Ante Up Magazine

Exclusive look at the new "All In - The Poker Movie"

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:27:00 +0000

All In - The Poker Movie can be seen a theaters all across the country or online. Ante Up had writer/director Douglas Tirola on a recent episode of the Ante Up PokerCast, and here's an exclusive look at the movie.

Q&A with poker announcer Lon McEachern

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:32:00 +0000

Lon McEachern is a professional sports broadcaster, best known for his hand-by-hand commentary on the World Series of Poker. He has appeared in ESPN’s poker coverage since the late 1990s. In the past, McEachern also hosted K-1 kickboxing, martial arts, Scrabble and billiards. He recentlychatted with our Mike Owens.

Where is home for you? I have lived most of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area. I grew up just north of San Francisco and now live south of the city in the San Jose area.

How did you get into broadcasting? Broadcasting is in my blood, I guess. My dad was one of the first people anywhere to make a living being on television in Memphis where I was born. He moved the family to the Bay Area shortly after I was born to continue his broadcast career. My older brother later got into the business after college and I did the same when my lifelong dream to play pro baseball died in junior college when I went undrafted. My teammate, Jesse Orosco, did have a pretty decent pro career, though.

My best decision was to join my college radio station, KCSB-FM, while at UC Santa Barbara. While there I got great hands-on training and on-air practice that served me very well. From there I got a job at KTMS radio in Santa Barbara (where Jim Rome used to work), and later moved to TV to become the sports guys at KCOY in Santa Maria. Several years later I was freelancing at ESPN, which led to my first poker gig.

What has it been like working with Norman Chad? Norman has forced me to learn patience, tolerance, grace and sympathy. Imagine being locked in a small room with only one way out while people, whose careers are balancing on how well YOU perform, stare at you eight hours a day expecting pearls of wisdom with every utterance. And then look next to you and discover HIM. It’s a miracle we’re still on the air. But, I have to admit we’ve had some good moments and he’s someone I would trust to perform well on just about any show. He’s a true professional and a wonderful journalist who has more integrity that most people I know.

Are you a fan of the delayed World Series of Poker Main Event final table? I was very skeptical of the November Nine format at first but have come to love it. The delay in play does not affect the thousands of main event entrants; it only impacts nine players. The taped Tuesday night shows give viewers a chance to see how it all unfolded and when we’re done with those shows we follow immediately with the final table and the big payoff. I think it’s a terrific format that allows maximum exposure to the players who deserve it and gives them a chance to maximize the financial gains that come with being one of the November Nine.

Can we expect any surprises in this year’s coverage? Yes, I believe you can, but we are very early in discussions of what will take place so I can’t give away any secrets right now.

Do you play often? I do not play often, but I do have a regular group of friends who gather once or twice monthly to play. Many are casual players though some make it a goal to play an event or two at the WSOP. We have had yearlong competitions in the past, which culminated in winning a $1,500 seat and travel money for the WSOP. I won it one year! I have been making personal appearances at some casinos around the country and I certainly make it a point to play with the locals, which is a great deal of fun.

Where is your favorite place to travel? Anywhere I have not been before. Over the years I have been lucky to travel quite a bit. Often times, though, it’s the same place again and again. While I love those cities for what they have to offer, I do enjoy a new adventure such as I had last year when the WSOP-Europe took their events to Cannes, France. I’m looking forward to the WSOP’s continuing expansion to other continents so I can take some new trips.

Do you have any advice for someone making a first trip to the WSOP? Be prepared for your jaw to drop when you first enter the playing area at the Rio. It is a sight most poker players have never seen before. It can be overwhelming so I would advise someone to come at least a day early, visit the poker rooms and get over the “OMG” moment, so when you come to play you can focus on your game. The size of fields can be intimidating, but just scale back your focus to your table and pay attention to your competition. Bring snacks and drinks, take note of where the “less-used” bathrooms are located and rest every chance you get because the long days can catch up to you and ruin your chances.

