It often happens that our image dictates our strategy. If we're perceived as tight, we can exploit that perception and steal the occasional pot; if we're thought of as loose, we can get them to pay off our monsters. Poker, then, is often a delicate dance between who we are and who we seem to be. It is through the filter of this dance that I would like now to examine a bluff of a certain type, an image-dependent bluff, if you will. It is a bluff, moreover, intended to victimize certain types of players, and specifically targeted against them.
NAME OF BLUFF: THE UNBEARABLE TIGHTNESS OF BEING
YOUR IMAGE: You have a tight image. Your opponents have been trained by your infrequent calls and raises to believe that you know what a quality hand is (you do!) and that you never get involved without at least a little somethingsomething (well... not never).
YOUR TARGET: You want to run this bluff against an opponent who knows you to be tight, and who has gotten into the habit of driving you off second-rate holdings with second-rate holdings of his own.
THE SITUATION: Though you normally call or raise only with big pairs or big paint, look for a chance to flat-call a pre-flop raise from a known frisky opponent, no matter what two cards you hold. Ideally you want a single foe, and you want position over him. Remember, he reads you as tight, so when you call his raise, he'll figure you for a reasonably high hand, something like A-J or K-Q suited.
THE BLUFF: You'll need a favorable flop for this, one that contains at least an ace or a king, preferably both. If your opponent checks, you bet. If he bets, you raise. He'll have no trouble folding; his knowledge that you're tight will easily lead him to conclude that the flop hit your hand. NUANCE: Adjust the size of your bet or raise to make it look like a Hoover bet, a small bet designed to suck your opponent in. In this circumstance, the small bet has the best chance of fitting your tight image and convincing your opponent you've hit your hand. As a bonus benefit, if he happens to have a real hand and hits you with a significant reraise, you can break off your bluff at minimum cost.
WHAT NEXT: Go back to sleep. Wait for your usual premium hand, or wait for enough hands to pass that your tight image has been reinforced and then go for another steal. CAVEAT: This bluff is no good if you don't have the courage to run it. Having set your opponent up for a bluff bet or raise, you have to pull the trigger. Otherwise, you're just wasting your chips. The bluff is poker at its purest. When it works, it's the greatest feeling in the world. When it fails, you feel the egg on your face - but you shouldn't! Remember what Annie Duke says, "If you never get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, you're not playing the game right." So get out there and bluff - play the darn game right!
