the all-in semi-bluff is great for tourneys. i think that’s how guys get huge stacks (hansen, minieri…. greenstein says he likes it too).

the semi-bluff though is when you have a flush draw. the AXs vs.AA pre-flop is not a semi-bluff, as per responder.

double-barrelled bluff is good too, but that second bet has to be large though.

value bet at end… i’m going to reread that. you do have to be careful about only getting called/raised with better hand. i don’t think a horrible hand calls those river bets. but i will reread the section….

great stuff!!

Ed, I have a question for you concerning example number 2, river value bet. I don’t see any reason to check the turn. In that example I think a turn bet would be called for. Would you explain the reasoning for the turn check?

I agree with threads13 that that’s not what Ed was referring to, not in this post. (See also the recent post about preflop 4-betting; perhaps you meant to post on that one.) In this particular instance, you’d have to have a sense of how wide a range your opponent would 3-bet but fold to your 4-bet. For an unknown I’d assume this is a very very narrow range, perhaps jacks, tens, and AQ. Your preflop semibluff was probably low-percentage, because most predictable opponents 3-betting there are announcing their willingness to play for stacks.

@Dr. Pepsi:

There’s $40 in the pot on the flop, and we’re facing a $30 bet. Therefore, a pot-sized raise involves:

- Calling the $30, so now there’s $40+30+30 = $100 in the pot before the raise.
- Raising another $100 on top, making it $130.

Of course you don’t do that in two separate actions. You’d have to be able to do the math in your head, and just announce a raise to $130 to go. But because of that math, it would be called a pot-sized raise.

A 2xpot-sized raise would be the same, except you’re raising twice the pot ($200) on top:

- Call the $30 making the pot $100.
- Raise $200 on top.

Therefore you make it $230 to go. Ed is saying you shouldn’t be making all-in semibluffs for more than that, because you’re risking much more than you stand to win.

Yes, I figured that. It was an experiment that could have worked beautifully. Except he had Aces.

Specifically this part:
“Don’t try it if your raise will be more than twice the size of the pot.”

I don’t think that’s what Ed had in mind.

The small blind raises, i reraise, he reraises, I push, he calls.

Shows AA.

Gee..

Formerly aggressive player now pondering the virtues of shyness.

With unthinking players or when the the action is just too crazy please make the case for aggression. I am seeing it as less and less useful.