Slot and Poker Oasis

Semi Bluffs – Advantages of Semi Bluff in Free Poker

Semi Bluff is a type of bet which done with a hand which is not truly the best hand at that point in time of the game if your are called by your opponents but you do have quiet a reasonable of chance of becoming the best hand in the game to beat your opponents. This clear shows that semi bluff can only take place if there reasonable amount of cards to follow, it will not happen with lesser cards. If you are betting for a semi bluff you try win right at that point of time, pretty much as would be doing in the case of a pure bluff.

Semi bluff is one of the tools in the game poker which is very rarely understood, although is it is one of the invaluable and highly potent tool in poker. Semi bluff is used to be all top professional poker player in any form of the game. Although you are showing off a better hand than originally have in semi bluff but you must have reasonable chance of a best hand in it compared to a pure bluff.

Let look at the advantages semi bluff provides in the game of online poker:

1. Semi bluff actually makes your opposite number to play the wrong way according to the “Fundamental Theorem of Poker”. When the semi bluff is made in al likely hood you do not have the upper hand or rather the best hand. In case the opponent has a look at your cards he would play the right way to do a raise but as you are making a semi bluff your opponent might most probably make only a call. This might well make your opponent to throw way the best hand by making the wrong moves.

2. Importantly with semi bluffs there is always a possibility of you actually being the best hand much to your surprise. If that happens, you are not going to commit the mistake of letting go a free card in the worst hand. There fore you are most likely to semi bluff when in a pretty good position to be the best hand then being in the position of worst hand were there are chances of you giving free cards to your opponents.

3. Using semi bluff diligently would give your game a great sense of deceptiveness which your opponents will have to be always conscious of this fact. This might make your opponents to be hesitant while taking risks with you as result of which they don not play with much confidence. So here on when you start to bet opponents will shape up to play in the same fashion in which you want to them, being predictable.

4. Last but not the least the semi bluff is an additional advantage in stud games, especially in the case of Hold ‘em as when you do make a bet that might well make your hand in the game your opponents will often misread you based on the way you have played in the previous round or rounds. This would well enable to you larger pots even surpassing your expectations.

A Common Practice

You would be aware of the fact that in most of the poker tournaments, the game is played hand for hand between the tables, that is, all the tables start every hand at the exactly same time and usually wait for all the tables to complete the current hand prior to the start of the next hand. This is very useful to make sure that all the tables proceed in the same pace unlike the cases where one or two tables are relatively slow. Apart from this, going hand for hand will urge the players to make moves without consuming much time. It also has other benefits such as fewer hands and reduced possibilities for players to get eliminated from the particular table.

When You are Cornered

It is a common and wise approach to force the players with short stack out of the game by raising the bet. You can also employ the approach if you find your opponents with low stack. You will force them out of the game and win a relatively smaller pot. But what should you do if you are the person cornered with short stack? In this case, it will be advisable to fold rather than being eliminated from the game due to shortage of funds.

The List of Rough Figures

If you have played a handful of games in poker tournaments, you would have witnessed that nothing pays as much as the first three positions at the end of the game. In most of the cases, the difference between second and third or even third and fourth position becomes too significant that it will definitely make a difference with regards to where you stand.

Considering the generalized list of $40 PokerStars tournament which may consist of approximately 500 players, we can get a precise idea. The players in the first, second, and third place will get 25%, 15.4%, and 10.5% respectively. From fourth to ninth position, the percentage gradually decreases: 7%, 5.5%, 4.5%, 3.5%, 2.6%, and 1.7%. For the players in 10th – 18th positions, the percentage of payout is 1.1%, 19th – 27th it is 0.7% whereas players at position 28th – 36th and 37th – 45th will get 0.5% and 0.4% respectively.

Analyzing the Figures

You need no further explanation that it does matter if you missed the second/third place and got fourth place. As your position drops relative to the top three, the percentage difference becomes meager. Your decision must be based on your position at the end of the game.

Apart from considering the important facts such as poker games in progress, stake, number of players, etc associated with each poker table, you have to check out other factors which will help you zero on the right poker tables.

Range of your stake will reflect on how “high” you wish to play and there are unlimited options ranging from relatively high limits such as $15–$30, $20–$40, etc. You can also come across the “micro-limits” poker games which have low stacks such as 25¢–50¢.

You can check the overview of the players who are currently playing in the particular poker table. This will help you in judging the difficulty level of the poker table if you recognize few of the players and their poker capabilities. You can also get details about the players who are waiting to get seat into any particular poker table.

You can get an idea about average pot sizes associated with every poker table, number of hands per hour, and percentage of hands after flops (if applicable). This will also help you decide the table as you will gain the information if there players not as proficient as you playing for big pots and also if the table has lots of flop.

Though most of the check boxes will be self-explanatory, you need to understand them completely before you check or uncheck the option. Some of them are significant enough to affect your game if chosen wrongly.

Sit Out can be chosen if you wish to miss hands till you can resume the game. You are not responsible for posting bring-ins or blinds if you have chosen the option to ‘sit out’ of a particular game/table. But if you miss more than three big blinds, you will be “picked up”, that is, you will be automatically removed from the particular table. Now, the first person in the waiting list can gain entry into the game.

I’m Back! – As the name indicates, you can choose this check box when you are geared up to resume your game. In case of Hold ‘Em, you need to post only the big blind if you resume the game when it is your turn to post big blind. You cannot resume if you are small blind and in all other cases, you have to post both big and small blinds.

Leave Table – If you are done for the day and have completed your conquest, you can leave the table after confirming the prompt asking if you are sure to quit the table.

Watch Out while Playing Online

You cannot imagine playing more than one game if you are in brick-and-mortar poker room but the options are unlimited in the case of online card rooms. Though it is undoubtedly an advantage, you should have good managing capacity to keep track of all the games you are involved in. A wrong move or misinterpretation of the game will cost you dearly as you may fold your hand in a wrong game or call with junk when you have a strong hand in the particular game.

Due to the screen resolution, in most of the cases, you will be able to view only one game/table at a time and switching back and forth may become tricky if you are involved in many games. On a rough estimate of 100 hands per table in one hour, you would be dealing with more than 300-400 hands if you are playing multiple games.

Solutions

You can increase your screen resolution to the maximum; this will let you view more than one game but in a smaller size. Another option is to modify your computer settings such that two or more monitors can be connected to your keyboard and mouse; this will enable you to use the same mouse actions to control different games which can be viewed in full screens.

Making the Best Use of Chats

Chatting online is similar to the mode of communication in any offline card rooms and the best part is that you can turn off your chat function if you find them distractive. In most of the cases, the online poker chats are short talks such as nh – nice hand, gl -good luck, ty -thank you, and so on. The chats can be used for sharing the success, failure, and rarely for commenting on the other players of the game.

Drawbacks of Online Poker Chats

The most important pitfall of poker chatting is that all chats should be in English, even if the players in the current game are from non-English speaking countries. This is a major blow to the ones who cannot manage even pretty darn English. The only option is to get used to this as there are no signs for relaxing this rule of the online poker chatting; strictly no French, German, or any other foreign language option in poker chatting.
Another fact which you should watch out is that all your conversations will be recorded in the server. Unlike in the offline card rooms where you can get off using foul language without others hearing them, you will be nailed if you use any abusive words or language.