How to Bluff in Seven Card Stud
Bluffing is an important part of any strategy in Seven Card Stud because it helps you remain unreadable and it helps you get more action on your legitimate hands. Like any poker strategy, bluffing should be approached with caution and not reckless abandon. Well timed bluffs can increase your win rate but poor bluffs can decimate it.
Why Bluff in Seven Card Stud?
Bluffing serves two major purposes in all forms of poker. First of all, it prevents you from becoming completely predictable. Players who only bet when they have strong hands are easily exploited. By mixing the occasional bluff into your game, your opponents will be more likely to make mistakes when playing against you.
Bluffing also helps during stretches of bad cards. You can make money even when you’re card dead by stealing an occasional pot. The occasional pot will make up for all the antes you pay while waiting for decent hands.
How to Bluff Well in Seven Card Stud
The key to bluffing well in Seven Card Stud is to look at the game from your opponents’ eyes and make bluffs that tell a believable story. In order to bluff successfully, several factors need to be in place:
- Your opponents have to be capable of folding
- Your board needs to look threatening
- Your previous actions need to add up to tell a believable story
- Your opponent needs to appear weak
- You should have a strong table image
Let’s discuss each factor separately:
1. Your opponents have to be capable of folding
Bluffing fish and calling stations is pointless because they don’t fold often enough for it to be a profitable play. Weak players don’t pay enough attention to your board for them to consider the chances that they are in trouble. They call with a wide range of made hands and draws regardless of what your board is showing.
You should only bluff players who are skilled enough to know when to fold. Don’t just bluff random strangers. Wait until you have an idea of your opponent’s playing style before you bluff him. The tighter a player is, the easier he is to bluff.
2. Your board needs to look threatening
This is pretty self explanatory. It’s a lot easier to bluff with four to a straight showing than it is to convince your opponent that you have some kind of hidden powerhouse. The more threatening your board looks, the easier it is to bluff. Learn about board texture in Seven Card Stud.
3. Your previous actions need to add up to tell a believable story
You can’t just bluff at random and hope your opponents think it means you have a strong hand. If you’ve spent the entire hand checking and calling and then suddenly make a big bluff, it’s going to be hard to convince your opponent that you suddenly made a big hand. The exception to that rule is if you catch a card that appears to have completed some sort of draw.
Your betting patterns and the cards on the board should add up to tell a consistent story. Your opponents will call much more often if you place several bets with a scary looking board than if you try to make a bluff while your board is showing a bunch of random cards.
4. Your opponent needs to appear weak
Weak opponents are easier to bluff because they don’t have much to call with. Opponents with weak boards are likely to have weak hands in general. The weaker an opponent’s board looks, the more likely it is that your bluff will be successful. Players with strong boards will call because they either already have strong hands or they have draws to strong hands.
5. You should have a strong table image
Your table image is also important. Your opponent will be less likely to call your bluffs if you appear to be a tight, solid winning player. If you look like an erratic, wild player, your opponents will put a lot less trust in your bets.