Buying Cards And Bluffing On The Flop In A Limit Holdem Cash Game

While pre-flop play is a big part of defining what happens in a limit holdem cash game hand, it is the flop that will set up most of your wins and losses. Often times play on the flop is straight forward. If you have a made hand, you bet or raise it. If you have a hand that failed to improve, you fold. It is in the times where the play is not so apparent that determines the big winners and losers in a cash game. This article is going to look at two specific situations that can help you extract additional bets and value in your cash game sessions.

Every cash game player knows about the buying cards concept. You raise with a draw in position in order to see the turn card for free. Is this the best line to take though? While there is value in saving two bets on the turn there are several problems with this line of thinking.

#1 - You are not assured that it will not be three bet, or even four bet, after you raise. You're trying to save bets here not increase them.

#2 - You might actually lose value if you hit your hand because instead of raising on the turn and garnering additional bets from the initial bettor/caller, they will now defer to you and just call or even fold to your turn bet.

#3 -It removes the possibility of making a river bluff if your draw goes unimproved. If you use the free card ploy on the flop and check behind on the turn, the type of hand you have becomes readily apparent to your opponents so any potential for bluffing the river is in most cases eliminated. However, if you had just called the flop bet, you then set up the possibility of bluffing the river.

Example: You have 9-8 suited and five of you see the flop in a loose, passive game. The flop comes J-6-4 with two of your suit. An early position player bets, two players call, and you call. The turn is a 2. Your three opponents check and you bet. One opponent calls and the other two fold. The river is a king. Your opponent checks, you bet, and he folds pocket 9's. If you had raised the flop, and checked the turn, this play would not have been possible.

This does not mean that buying cards is not a viable play, but in order to make it one you need to make sure that you have certain factors in play.

#1 – There needs to be multiple people in the pot, preferably multiple people who have already called an initial bet.

#2 – the likelihood that no one will re-raise after your raise is high. For this play to be successful, the table needs to be passive – one that likes to see the next card as cheaply as possible. If you're at a table full of loose, aggressive players the free card ploy will fail more than it will succeed.

#3 – with that being said, however, a loose game is better than a tight game for this play because of the extra value you will receive when you do improve your hand.

Example: You have 7-6 suited and five of you see the flop in a loose, aggressive game. The flop comes 9-4-2 with two of your suit. A maniac in early position bets and two calling stations call. You have another maniac behind you in the big blind. The free card play won't work here so the correct play would be to just call. If the table was a loose, passive one, however, raising would be the correct play as they would defer to you most of the time on the turn.

Bluffing in any limit holdem cash game is a tricky proposition. In a raised multi-way pot, it will seldom work and in an unraised pot you will need certain conditions to exist in order for the probability of the bluff to succeed to be high.

#1 – the fewer the opponents the better. It is much easier to get one person to fold than it is four. The fewer people that have seen the flop with you, the higher the frequency with which you should bluff.

#2 – the bluff needs to be logical to your opponent. If the story does not add up, you are more likely to be looked up.

Example of a bluff that is not logical: You limp from the hijack with pocket 5's first to act . The small blind completes and three of you see the flop. The flop comes A-A-Q. The small blind leads out and the big blind folds. You raise hoping to represent an ace or queen and use your position to possibly take the pot away from your opponent on subsequent streets. The problem with this, however, is that if you had an ace or a queen in your hand you probably would have raised pre-flop. Also if you had an ace in your hand, you probably would just call on the flop to try and extract a bigger bet from your opponent on the turn. The raise doesn't make sense and a smart opponent will look you up with a weak queen.

#3 – as with most bluffs, the probability that your opponent will fold needs to be higher than the odds that they will call. Bluffing only works against certain types of players. You can't bluff a calling station or most loose, aggressive players. Watch your table and pick out the players that are folding to bets and/or raises. Target these people for your bluffs.

These concepts might seem as if they are easy to apply and they can be. Without an understanding of the table conditions and how your opponents play, however, they can be misplayed and lead to a substantial loss in your bankroll. More than anything, careful observation will lead you in the right direction when it comes to making crucial flop decisions. Knowing when the right time to use the free card play or bluff at a pot comes down more to who you are playing than any other factor. Remember that and you'll see the profits build up.