What's the biggest % of your stack that you'll bluff with?

[RoyalSampler]

I think I'm trying big bluffs too often for online poker. I think:
a) it's way too easy for people to just hit the call button, as opposed to brick and mortor where you move all the chips, each with their dollar value in plain site.
b) it's low stakes really, realistically the money is nothing to us (or should be) so people call too often, the whole, "what they hey" mentality

So with $10 buyin I think bluffing $4 is too much. I've done $20 bluffs before /images/graemlins/laugh.gif sometimes lucky, but I'm thinking of cutting down and not such much setting a rule, but aiming to reduce my max bluffs to around $2, or 20% of starting stack. Check raise bluffs are great, more fold equity so maybe a bit higher, but not much.

Also do you guys find you bluff often? I think i bluff or semi bluff with say bottom pair (don't count draw semi bluffing, no courage required there) maybe 1/5 hands. Usually when the pot is ~6BB's.

Thanks

[schwza]

i dunno... i've never thought about a bluff percentage. i raise before the flop a lot (i play 6-max) and after i do i bet very frequently. i think brunson said that after a pre-flop raise he bet something like 90% of flops.

in pots where everyone has limped, i'll often bet if it looks like the flop didn't hit anybody. if it's something like 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 4 /images/graemlins/heart.gif 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif or 3 /images/graemlins/club.gif 3 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 8 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif i'll bet the pot.

i almost never fire a second barrel if i get called on the flop. and i almost never bluff-raise (i mean over a reasonable bet. if somebody bets $1 into a $12 pot that i was planning on stealing i'll just ignore the $1 bet).

[2283]

i rarely bluff, but i frequently steal. what i mean is i rarely bet because i think someone's hand is weak but i will bet when i think nobody has a hand. they just call too often.

rule #1 of online poker should be don't try to get someone to fold a made hand unless you know something about him.

it's ok to bet because you don't think they have anything, but not such a good idea to bet because you think they have a weak kicker or something.

i wouldnt worry so much about % of your stack, i'd worry about % of the pot when thinking about bluffing.

[muzungu]

Royal-

Theoretically, you'll have the biggest advantage playing at a level where you are comfortable with all moves, given the right circumstances. This would include bluffing all-in. Practically, I agree that at low stakes NL people are often inclined to call, and bluffing is often ineffective. I think its more important to spend your time and effort thinking about what types of situations to bluff in, rather than what % of your stack you are willing to bluff. Now, maybe its true that in your experience small bluffs (e.g. picking up pots on flops that everybody seems to have missed) work better for you than large ones, but that's only one variable. Things like position, reads on opponents, and the texture of the board are just as important, if not more so.

-muz

[AJo Go All In]

What's the biggest % of your stack that you'll bluff with?

one hundred.

[ClimbRock512]

I was going to say the same thing. The percentage of your stack should not come into play. Rather, the size of you bet compared to the size of the play is the most important. Your also must take into consideration how good a hand they have, how often they will call, and how much is the pot(in big blinds). To risk $50 when the blinds are 5 and 10 cents just doesn't seem worth it ever.

Don't bluff at low limits online. I will bet 90% of the pots I raised preflop, but other than that, I bluff maybe once in 400 hands. I know this does not maximize my EV, but I'd rather play 4 tables like a robot than try to squeak out every penny from players you cannot read.

[Guy McSucker]

In live games, 100%.

Online, 0%.

Guy.

[HonestPete]

Hi,

Nonsense question. If you want to win big, be prepared to place everything in middle of table. If you got strong feeling your opponent will fold his hand to a bet of x or maybe x+y then go for it...once too many times and they will realise so ull have to change your bets accordingly.

I dont know what limits you are asking for, but when i played lower limit games it was best to not bluff all time, just as the other user said if preflop raise then carry it out on flop n turn n river as long as u got 1 out...If you ONLY bet the flop and always check it down without improvement they will catch on and fcuk you over for it.

I play 5-10 up to 25-50NL and stealing, bluffing, semi bluffing is where you make your money. (also lose!! lol), best practice it at lower limit changing it depending on the player.

btw, fyi biggest bluff i did and showed was a re-raise of 4200 on riv represnting flush, made the guy fold top 2..that was fun.

Pete

[DcifrThs]

[ QUOTE ]
btw, fyi biggest bluff i did and showed was a re-raise of 4200 on riv represnting flush, made the guy fold top 2..that was fun

[/ QUOTE ]

this implies you bet, he raised you and you reraised him 4200 to a total of way more than 4200 on the flushed river.

if thats the case id expect a raiser to call almost any reraise of this sort given the info (what little there is)...i.e. if you bet the flushed river and he raised that means he is committed to putting in the rest of his stack and has offered you those odds on the raise. if he feared the flush he'd just call...therefore sometimes when a guy checks in disgust on the river after a flush hit and you played your hand like a draw, you can sometimes make a big bet and take the pot depending on the player...if he always has to see your hand then obviously it wont work lol...

but i'm sure i just misinterpreted the action...

in any case, when bluffing you shouldn't be concerned w/ the % of your stack or your relative bluffing %. you use every situation in poker as its own little point on a system with changing information. when its profitable do it...when its not, dont. clearly this is an oversimplification but it makes the most sense to think of it that way.

good luck.
-Barron

[ML4L]

For once, AJo and I agree on something... /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Even a nit like me will put his whole stack in when the situation calls for it. Anyone who does not answer 100%, when the situation calls for it, to this question should probably reevaluate whether no limit (at the given stakes) is the proper game for him/her...

ML4L

[RoyalSampler]

Thanks for the replies. End result, I will be easing up on bluffing at these limits 10c/25c, at the very least the swings are annoying. But my B&M and SnG's play is a different story, absolutely as was mentioned you must always be ready to put 100% behind it. Going to try PP this weekend /images/graemlins/laugh.gif. Cya

[Nottom]

I honestly believe if you aren't willing to push in your whole stack if the situation presents itself, then you shouldn't be playing NL.

If that situation happens to be a bluff, then well theres your answer.

[N00b]

100% Period. I'll push it to the center in the right situation Rain or Shine, On-Line or Off-Line, Tourney or Cash... If the situation is right, do it.

IMHO, bluffing is only useful if your competition is capable of folding. Once you know they aren't gonna fold, it's useless, it's EV-. That's why you don't bluff as much in low-limit games... you get called too often.

Note, "post-oak" (sub-pot) bluffs can work WONDERS at low limits because people are scared of being trapped, where a push can often set off the "Bullshit" reflex, unless it's a "correctly sized" push. (about .75-2x pot)

As far as frequency, think of it like when you see your premium starting hands. You'll see premium bluffing situations. Take advantage of those. How often do they occur? (shrug) Depends on the table and the night... there are some nights where I swear it feels like I should bluff every other hand, and other nights where I'd never want to bluff.

-N00b

[RollaJ]

[ QUOTE ]
What's the biggest % of your stack that you'll bluff with?

one hundred.

[/ QUOTE ]

Me too.

I tried betting 900 (692%) once when I only had $130 in front of me and party defaulted to 130 /images/graemlins/frown.gif