Deliberately Get Caught Bluffing

If you are sitting down at a new game and want to make an impression on the other players, deliberately get caught bluffing.

It will cost you money and it will put surprised looks on the faces of the other players. But it will pay off in the long run.

Let's say the game is Omaha High-Low, a game where hardly anybody ever bluffs. If you get caught bluffing early in this game, you will have people calling you down when you get nut hands. Players have a long memory and things like a bluff tend to stick in their brains.

Don't make a habit of deliberately getting caught bluffing. One time is plenty.

From that point on, though, be sure you have the nut hands because you will get caught when you make a bet.

In Omaha High-Low, your choice of starting hands is critically important. Don't play A-3 if you have no backup cards.

Don't play pocket nines and stay away from playing an outsider card that has no value with three other good cards.

Keep track of all the hands you play. You don't want to play too many hands because your losses will more than cover your wins.

When you have a strong hand with powerful betting opportunities, raise and make the most of it. They won't come along very often and when they do, you must act.

Rarely play four high cards. While they sometimes will connect, you cheat yourself when you give yourself no opportunity for a low hand.

Do not play double-suited middle cards. Even when you hit, the chances are too strong that someone will hit higher than you.

Suited aces with one or two lower cards are the best starting hand in Omaha High-Low.

If you start out with A-2 and only one low card comes on the flop, fold to any wager. The odds of getting runner-runner are just too long.

When you are behind the button and the last to act, you can play borderline hands. Be conservative in what you call or raise with and you should be fine.

If you have been playing for a long while and your stick has increased, it wouldn't hurt you to get caught bluffing again deliberately. It would simply remind your foes that you are a tricky deceiving thief of the roundtable. That, my dear friend, will gain their respect.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).