The Multi Barrel Bluff
This is the latest poker lesson for the Tagpoker, 6 max cash school. Myself and Alex have already noticed a huge hole
in many of the new students post flop game which seems to be when to multi barrel bluff and when not to. In this article I am going to
give you a better idea of when to fire one barrel, two barrels and when to unload the clip, why to bet and when to just give up and elect not to multi barrel bluff.
Life after the C-Bet
Ok so you've raised pre flop and fired the first barrel as a continuation bet. You're opponent has called so now what? A common mistake
we're seeing is either players totally give up or they are firing multi barrels but in bad situations. (Both mistakes can
be costly).
So what factors do we really need to think about?
1) How many other players are still in the hand?
The more opponents you're facing, the less inclined you should be
to fire multi barrels as a bluff and try and get them to fold (it just wont happen that much). Against three or more players you should almost never
be barreling as a complete bluff as it's just not going to work out very often.
2) What style is your opponent playing?
If your opponent is an 85% VPIP, monster drooling, call station then there is
little reason to barrel the turn as a bluff. Against this kind of player you just want to be betting multi barrels for value. When I
say value you have to remember that it really is a relative statement and I may be betting middle pair again vs this
type of player and not always waiting for the stone cold nuts as they call with such a super wide range in lots of
situations.
When to barrel the turn as a bluff?
So let's look at some good situations for us to consider firing another barrel as a bluff.
1)
When the turn card is an over card to an otherwise wet flop. Most players will usually raise you on the flop if they hold
a strong hand to protect themselves from you potentially drawing out on them. In 6 max not many of your opponents are
going to be check/ calling when out of position with over cards (unless they are a complete drooler that is). So if
we think about the average villains calling range in this situation we can narrow his range down to draws and maybe
weak pairs (connected or pocket pairs perhaps less than top pair).
2)
When the flop has a big gap between the top card and the middle card for example 3h,5c,Qd and the turn card is somewhere
imbetween.
Imagine the flop comes down something like Ad,2s,4h. You fire and c-bet and get called then the turn brings say a ten.
This is a good card to apply pressure to. If we think about the hands that he may off peeled one off on the flop, his range
is made up of a lot of hands like pocket pairs and we'd be looking to get folds from everything up to 99.
Another flop may be something like Kh, 8d, 3s and perhaps the turn is a Queen. The same reasoning as before is as much
as we should be looking to get folds from JJ,TT,99 some 8 combinations, any lower pairs, not to mention any other random
floats that he could have.
3)You gain additional equity on the turn.
Lets imagine that you find yourself with a hand like As,5c and the flop is Jh,4s,3s. In this situation you would be
happy to barrel (semi bluff) any spade, any 6 or again you can apply pressure to an over card.
Another gained equity situation may be when you're holding a hand like Qs,Ts and the flop comes down Kc,8d,5s and you think your
opponents hand range could be weak enough to fold to a second or third barrel then you should be looking to fire again
at cards such as any spade, any jack and any nine as a semi bluff on the turn.
When to fire the third barrel?
The ideal time to fire the third barrel is when your range looks very strong and your
opponents looks rather weak. If for example you've followed the previous steps and fired
the second barrel on an over card on say a wetish flop then your opponents hand looks limited to weak hands
but your range isn't. It's for this very reason that your river bet should get a lot of folds.
There are some hazards with regards to barreling slightly wet flops as some villains may
perceive your range as an aggressively played draw and the non believers out there may look
you up. So the moral of the story as with heads up is to make sure you know your opponent and plan the hand
accordingly.
It's good to know that three barrel bluffs shouldn't occur as often as you may think
and so you don't want to just mindlessly go firing off your whole stack. The river bets
are obviously big bets and could be an area where the biggest mistakes can be made.
A safe rule may be that if you've missed all your outs and on the river you're really unsure
of your opponents likely range then in some cases you may do best in just giving up.
Always remember to consider your image at the table. If for example you get caught firing multi barrels
an observant opponent may be happy to call you down lighter in the future so no matter what happens, always think about who
you're in a hand with and how they possibly view you as a player based on what's happened in the game so far.
Most Popular Pages
There is so much information on Tagpoker to make you a winning poker player that some people are not sure where to start. These pages below are our most popular:
The beginners guide to beating heads up poker.
Tagpoker's free poker training videos
Brokerstar's full heads up sit and go poker course
6 Max Cash Training
