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Deceiving Opponents In Poker Tournaments

Many people like to think that professional poker players are masters of deception. Top tournament performers are seen as wily, crafty individuals who thrive on trickery. While misleading and fooling opponents is certainly a big part of the game, the best poker players are the ones that can read their opponents, size bets correctly, maximize their winnings when they play quality starting hands and minimize their loses when the odds aren’t in their favor. Only after learning the basic poker strategy can you move on to the nuances of deception. Here are some basic deception techniques you should employ when you’re playing a poker tournament.

Bluffing
Bluffing isn’t easy. Anyone can raise the stakes with trash cards and hope that their opponents will fold. However, if you want to be successive when making a stone-cold bluff, you need to consider many factors. Being able to put your opponent on a particular hand is crucial .You need to have an idea about what your opposition is holding if you hope to force a fold. You also need to be consistent about the hand-story you’re spinning for yourself. If you limped in and checked all the way to the river, and the river isn’t a scare card, then you can’t expect someone to respect your last second raise to win the pot (unless you’re betting from a late position and this opponent wants nothing to do with the pot). If you want to bluff, be consistent with your bets. Show aggressive behavior and project a stronger hand than you actually have. Look at the texture of the board. Consider what you’re opponent may be holding. If your attempts at deceptive aggression are met with reraises, fold your hand and wait for a better battle.

Semi-Bluffing
If you have a marginal hand that has the possibility of improving later on, then you can choose to make a semi-bluff. A

semi-bluff is different from a stone-cold bluff. When you bluff outright, you have nothing. When you semi-bluff, you have a drawing hand that may turn into something big if you can get some help from the board. If you’re semi-bluff bet is not called, you win the pot. If your semi-bluff bet is called and you hit your drawing hand, you have the potential to win a huge pot. Just don’t go too far. If you’re drawing dead and someone is aggressively betting a solid hand, then you need to realize when you’re beat and lay down your cards.

Using Late Position to Steal Pots
When you bet from late position, you get to see all the action unfold in front of you. When you’re on the button in a tourney, raise the stakes pre-flop. See who wants to join you. If someone decides to make your call, this player will be out of position for the remainder of the hand. Be wary of reraises when you’re being aggressive on the button. Just remember, playing aggressive in late position gives you a strategic advantage. Whenever you have the opportunity, harness this edge to steal more pots. If you’re trying to force a fold by using deception, make sure that you target conservative players. Loose players, aggressive bettors and calling stations will be unlikely to fold to your bluff, semi-bluff or late position raise. Just understand who you’re up against and save the deceptive moves for players that are likely to fold.

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