A look at the meaning of money at the table

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:27:00 +0000

Our relationship with money is an important aspect of how we play poker. Much has been written about money management; however, the psychology of money has mostly been ignored in the poker world. Money is not just money, it has meaning. We’ve all heard the saying, “Don’t play with scared money.” The implications are obvious.

How you make money decisions when it’s attached to risk is an important aspect of understanding your game. I recently worked with two avid recreational players: one a consistently winning $2-$5 no-limit player and the other a decent $2-$2 NL and tournament player.

The $2-$2 player moved to the $2-$5 game and was having trouble, mostly with bet-sizing and maximizing profits. The regular $2-$5 player showed him a number of leaks in his bet decision-making. The $2-$2 player was too conservative. He was winning, but his win ratio was not sufficient to make up for the variance in his losses. He cared too much about protecting his stack. In tournaments, he was willing to make the correct bets.

I concluded it had more to do with the nature of money, the relationship between money and personality, than it did traditional poker skill. Each player’s emotional relationship to money guided his thinking. Each player was playing well within limits they could afford.

In tournaments, the $2-$2 player did well; he was not concerned about busting when he went all-in at the right time. He said, “Once I buy in, my money is already invested; my job is to maximize my return.” Not so in the $2-$5 cash game: those chips had real meaning. It was almost as if he were playing with scared money. However, the regular $2-$5 player viewed his chips as tools and not as money and did much better.

Prospect theory, an economic theory developed by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, would suggest the best gambling plan is to have a stop-loss number. This is the number at which you stop playing when you’re losing. It also suggests a stop-win number; the number you’ll stop playing when you’re ahead. This plan allows you to leave the table a winner or reduce your losses. The theory looked at casino gambling and found people go in with such a plan, but quickly abandon it. You may ask, “How can I stop? The deck is hitting me; I’m in the zone; I can’t make mistakes.”

Prospect theory advises you stop when you reach your winning goal. You can cash out or take a break and buy in to another table, but that’s another session. Poker skill should be measured over the course of your poker life; it’s punctuated by sessions. Of course, this is a conservative money management strategy and doesn’t take into account “getting hit by the deck” or “juicy tables.”

Have a poker bankroll separate from necessities; a working professional should treat poker like a business (not just lip service); have a financial plan about poker, long term and for each session. Get a psychological handle on your relationship to money and keep your head in the game.

— Dr. Stephen Bloomfield is a licensed psychologist and avid poker player. His column will give insight on how to achieve peak performance using poker psychology. Email questions for him at editor@anteupmagazine.com.

The art of hiding your intentions at the poker table

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:26:00 +0000

Here’s a hand I recently observed with a valuable lesson at the end. Player A open raised from the button. The big blind called and they saw a flop heads-up. Both players checked the raggedy flop. The turn brought another non-descript card and the big blind bet out. Player A smooth called. I had been studying Player A and my impression at this point was Player A was floating Player B. I didn’t think the big blind was strong here and I was fairly certain Player A felt the same way.
I was fully expecting the big blind to check the river and for Player A to bet and win the pot.

The river brought a nine and, as expected, the big blind checked. Player A thought for a while about what to do and finally checked while simultaneously saying something to the effect that his hand now had check-down value and he flipped over 5-9 offsuit.

The big blind mucked and questioned what Player A was doing in the hand. Player A was upfront that he was floating the big blind and would have bet the river if he hadn’t hit it. Player A pointed out he was, in all likelihood, going to win the hand for if he bet the river, the big blind would have folded.

Now, my impressions are that Player A is a solid, tricky player but he made two mistakes on the river. First, he made his decision to check down based solely on the cards. Player A completely discounted the value of betting his hand there, not for value, but to induce the big blind to fold as he originally planned. The “value” to Player A would come in not having to reveal his hand and show the table what he was up to. Just in case a few of the slower players couldn’t have figured it out from the cards, Player A let his ego get in the way and had to inform the table of his thought process.

