There are some casino en ligne francais players ¾ it’s only a few of them to be sure ¾ who never bluff. Once you learn who they are, playing against them is easy. If they bet once all the cards are out, you can safely throw your hand away unless you believe that your hand is superior to theirs. If it is, you should raise.
Others are habitual bluffers. When they bet, you have to call as long as you are holding any reasonable hand. Although habitual bluffers will also make real hands every now and then, the fact that they bluff far too often makes your decision easy. By calling, you’ll win far more money in the long run than you would save by folding. Stay tuned. There’s much more to come about bluffing in the next three issues. In the meantime, look at how Bobby Baldwin bluffed Crandall Addington out of a big pot during the finals of the World Series of Poker.
Famous Bluffs: Baldwin versus Addington
During the 1978 World Series of Poker no-limit hold’em championship Bobby Baldwin, then a professional poker player and now President of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, was matched up against San Antonio real estate investor Crandall Addington for all the marbles.
Addington was heavily favored at the time, having about $275,000 in chips to Baldwin’s $145,000. Baldwin bet before the flop and Addington called. The flop was Q¨4¨3§. Baldwin bet $30,000. What could he have? A flush draw or straight draw was a possibility. So was a pair of queens.
Crandall Addington called without a moment’s hesitation, a sure sign he also had a good hand. The A¨fell on the turn, making a straight and a flush distinct possibilities. Baldwin made a $95,000 bet, adding it to the $92,000 already in the pot, and leaving himself with only a few remaining chips if he lost the hand.
Addington went into deep thought. If Addington called and won, Baldwin would be nearly broke, and he would almost surely be the winner. If he called Baldwin’s bet and lost, the tables would be turned and Baldwin would then be favored to win the event. If he folded, he would still have a substantial chip lead on Baldwin and still be favored to grind him down as the tournament wore on.
Addington folded. As Baldwin gathered in the pot, he tossed his cards toward the center of the table. They were the 10©9©. Baldwin had run a naked bluff, winning a $92,000 pot with absolutely nothing ¾ not even a draw.
That turned the tide and Bobby Baldwin became the 1978 World Series of Poker champion ¾ although whether he won it or stole it right out from under Crandall Addington’s nose is subject to interpretation.
KEEP ‘EM GUESSING
What should you do about players who bluff some, but not all of the time? There’s no easy answer. Opponents who bluff some of the time are better poker players than those found at either end of the bluffing spectrum. Better players, of course, will be able to keep you guessing about whether or not they are bluffing. And when you’re forced to guess, you will be wrong some of the time. That’s just the way it is.
Of course, you might be able to pick up a tell and know when your opponent is bluffing, but that’s not too likely in most cases. The sad truth is that players who keep you Togel guessing are going to give you much more trouble than predictable opponents.
In most low-limit games, players bluff much too often. After all, when you are playing fixed limit poker all it can cost is one additional bet to see someone’s hand. And the pots are usually big enough relative to the size of a bet to make calling the right decision.
Here’s an example. Suppose the pot contains $90, and your opponent makes a $10 bet. That pot now contains $100, and the cost of your call is only $10. Even if you figure your opponent to be bluffing only one time in ten, you should call. By calling, you’d lose a $10 bet nine times, for a loss of $90. Although you’d win only once, that pot would be worth $100. After ten such occurrences, you’d show a net profit of $10. As a result, you could say that regardless of the outcome of any particular hand, each call was worth one dollar to you.
