Theory of Poker clarification

[Mikey]

I need some clarification on these statements.

Theory of Poker pg. 192

I've read this over and over and over and I just don't understand it, can someone please reword this for me.

"Similarly, if you do something to stop a bluff and then call when your opponent bets, you would do better and catch more bluffs if you didn't try to stop his bluffing in the first place. In other words, if you think your hand is worth a call after having tried to stop a bluff, it is crazy to have tried to stop the bluff."

I'm not understanding it.

Thanks in Advance.

*Mikey

[soah]

If you intend to call your opponent's bet, then you should be trying to induce bluffs rather than stop them. If he'll normally bluff 20% of the time, and you do something to reduce that to 10% of the time, then you're losing money each time that you've stopped him from bluffing when you would have called.

[sthief09]

he's saying that if you do somethign to stop a bluff, then you've decreased the chances that your opponent is bluffing, so if you do call, there's a small chance he's bluffing.

so, if you're going to call anyway, don't stop the bluff, because there will be a greater chance that he's bluffing and your call will be more +EV

[pudley4]

[ QUOTE ]
I need some clarification on these statements.

Theory of Poker pg. 192

I've read this over and over and over and I just don't understand it, can someone please reword this for me.

"Similarly, if you do something to stop a bluff and then call when your opponent bets, you would do better and catch more bluffs if you didn't try to stop his bluffing in the first place. In other words, if you think your hand is worth a call after having tried to stop a bluff, it is crazy to have tried to stop the bluff."

I'm not understanding it.

Thanks in Advance.

*Mikey

[/ QUOTE ]

If you take an action that indicates you will call your opponent's next bet, and he bets anyway, he's not bluffing. If you would like him to bluff, you shouldn't take that action in the first place.

The action could be something "outside the game" (like holding chips out, ready to call his bet); or it could be something "within the game" (like raising or 3-betting him on the turn with a board that isn't scary.)