The other mistake Player A made was in quickly turning over his hand first. He should have waited for the big blind to turn his hand over since the big blind had been the last aggressor in the hand. If the big blind did have the better hand, Player A would still have been able to preserve his intentions. As it was, he never got to see the big blind’s cards.

Poker is a game of imperfect information. While Player A won this hand, he made two avoidable mistakes. The first one caused him to give away too much information. The second one prevented him from receiving additional information.

— David Apostolico is the author of several poker strategy books, including Tournament Poker and the Art of War. You can contact him at thepokerwriter@aol.com.

Rules are there for a reason; learn them

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:25:00 +0000

I always insist players adhere to rules, and this doesn’t always make me the most popular player at the table. Rules were established for the protection of the game and players. What I’ve come to understand is a lot of players don’t know the most basic rules and dealers often out of necessity must call the floor.

Then, what most often happens is, several players begin to talk at the same time. This makes the floor person’s job 10 times more difficult. Dealers should explain why they called the floor and what the problem was. This should be the only conversation happening. Players need to remain silent; then the floor will ask the appropriate question of players to help make a ruling.

Someone usually ends up unhappy with the decision, but most of the time it’s their fault for not knowing the rule they just violated. An informed player will read and understand house rules before playing so they can ask for the floor when a rule is in question.

I also realize the need for uniform rules throughout the industry. Cash-game play is less complicated than tournament play when it comes to understanding rules. Simply knowing the house rules will ensure proper play.

The transition from cash to tournaments regarding rules may be a quantum leap for players who lack the knowledge required to play an informed game. For years I’ve struggled with dealers and players who had little understanding of rule violations. Average players may not want to concern themselves with rules; they simply want the action.

Therefore, knowledgeable dealers and floor personnel that not only enforce rules but hand out proper penalties for violations is needed. Most cardrooms are player-friendly and loosely enforce penalties, giving only warnings to players to end most violations. But this perpetrates the problem of rule violations. When players realize only warnings are given out to violators these players will continually break rules without consequences.

For years I’ve argued with dealers and floor personnel about rule violations. I refused to be silent when I felt the game was not being played fairly. I never felt I needed the action so much that I would allow my values to be compromised simply to continue playing in an unfair game.

Recently the Palm Beach Kennel Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., hired Allen Ray as its tournament director. Allen has vast tournament experience with the World Series and Poker Tournament Consultants, Inc. I’m now in poker-player heaven when I play at PBKC. Not only does Allen explain tournament rules beforehand, he enforces the rules and imposes penalties fairly to all violators.

Seeing a player who talks about a hand in progress going to the rail for an orbit warms the cockles of my heart. My reputation as a jerk for insisting rules be followed may be in danger. … then again, maybe not.

— Antonio Pinzari is the former host of Poker Wars and has been playing poker professionally since the ’70s.

Don’t focus on specific pot-limit Omaha situations

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:23:00 +0000

For the past four months I’ve been giving pot-limit Omaha lessons to a longtime friend. He had a bad start, making a lot of beginner mistakes, but I was determined to make him a winning player. After three months of slow progress, it just seemed to start clicking for him in the span of a week.

He wasn’t bringing home 20 buy-ins a day or anything, but what he did seem to have was a greater understanding of the game. He started asking me more relevant questions about hands and followed the action better. I asked him what the difference-maker was.

“I stopped taking your poker advice literally,” he said with a smirk.
All through our training sessions, which were just him coming over to hang out and watch me play, I thought the best way to teach him would be to talk out my strategy about the specific hands while he jotted down what I said:

• Overpair and flush draw is flipping against two-pair hands on moderately connected boards.
• On a paired board, bet half-pot in position with your entire range.
Then, armed with hundreds of hand-specific one-sentence notes, he started to grind, and failed. Months had gone by where he was just losing money. I told him to put in more volume, come over and watch me more and take more notes. He put in the work, doing everything I said, but still the progress wasn’t coming.

