The Semi-Bluff
Scriptdude
If you want to be a winning poker player, you need to have a broad arsenal of moves. One of these moves is the semi-bluff.
A semi-bluff is a combination of two things: the bluff and the draw. Without the draw your semi-bluff is just an ordinary bluff.
One example:
Your hand:
The flop:
Your opponent bets $100 and you raise to $300. In fact you don't have a made hand yet, but your opponent doesn't know that. His bet is weak, so you're trying to pick up the pot with a bluff. The difference between this bluff and a normal bluff is that you can still win the hand here because of the Ac in your hand.
Your hand:
The flop:
Your opponent bets $100 and again you raise to $300. This time you don't have a draw, so if you get called here it's probably best to let the hand go. A call by an opponent on this flop means that, 9 out of 10 times, you will be up against a King, so the only way you can win this hand is by making your opponent believe that you're holding trips or aces, which is a bit of a long shot.
The semi-bluff is a very powerful weapon. It seems like a simple move, but let's check out the results of a semi-bluff.
You let your opponent fold a made hand.
Let's look at that first example again.
Your hand:
The flop:
Your opponent bets $100 with 
. You raise to $300 with your semi-bluff, which leads to your opponent folding his hand because he his scared of the flush or the .
You get a free card on the turn.
Let's stay with the same example for now, but this time, let's imagine your opponent doesn't have , but a made flush with 
. With a hand like that he might be worried that his flush is dominated by a higher flush, and since you're holding the , he's not too far off.
Your raise on the flop scares him, but he still makes the call. The advantage of the semi-bluff becomes apparent on the turn. Your opponent checks and gives you the chance to see a free river card.
Deception
By betting your draw as if you already have a made hand, you are sending off the wrong signals to your opponent. This could end up being very profitable in this hand.
Your hand:
The flop:
Your opponent bets $100 with . You raise again with your open ended straight draw. He thinks for a couple of seconds and decides to call. Your opponent is probably putting you on an Ace.
The turn:
You hit your straight, but what's even more important: your opponent hits his two pair. Usually your opponent would now be afraid of the straight, but because of your semi-bluff he tends towards putting you on a different hand. He will probably put you on a hand like 
and is now starting to feel comfortable with his top two pair.
As you can see the semi-bluff is a weapon with a lot potential. The stronger your draw, the more effective the semi-bluff can be. Simply just check-calling with your draws is by far not as profitable as using the method described above
In position you can semi-bluff with a much wider range of hands, for example with two overcards, gut-shot straight draws and backdoor flush draws. I personally would only semi-bluff these weaker draws in position, as you can follow the actions of your opponent first. The last thing you want is to be raised all-in with a gutshot.
Try experimenting with the semi-bluff. You will soon realize that it is a tool you will want to use more often.
What do you think?