Here are the answers and explanations from our bluffing/semi-bluffing quiz.
Hand #1
Online $0.25/$0.50. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $50.
Hero is dealt two cards in the hijack
UTG folds. Hero raises to $1.25. 2 folds. SB 3-bets to $5. BB folds. Hero calls.
Flop ($10.50): J♠ 8♥ 4♥
SB checks. Hero bets $3.50.
A – A♠ Q♥
B – T♣ 9♣
C – 7♥ 7♦
The correct answer is B. T♣ 9♣ is the best candidate for semi-bluffing since it can improve to a straight by hitting a 7 or a Q, and it has no showdown value (it can’t win at showdown if it checks down).
Hand #2
Online $0.25/$0.50. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $50.
Hero is dealt two cards in the cutoff
UTG folds. Hijack raises to $1.25. Hero raises to $4. 3 folds. Hijack calls.
Flop ($8.75): A♣ 9♦ 5♥
Hijack checks. Hero bets $2.80. Hijack calls.
Turn ($16.35): 7♥
Hijack checks. Hero bets $12.
A – J♥ J♣
B – K♣ T♣
C – Q♥ J♥
The correct answer is C. Q♥ J♥ is the best semi-bluff candidate out of the three because it can improve to a flush, it blocks hands that will always call on the turn like AQ and AJ suited, and it has no showdown value (it can’t win at showdown if it checks down).
Hand #3
Online $0.25/$0.50. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $50.
Hero is dealt two cards on the button
3 folds. Hero raises to $1.25. SB folds. BB calls.
Flop ($2.75): Q♠ J♥ 3♣
BB checks. Hero bets $0.90.
A – A♠ 8♣
B – 2♠ 2♥
C – T♥ 8♥
The correct answer is C. T♥ 8♥ is the best semi-bluff candidate because it can improve to a straight by hitting a 9 on the turn, it can turn a stronger draw if a heart comes, and it has no showdown value.
Hand #4
Online $0.25/$0.50. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $50.
Hero is dealt two cards on the button
3 folds. Hero raises to $1.25. SB folds. BB calls.
Flop ($2.75): Q♠ J♥ 3♣
BB checks. Hero bets $0.9. BB calls.
Turn ($4.55): 7♥
BB checks. Hero bets $3.30.
A – A♣ T♦
B – T♣ 9♣
The correct answer is B. T♣ 9♣ is the best semi-bluff of the two because it has less showdown value (AT doesn’t have much either, but it’s still better than nothing) and has twice as many outs to a straight. AT also blocks some of the hands that the BB will likely fold, such as AT and ace-high hands that had a backdoor flush draw on the flop (like A♣ 9♣)
Hand #5
Online $0.25/$0.50. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $50.
Hero is dealt two cards on the button
3 folds. Hero raises to $1.25. SB folds. BB calls.
Flop ($2.75): Q♠ J♥ 3♣
BB checks. Hero bets $0.9. BB calls.
Turn ($4.55): 7♥
BB checks. Hero bets $3.3. BB calls
River ($11.15): 2♠
BB checks. Hero bets $8.31.
A – A♠ T♥
B – K♠ T♠
C – T♥ 9♥
The correct answer is B. When bluffing on the river, there are two important aspects to keep in mind: showdown value and blockers. KT has 0% showdown value and the best blockers, blocking KQ and QT which are the top 2 kickers that the Big Blind should have in his range (he should be 3-betting AQ preflop versus a button raise).
Hand #6
Online $0.25/$0.50. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $50.
Hero is dealt two cards on the button
3 folds. Hero raises to $1.25. SB 3-bets to $5. BB folds. Hero calls.
Flop ($10.50): K♣ Q♣ 7♥
SB bets $3.50. Hero calls.
Turn ($17.50): 7♦
SB checks. Hero bets $12.
A – 5♦ 5♣
B – A♦ T♠
C – T♠ 9♠
The correct answer is C. There are two reasons for this: It can improve to a straight, and doesn’t have any showdown value (compared to 55 or AT which can check down and still win a small percentage of the time).
Hand #7
Online $0.25/$0.50. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $50.
Hero is dealt two cards on the button
3 folds. Hero raises to $1.25. SB 3-bets to $5. BB folds. Hero calls.
Flop ($10.50): K♣ Q♣ 7♥
SB bets $3.50. Hero calls.
Turn ($17.50): 7♦
SB checks. Hero bets $12. SB calls.
River ($41.50): 2♠
SB checks. Hero bets $39.75.
A – A♣ T♣
B – 9♣ 8♣
The correct answer is B. Even though both hands block some flushdraws, the A♣ is far more relevant because the SB will only choose A♣ X♣ to check-call with. This means that bluffing with A♣ T♣ will be far less successful than bluffing with 9♣ 8♣.
Hand #8
Online $0.25/$0.50. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $50.
Hero is dealt two cards on the button
3 folds. Hero raises to $1.25. SB folds. BB calls.
Flop ($2.75): A♥ J♥ 3♣
BB checks. Hero bets $0.90.
A – K♣ T♣
B – T♠ 9♠
C – 4♠ 4♣
The correct answer is A. The main reason for this hand selection is that it’s drawing to a straight while T9 is not drawing to strong hand directly. That said, all of these hands are reasonable c-bets on this flop.
Hand #9
Online $0.25/$0.50. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $50.
Hero is dealt two cards on the button
3 folds. Hero raises to $1.25. SB folds. BB calls.
Flop ($2.75): A♥ J♥ 3♣
BB checks. Hero bets $0.90. BB calls.
Turn ($4.55): 7♥
BB checks. Hero bets $3.30.
A – K♥ Q♣
B – K♣ T♣
The correct answer is A. First of all, this combination is blocking the nuts which means it will get raised much less often. Secondly, it’s drawing to both the nut flush and a straight which, when hit, will be strong enough to value bet on the river. KT also has the same straight benefits, but it has worse blockers and fewer clean outs (meaning that it may hit, but still lose).
Hand #10
Online $0.25/$0.50. 6-Handed. Effective Stacks $50.
Hero is dealt two cards on the button
3 folds. Hero raises to $1.25. SB folds. BB calls.
Flop ($2.75): A♥ J♥ 6♣
BB checks. Hero bets $0.90. BB calls.
Turn ($4.55): 5♠
BB checks. Hero bets $3.30. BB calls.
River ($11.15): 8♦
BB checks. Hero bets $8.31.
A – 4♦ 3♦
B – K♠ Q♠
The correct answer is A. The main reason for choosing 43 over KQ here is that KQ still has showdown value against K♥ X♥ while 43 has 0 showdown value. A secondary reason is that KQ is actually blocking a bunch of BB’s folding range (KJ, QJ)
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