He told me he was on the verge of giving up until he found a book; a book on poker theory. Reading it he realized he was looking at my notes completely wrong.

When I gave him my strategy he would take it as advice for only that situation (i.e. bet when there is a K-J-4 two-diamond board and you’re checked to in position with K-J-8-9 rainbow) instead of viewing it from a theory standpoint (i.e. if checked to here we believe we have the strongest hand and to protect our equity and prevent our opponent from seeing a free card that could improvehisequity, we must bet.)

He started to see how there’s an underlying logic to each situation that could apply to countless other hands in every poker game. He went through all of his previous notes and distilled them down until he found the theory at the core. This was what happened that week it all seemed to click for him.

We should’ve started with theory instead of unique situations. I like to use a musical analogy when explaining why this is bad: Would you become a better musician faster by learning specific songs through tabs or by learning how to read actual musical notation?

One teaches you how to play one songreallywell. The other, with time, gives you the power to play any song you want on the fly. With poker, which has almost an infinite amount of variations, learning specific hands (orsongs) just isn’t viable. Mastering theory is key, and when you do, you have the tools to handle any hand that comes your way.

— Jay Houston is a Team Pro with DeepStacks and a PLO specialist who crushes the mid-stakes online cash games.

Exploiting your table image in poker

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:22:00 +0000

I attended the grand opening of a new poker club called Fatty’s, which now regularly gets celebrities to play there, including Montel Williams, Lacey Jones and Chris Moneymaker.
But I want to discuss the $5-$10 cash game that broke out afterward. Coming into the game, I understood many of these people knew who I was, and I assumed they would think I’d be a super-aggressive, young Internet pro who just started playing live. Also I had just played a tournament with a few of them. I was 100 percent sure they had noticed when I jammed with nine big blinds six hands in a row. All of these factors equated into my cash-game strategy. I was going to be opening a lot of pots preflop and making tons of continuation bets, but when I got to the river in a big pot I would generally have the blades.

After unsuccessfully playing aggressive preflop and failing to take down dozens of pots on the flop, this hand happened. I decided to limp with pocket deuces on the cutoff after three players had limped. The small blind completed and the big blind checked. The flop was J-7-2. Sweet. The SB led with $40 into five players, which is pretty strong. I was about 90 percent sure he has at least a jack. It’s unlikely he had two pair with the deuce because I have two of them and he probably wouldn’t complete with J-2 or 7-2 preflop. It folded around to me. We were both $2K deep at this point so I decided the best way to build a huge pot would be to raise the flop. I’d been playing super aggressive and it would look sketchy if I just called the flop. I raised to $140. After two seconds he called.

The turn was another jack. That’s a good card or a bad card. He checked and I made a pretty big bet ($250) to get as much money into the pot as possible. He called. The river was a nine. If he had 7-7 he probably would’ve check-raised the turn trying to stack me. If he has J-9 then it’s just a cooler, but there are tons of jack combinations that don’t have a nine in them. A-J, K-J, Q-J, J-10, J-8, J-6 suited and J-5 suited could’ve completed preflop. He checked to me. I decided the best way to get called on the river (considering my loose-aggressive 23-year-old image) was to make a huge bet.

He has a jack in this spot the vast majority of the time and I know he’s smart enough to realize there is only one jack left in the deck so it’s unlikely I have it. Also, why the hell would I raise a dry flop with a set? I bet $875. After some deliberation he sighed and called. I tabled the deuces and took a nice pot.

In conclusion, I’d like to say how important it is to keep on top of what your image is at the table. It will help you lose less when you’re beat and win more when you have the best hand. In the long run, it makes all the difference.

— Mike Wolf is a team pro at surebetpoker.net. Email him at MichaelJWolf33@gmail.com and follow his adventures on Twitter @mikewolf7.

