The Mississippi Bluff
10-09-2007
, 02:06 PM
Hello everyone,
It's been a great October at the tables for both me and my students. I think we have set up just enough metagame in the first week that by the end of the month we should be out of the red and prospering in the deep pools of green that we all strive for.
Tonight, I want to share a lesson I am currently teaching my students. Poker at the elite level is about 75% bluffing, 25% odds. If you maintain this balance, you will be playing the nosebleed stakes before you know it. I tell my students all the time, balance is like a gymnast that tries out for the baseball team, it's a different field but you're still a gymnast. And now on to the hand.
Poker Stars, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LegoPoker Hand History Converter
BTN: $777.70
SB: $599.00
BB: $927.80
UTG: $602.25
Hero (MP): $543.15
CO: $540.80
As you can see, I am playing 3/6 NL. This level is widely considered the wasteland of poker. It's the stakes that the unimaginative grinders play and is filled with players not good enough to play 5/10. Sometimes when I am struggling to outplay people at the more challenging 1/2 and 2/4 levels, I just go play 3/6 and catch the money that falls from the sky.
Pre-Flop: 2
6 dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG raises to $21, Hero calls $21, 4 folds.
This is a pretty standard play for me. I make the isolation call with the suited connector. If I'm unsuited, it goes without saying that this is a fold. I like to float preflop in this spot, UTG vs MP, because you can really narrow the range of the PFR and put them on hands easily. And floating with little cards is smart because they always put you on big cards.
Flop: ($51) 3
Q
K (2 Players)
UTG bets $45, Hero calls $45.
That's not a good flop for our villain. After he bets out huge, which is a clear sign of weakness, I can't really put him on anything that connects hard with that flop. I put him on something like JT and in my eyes this is a perfect scenario for something I like to call the Mississippi Bluff.
The Mississippi Bluff is a complex play for advanced players. Only a few of us--like fgators, Nielsio and myself--read hands well enough to pull it off with a high success rate but it is extremely profitable. The bluff itself is simple. You call any flop and turn bets, push any river. Recognizing the spots to use the bluff...well, that's an art form.
Turn: ($141) 3 (2 Players)
UTG bets $120, Hero calls $120.
This turn is a complete brick. The chances of him raising UTG and holding a 3 are negligible. But, that's the perfect card for me. I should be able to fold out most of his range by repping a set of 3's on the end.
River: ($381) 6
(2 Players)
UTG bets $350, Hero raises to $357.15 (all-in)...
Well, Villain has really put our complex bluff to the test with an awkward river bet size. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how much fold equity I really have here. However, I do have some showdown equity vs his range.
The mark of a strong player is to stick to the plan no matter what: Successful poker is all about persistence in the face of adversity. So, with that in mind, I aggressively make the push...
...after which, villain types a bunch of silly random letters in the chat box. He actually tanks for quite a long time. Now I'm thinking he might have a strong hand like AK and can't see how he is good here. After a few more expletives typed into the chat box, he does make the call, shows J T and my hand is good.
The Mississippi Bluff is not for the quaint of heart. You need to close your eyes and follow it through to the end no matter the action. It is bold. It is aggressive. It is poker the way elite players play poker.
That's all for now and we shall see you at the tables.
joy
It's been a great October at the tables for both me and my students. I think we have set up just enough metagame in the first week that by the end of the month we should be out of the red and prospering in the deep pools of green that we all strive for.
Tonight, I want to share a lesson I am currently teaching my students. Poker at the elite level is about 75% bluffing, 25% odds. If you maintain this balance, you will be playing the nosebleed stakes before you know it. I tell my students all the time, balance is like a gymnast that tries out for the baseball team, it's a different field but you're still a gymnast. And now on to the hand.
Poker Stars, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LegoPoker Hand History Converter
BTN: $777.70
SB: $599.00
BB: $927.80
UTG: $602.25
Hero (MP): $543.15
CO: $540.80
As you can see, I am playing 3/6 NL. This level is widely considered the wasteland of poker. It's the stakes that the unimaginative grinders play and is filled with players not good enough to play 5/10. Sometimes when I am struggling to outplay people at the more challenging 1/2 and 2/4 levels, I just go play 3/6 and catch the money that falls from the sky.
Pre-Flop: 2
6 dealt to Hero (MP)UTG raises to $21, Hero calls $21, 4 folds.
This is a pretty standard play for me. I make the isolation call with the suited connector. If I'm unsuited, it goes without saying that this is a fold. I like to float preflop in this spot, UTG vs MP, because you can really narrow the range of the PFR and put them on hands easily. And floating with little cards is smart because they always put you on big cards.
Flop: ($51) 3
Q K (2 Players)UTG bets $45, Hero calls $45.
That's not a good flop for our villain. After he bets out huge, which is a clear sign of weakness, I can't really put him on anything that connects hard with that flop. I put him on something like JT and in my eyes this is a perfect scenario for something I like to call the Mississippi Bluff.
The Mississippi Bluff is a complex play for advanced players. Only a few of us--like fgators, Nielsio and myself--read hands well enough to pull it off with a high success rate but it is extremely profitable. The bluff itself is simple. You call any flop and turn bets, push any river. Recognizing the spots to use the bluff...well, that's an art form.
Turn: ($141) 3
(2 Players)UTG bets $120, Hero calls $120.
This turn is a complete brick. The chances of him raising UTG and holding a 3 are negligible. But, that's the perfect card for me. I should be able to fold out most of his range by repping a set of 3's on the end.
River: ($381) 6
(2 Players)UTG bets $350, Hero raises to $357.15 (all-in)...
Well, Villain has really put our complex bluff to the test with an awkward river bet size. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how much fold equity I really have here. However, I do have some showdown equity vs his range.
The mark of a strong player is to stick to the plan no matter what: Successful poker is all about persistence in the face of adversity. So, with that in mind, I aggressively make the push...
...after which, villain types a bunch of silly random letters in the chat box. He actually tanks for quite a long time. Now I'm thinking he might have a strong hand like AK and can't see how he is good here. After a few more expletives typed into the chat box, he does make the call, shows J
T and my hand is good.The Mississippi Bluff is not for the quaint of heart. You need to close your eyes and follow it through to the end no matter the action. It is bold. It is aggressive. It is poker the way elite players play poker.
That's all for now and we shall see you at the tables.
joy
10-09-2007
, 02:08 PM
10-09-2007
, 02:39 PM
Quote:
10-09-2007
, 02:52 PM
