Following are four strategies that I use in very special situations:
1. SMOKING. You have 6-5 off-suit in the big blind with a raiser in middle position as the only other player. You've been on a rush, so you call. The flop is A-K-3 of clubs. You check. Your opponent checks. You read him for either a very big hand or a pair below kings with no club. You now check in the smoke and he bets in the smoke. You raise in the smoke. He folds when the next card fails to help his under-pair or re-raises in the smoke if he has a big hand (in which case you fold in the smoke).
2. Propositioning. You raise in early position with a pair of kings and get called by a very tight and attractive lady in the small blind. The flop is Q-Q-3. She hesitates a fraction, then checks. You bet and she calls. From watching her the past hour, you feel certain that she has a big pair, such as A-K, or A-Q. You tell her that you have a very big hand and she just smiles and says she can handle a big hand. The next card is an ace. You remind her that you are not against her without something big and she's in trouble, when you actually know that she very likely will end up whipping you. She checks. You check and before the last card is dealt, you put your pair face up on the table and suggest you split the pot and go to dinner. She smiles, and either shakes her head no and lays down the winner, saving you the final two rounds of bets, or she accepts your offer, and you get half the pot and an attractive dinner date.
3. Straussing Out. This play, named after former World Champion Jack Strauss-who used it only in no-limit-comes up when you are on a winning streak and call an early raise with something like the 6-2 of diamonds, a hand you would normally fold. The flop comes 2-6-7 of different suits giving you two pair. The original raiser bets; you raise; he re-raises; you re-raise; and the guy calls with that sinking feeling his overpair is no good. The turn is the seven of hearts. You think it ruins your hand because your opponent probably has two bigger pair. You bet out. Your opponent ponders, thinking you have a full house. To encourage that thought and get him to fold, you offer to let him see either of your cards for ten dollars. He accepts (the pot is huge). If he turns over your deuce, he must give you credit for deuces full. If he turns over your six, he might put you on sixes full-or possibly sevens full of sixes. Therefore, good player that he is, he folds.
4. Can You Ever Tell for Sure? A player's shaking hand, when he bets into a big pot on the final round of betting, is a reliable tell. It does not mean the player is nervous and thus bluffing. On the contrary, the player was tense and holding his muscles as tight as possible. However, he just received a card making him a very strong hand and his muscular system is relaxing, which causes a tremor in his hand. He is not bluffing and you should call only with an exceptionally strong hand.
But you must be careful against experienced opponents. They will often give a false tell to induce their opponent into making a wrong decision, e.g., a player who is bluffing will purposely tremor while betting in order to convince his opponent to incorrectly fold.
In the last few years I have had a medical condition creating a tremor in my left hand. Therefore, I bet with my left hand when I am bluffing.