Poker tells of the mouth, Part I

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:21:00 +0000

For years I’ve been preaching the feet are the most reliable place to pick up tells. That’s true, because as I’ve said, while the face has a “social contract” to smile when others smile, your feet have no such obligation. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look at the face for tell. We just need to be careful as to what we see on the face and its true significance. The mouth in particular is the best place to decipher the feelings of players.

From the time we are born, it’s mouth behaviors that a baby learns to mimic from its mother. When the mother smiles, so does the baby. When she pouts, so does the baby. This early mimicry helps develop skills in communicating verbally, but more important, nonverbally. The parent likewise focuses on the mouth of the baby to see when it purses (I don’t like) or it distorts (I don’t feel well) or it opens wide (I need your attention).

Because we focus on the mouth early on, it’s surmised that the mouth is always a source of interest for us for the spoken and unspoken word. We disproportionately place greater focus on the mouth and tongue, as well as the hands and thumbs.

So what does this mean for you as a poker player? A lot. The first thing to remember is, at the poker table people are going to be looking at your hands and mouth out of proportion to the rest of your body consciously and subconsciously. We’re naturally driven to keep an eye on these areas of the body because they communicate (happiness, joy, fear) and because as primates, these are things that can hurt us, so we evolved to keep them in focus.

When we’re strong, confident and relaxed, that shows in our lips. The same display applies when we’re weak, anxious, nervous, cautious or worried. I see so many players wearing sunglasses. They’re worried about their eyes giving information away, but the mouth reveals so much more. In my books, I’ve argued that covering the mouth is more important than covering the eyes, which is why pro players I’ve worked with, such as Phil Hellmuth, cover their mouth to make themselves more difficult to read.

BASELINE OF BEHAVIORS: Determining a baseline behavior will be critical for those who wish to get a good read on mouth behaviors. Our mouths are our primary source for pacifying. When we are stressed, we touch our lips, rub them, pull on them, massage them or lick them. We do these things in real time to calm ourselves. As adults we can’t really suck our thumbs, especially at the table, so we do other things with our lips and mouth that can pacify.
The majority of actions we undertake with our mouths are meant to pacify ourselves. From biting pen caps, chewing our nails, smoking, biting straws or sipping on drinks, exhaling through pursed lips or eating a lot, our brain is soothed by these oral activities. This is why people have difficulty with weight; eating pacifies us. And at the poker table, most players don’t recognize they’re acting in this fashion. After all, we’re just chewing our third piece of gum in an hour, right?

FULL VS. DISAPPEARING LIPS: When we’re confident and content, our lips are full. They’re puffy, normal and in full view; not concealed, tight or compressed one against the other. When we’re lacking confidence, however, our lips tend to disappear. When stressed, such as viewing a rag hand and diminishing chip stack, we show discomfort through our lips as they tighten, get smaller or become compressed. To pacify ourselves, we may touch or lick our lips. Again, this is why at the poker table, when a player looks at his hole cards his lips may be full upon seeing a pair of sixes, but then his lips disappear when three overcards come on the flop. This player has gone from comfort to discomfort and his lips are sharing his story.

COMPRESSED LIPS: Lip compression is an extreme form of communicating stress. In a severe case, you’ll notice when the corners of the mouth come down the side so they look like an upside down U. When we press our lips together, it’s as if our limbic brain is telling us to shut down and not allow anything into our body because at this moment we are consumed with serious issues. Lip compression is indicative of true negative sentiment that manifests quite vividly in real time. It’s a clear sign a person is troubled. It rarely, if ever, has a positive connotation.

TRUE VS. FALSE: You may ask a player if he has the nuts and he may just answer with a smile. Well, not all smiles are the same. What I see at the tables are a lot of false smiles indicating they’re bluffing. When we’re truly happy and content, our smile is genuine and it rises up toward the eyes. When our smiles are false, the corners of the mouth are drawn toward the ears.

