you bet this small, your bluff only
needs to succeed about 28% of the time. Since your opponent will almost
certainly fold all missed draws on the river, this bet will usually be profitable,
even if they call with some of their marginal made hands.

Against players who think they know how you will play your value hands, it is
important that you play your bluffs exactly as they think you would play your
value hands. Always keep in mind the betting lines that each player has seen you
make and reverse them in the future. If someone is convinced you only make big
bets on the river for value, make big bets against that player as a bluff. As soon
as your opponents think they have a solid read on you, reverse your tactics and
crush them until they adapt.

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Thanks for taking the time to read this ebook. To continue your journey to poker
mastery, I strongly suggest you go through my Tournament or Cash Game
Masterclasses in PokerCoaching.com, depending on the form of poker you want
to play. After mastering the content in that 40-hour-long interactive course, you
will understand no-limit hold’em and be prepared to have an edge in pretty
much any small or medium stake game you enter. If you want many more tips
similar to these in this ebook, be sure to check out my book 100 Essential Tips to
Master No-Limit Hold’em.

Thanks for reading and good luck in your games!

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