Anatomy of a Bad Bluff

I've made so many bad bluffs.

But here's one you can maybe learn something from.

I was on a flush draw. One or two opponents.

Missed the draw on the turn. It's a harmless "7," off suit.

Opponent#1 places a fairly good size (medium) sized bet.

That was the first CLUE I missed. I call.

Oppenent #2 folds. Hoping for a 1 out of 4 chance on the river, I call.

Missed the draw on the river. Rats. I immediately react, I shove a big stack of chips in, without really looking at the board. MISTAKE #2. There MIGHT have been a straight out there, otherwise, 2 pairs is best I could have been PRETENDING to have.

Opponent #1 calls and wins with a set. Pocket 7's.


So let's list all my mistakes. One, I didn't wait until opponents were all showing weakness. Two, I didn't wait till there were scare cards on the table. Three, when it was down to one-on-one, my opponent showed STRENGTH, not weakness. Number four, it was a gut reaction instead of a carefully planned bluff. Five. It was probably obvious I was on a flush draw since there wasn't much else out there to be had. Six, I didn't put my opponent on a hand, not even a strong two pairs, which would have only tied the strong two pairs I was pretending to have.

All in all, it was a bad bluff. Fortunately I learned from it.