There’s a big difference, and you can train yourself to spot the difference. One thing that can help you learn in this situation is to test it yourself. Step in front of a mirror and fake a smile. By determining the appearance of your fake smile, you’ll be able to use those same characteristics in analyzing the honesty of your opponent’s happiness or sharpening your bluffing skills.

LIP-PURSING: Look for individuals who purse their lips. This behavior usually means they disagree with what is being said or they’re considering an alternative thought or idea. At the poker table, these same actions allow you to infer they don’t like what they’re holding or that the community cards missed them by a mile. Pursing of the lips is perhaps one of the most accurate tells and shows up in real time. For this reason, when the community cards come out, pay more attention to your opponent than to the cards. Gauge his immediate reaction. The cards will be there, but the most honest reaction will disappear quickly. You’ll be surprised how often you see lip-pursing and how accurate it is in letting others know you don’t like what just happened.

Next month I’ll go into depth about how excessive yawning, tongue displays, the tongue jut and more can reveal everything at the poker table. For now, trust your eyes. They’ll tell your opponent’s story if you’re willing to listen.

— Joe Navarro is a former FBI agent and author of What Every Body is Saying and 200 Poker Tells. Follow him on Twitter at @navarrotells.

How poker players perceive you is important

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:19:00 +0000

A key part of my game when I started having major success was establishing a tight image early in a tournament so I could loosen up later, when blinds went up and antes kicked in. With players at my table knowing how tight I have been playing, I would get more credit for having hands and was able to win pots I wouldn’t normally win. I also tried to be as friendly as possible at the table so they would make friendly folds along with a comment such as “You seem like a nice guy; I won’t do it to you.”

I eventually started working a more loose-aggressive style into my early tournament play. Being active in a few small pots early would allow me to risk a small amount of chips with a variety of hands, giving opponents the illusion I was playing looser than I really was because I was never playing a big pot early unless I knew I had a lock on the hand.

Setting such a loose image can be good for when you have hands and can get paid off, but if you don’t make hands later on, then the road is going to be pretty tough as opponents are going to be calling you down too lightly.

To find the right balance, you need to be comfortable with your style and the image you’re portraying. If you’re trying to be someone you’re not, or playing a style you’re not comfortable with, you’ll never succeed.
Other than being comfortable, you must realize the image you’re portraying and what opponents think of you.

This has been instrumental for me in adjusting to opponents in many ways, but the most substantial way recently is realizing just how many people know who I am at the table. If you’re a world-famous player, then you know everyone at the table knows who you are. You may not know some of them, but it’s a huge advantage knowing everyone there has seen you play lots of hands and they know so much about your life and personality. When you’ve had a small amount of TV time as I did, you just never know if people know you unless they say something. Maybe they call you by name, or they happen to mention some hand you folded on ESPN.

Realizing how many folks know me and read my strategy columns, I’m taking the approach that everyone knows me, as it allows me to assume they know a lot about my game. It also lets me know they may target me so they have a story to tell their friends about how they outplayed me or eliminated me.

Players often pay a lot more attention than you think. If you’re playing with the same people regularly or even for a long period at the same table, they’re paying attention to what you do and what you say and will use that in future decisions. Be sure to focus on your image and how much knowledge is portrayed. Opponents are noticing that probably much more than they are paying attention to their image, so use that to your advantage and don’t underestimate what opponents know about you. Decide To Win!

— Lee Childs is a professional poker player and coach. He’s the founder and lead instructor of Acumen Poker and Inside The Minds. Check out his sites at acumenpoker.net and facebook.com/insidetheminds.

A mathematical look at bluffing

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:18:00 +0000

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from No Limits, a book from Chris “Fox” Wallace and Adam Stemple. Go to nolimitsbook.com for more information.

The basis of bluffing strategy is a simple pot-odds calculation. In its simplest form it can be stated as: The chances of your bluff working must be higher than the odds you are getting from the pot.

