News Tag: Gop 3 Bluffing Guide - ChipsPro

New players in Governor of Poker 3 typically play very tightly, only betting when they have a strong hand. Once you learn to bluff, you jump out of the fish pond and have the potential to become a big winner.

If you bluff with a 2 and a 3, that's not bluffing; it's pushing chip to your opponent. You must learn how and when to bluff effectively. Below is a clear bluffing decision-making framework to help you bluff like a pro in GoP 3.

Terminology

Before we begin, there are a few key terms you need to understand:

Auto Calls

These are hands that your opponent can easily call with. These are hands your opponent would never fold, such as when your opponent has Nuts - that's an auto-call situation.

Auto Folds

These are hands your opponent will easily fold with. This is usually a bankrupt flush draw, a bankrupt straight draw, or bottom pair or middle pair in a large pot when the board becomes scary.

Blockers

These are key cards in your hand that reduce or prevent your opponent from holding a specific hand type. For example, if the board has three spades and you have the Ace of Spades, you know your opponent is unlikely to have a nut flush, significantly reducing the number of flush combinations they might hold. This could eliminate about a third of their potential auto-calls, meaning they are more likely to have auto-folds.

Bluffing Framework

There are many stages at the poker table, and you need to assess the information at each stage. If the requirements for bluffing are met, don't hesitate.

Should You Bluff?

First, consider whether your opponent is capable of folding. If they will fold bottom pair, you can consider bluffing. If they won't even fold bottom pair or Ace-high, you probably shouldn't bluff.

Do You Have No Showdown Value?

If you have a pair but the board isn't very synergistic, you usually have showdown value, which reduces your incentive to bluff.

If you have no showdown value, for example, if you bet on both the flop and turn with a straight draw and only have 6-high on the river, you should probably bluff because checking would usually result in losing your Governor of Poker 3 Chips.

Does Your Range Have Many Value Hands?

If your range has many value hands, you should be more inclined to bluff. Conversely, you should bluff less.

Are Your Blockers Highly Relevant?

If the board is three spades and you have the Ace or King of Spades, that's a good blocker. If you have two hearts, the answer is no, don't bluff.

Can Your Hand Interfere with Your Opponents' Auto-Folds?

In poker, some hands opponents might automatically fold to when you bet. However, if your hand contains hands your opponents might otherwise automatically fold to, their chances of folding decrease. In other words, your hand blocks their option to auto-fold.

Does Your Opponent's Folding Block Your Hand?

Does your hand block or reduce those hands in your opponent's range that would automatically fold to your bet? For example, if you think your opponent will enter the pot with many bottom pairs with an Ace or King kicker, then having an Ace or King might be bad, as it reduces the likelihood of them holding those foldable hands.

Is Your Bluff Credible?

This relates to your performance at the poker table. If you've already bluffed several times, your next bluff is likely to be detected by your opponents. Even if they're not sure you're bluffing, they're willing to risk calling you, which could lead to you losing chips. In this case, don't bluff.

How to Bet?

Once you decide to bluff, you need to determine your bet sizing.

Showdown Value

If you only have 5-high on the river, you should be more inclined to bet heavily because you really don't want your opponent to make a “hero call” with K-high or A-high.

If you have some showdown value, such as A-high, and you decide to bluff with it, then betting small might be better. Sometimes your opponent will call with K-high, and you'll get a surprise.

Opponent's Hands

If you're trying to get your opponent to fold a lot of medium pairs, you should bet heavily, because they're more likely to call small bets.

Conversely, if your opponent either has a strong hand or no hand, you should generally bluff with small bets. This is because if your opponent has no hand, they'll fold to any bet; if they have a strong hand, they won't fold to any bet.

Blocking The Nuts

If you have a blocker for the nuts, you should generally bet heavily, because you're essentially representing the nuts and know your opponent is unlikely to have them. If you don't have many blockers for the nuts, you should tend to bet small, because your opponent is more likely to hold the nuts and automatically call.

How to Get Your Opponent to Fold Strong Hands?

If you want your opponent to fold top pair or two pair, you're better off betting heavily. If you simply want them to fold bottom pair or Ace-high/K-high, you can usually bet small.

You Get Nuts

If you have the nuts, bet big. But often, you might not have many nuts, but you have many value bets like top pair with a good kicker. In this case, betting small with your bluff is usually the right thing to do, because you also want to bet small with these good but not top-tier value hands.

Bluffing isn't entirely a psychological tactic; more importantly, you need to judge the situation in game. Otherwise, you haven't truly mastered the skill.