It also helps some people to see the pot as the chance your opponent will call and the bet you’re making as the chance he will fold. If you bet $1 into a $2 pot then your opponent must fold one time for every two times he calls. If you bet $7 into an $11 pot, then your opponent must fold seven times for every 11 times he calls, or 7-of-18.

Some people prefer to look at the money they put in as part of the pot. In the example of betting $1 into a $2 pot, your bet is $1 of the $3 that’s now in the pot. This means your opponent must fold one out of three times for your bluff to break even.

Below, the formula is broken down as a simple algebra problem for readers who think in terms of variables and equations.

The Bluffing Formula
For a bluff to be directly profitable (not counting table image or future rounds) you need to consider your pot odds and the chance of any particular bluff winning the pot right there.

P = The size of the pot.
B = The size of the bluff in relation to the pot.
O = The odds of winning the pot with the bluff.

For the bluff to be profitable the ratio of P to B must be greater than O.

This means if you bet $50 into a $100 pot, you’re getting 2-to-1 odds on your bluff. If your opponent will fold one out of every three times, the bet breaks even. If your opponent will fold more than a third of the time, then your bluff is profitable. Anything else, you lose. If you’re getting 1-to-1 odds on your bluff, (meaning you’re betting the size of the pot) then you need your opponent to fold more often than he calls to make your bluff profitable.

Any other factors (draws you might have that could win the pot later, or the possibility of a scare card coming to win you the pot) can add to the profitability and lower the percentage of the time you need your bluff to win to be profitable. The possibility you may win the pot even if you are called can also make your bluff profitable. But if you may win a showdown and your hand isn’t good enough to value bet, then a bluff is usually the wrong play.

Some quick problems to help test your knowledge of the bluffing formula:

Q: You bet $50 into a $150 pot because you think your opponent was on a draw and missed at the river. How often does he need to fold to make the bluff profitable?
A: Your pot odds here are 3-to-1, so you need your opponent to fold about once for every three times he calls (or about 25 percent of the time) to make this bluff profitable. If you think there is a reasonable chance your opponent was on a draw, then a small river bluff can be profitable. Be careful you don’t make this bet only as a bluff, but also sometimes bet small with your real hands on the river to get paid off and let your opponents know they can fold to your small river bets if they don’t have a real hand. You may also need to remember that a small river bluff is only useful if you have a hand that cannot possibly win a showdown.

Q: You bet $1 into a $1 pot. How often does your opponent need to fold to make this bluff profitable?
A: Your pot odds here are 1-to-1 so you need your opponent to fold a little more often than he calls (more than 50 percent of the time) to make this bluff profitable. The full size of the pot is about as large as you should usually be betting unless you are getting all-in on an earlier street. There isn’t much point in betting $400 in to a $500 pot on the turn when you only have $600 in front of you.

Q: You bet $50 into a $220 pot on the turn after your opponent checks to you on the flop and the turn. How often does your opponent have to fold to make the bluff profitable?
A: Your pot odds here are 220-to-50 or a little better than 4-to-1 (almost 23 percent) so you need him to fold four times for every time he calls for your bluff to make a profit.

Q: You make a $7 continuation bet into a $10 pot on the flop. How often does your opponent need to fold for your bet to be profitable as a bluff?
A: 7-to-17 or about 40 percent.

Q: When you bet half the pot, how often does your opponent need to fold to make your bet profitable?
A: When you bet half the pot, your opponent must fold one-third of the time for your bet to show an immediate profit.

Hopefully those answers were all clear and you understand the basic formula. Even if you can’t use the mathematical formula on each hand, it is useful for breaking down hands after the fact and for understanding how bluffing theory works. Using a reasonable estimate, and giving some thought to the process, will increase the profit you make on your bluffs and help you develop an optimal bluffing strategy.

— Chris “Fox” Wallace has made his living at the poker tables for several years and written award-winning strategy articles. He also helps run TourneyTracks.com.