Hi pokerplayers! I want to dicuss a specific competence in poker today, because I used it twice today: inducing a bluff. This means that you show weakness (after showing strength in previous betting rounds) on purpose, so your opponent will try to take the pot with a marginal hand (a missed draw most of the time).

Funny is the fact that it was both times the same player (in a $ .10/.25 cashgame on FTP) who tried to steal a pot on the river. Let’s watch the first situation:

So I sit down on the table with 80 BB’s and have to post my BB with Ks5s. The two players surrounding also call and I flop toppair. I make a 3/4 pot-sized bet and the button calls. Same thing happens on the turn, what tells me he’s almost certain on a diamond draw. The river isn’t a diamond and I check, after which he indeed tries to steal with a bluff, which made me very happy . A couple of moments later I wake up with A9 off in the SB, with my good friend in the BB:

So I flop toppair once again and try to make a check-raise. Too bad, nobody bets the flop so I lead out on the turn. Again, my dear neighbour calls and the river pairs the board. I seized the moment for part 2 of my ‘inducing the bluff show’ and checked, after which he went all-in with his missed flushdraw and gutshot. From then on, his stack was finally safe in my hands .

So inducing a bluff is certainly a good method to gain some extra chips when you think your opponent isn’t going to call another bet from you when you lead out directly, because he missed his draw.
Meanwhile we almost reach number 100 in the list, with among other Dylan’s tribute to the Jack of Hearts :

125 dEUS - Put the Freaks Up Front (1999, The Ideal Crash)
124 Bob Seger & Silver Bullet Band - Fire Lake (1980, Against the Wind)
123 Tool - Patient (2001, Lateralus)
122 Beatles - Help! (1965, Help!)
121 Queens of the Stoneage - Feel good hit of the summer (1998, Rated R)
120 Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees (1995, The Bends)
119 Brian Wilson - Cabin Essence (2004, SMiLE)
118 Boudewijn de Groot - Als de Rook om je hoofd is verdwenen (1972, Als de Rook om je hoofd is verdwenen)
117 Sonic Youth - Trilogy: The Wonder (1988, Daydream Nation)
116 Bob Dylan - Lily Rosemary And The Jack of Hearts (1975, Blood on the tracks)
115 Led Zeppelin - Trampled Under Foot (1975, Physical Graffiti)
114 Queen - Who Wants To Live Forever (1986, A Kind of Magic)
113 Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings (1995, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
112 Beatles - Get Back (1969, Let it Be)
111 Beastie Boys - Sabotage (1994, Ill Communication)
110 Queens of the Stoneage - Little Sister (2005, Lullabies to Paralyze)
109 Golden Earring - She flies on strange wings (1971, Seven Tears)
108 Metallica - The Unforgiven (1991, Metallica (’Black Album’) )
107 Zager & Evans - In the year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus) (1969, single)
106 Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt.1: The Miracle and the Sleeper (1992, Images and Words)
105 Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the Sky (1969, Spirit in the Sky)
104 Pearl Jam - Better Man (1994, Vitalogy)
103 Coldplay - Politik (2002, A Rush of Blood To The Head)
102 Tool - Stinkfist (1996, Aenima)
101 Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears (1991, No More Tears)

One of the most beautiful moments in poker: knowing that you have collected the four cards of the same kind. Catching ‘four of a kind’ or ‘quads’ is however not something you’ll experience every day. Lets have a look at the common odds of getting this wonderful pokerhand:

• on the flop with paired hole cards: 0,245 % (once in about 407 times)
• on the flop with unpaired hole cards: 0,01 % (once in about 19 599 times)
• on the turn (after having made a set on the flop): 2,12 % (once in about 46 times)
• on the river (after having made a set on the flop or turn): 2,17 % (once in about 45 times)
• running on turn and river: 0,09 % (once in about 1080 times)

As you see, it won’t happen too much. That’s why the fact of me catching quads THREE times in the past four days is so remarkable . I made some shots for you:

Here I flopped a set (7.7:1, 11,5%) in a limped pot which I betted right there. I was called on the flop and again on the turn after a bet (by the BB). On the river I checked to induce a bluff from my opponent (who possibly missed his flushdraw and could perceive the pairing 7 as a scare card for me). He indeed made a move but folded after my reraise (ofcourse I would have looked like a monkey when he didn’t bet and I showed quads).

Two days later I just flopped quad kings ^^. As you can see, Q high paid me off till the river, while I was hoping he had a 7 hehe.

Finally, I was playing a multi-table tournament on Ultimate Bet (where I return now and then because of their awesome reload bonuses, playing as ‘Bluffalo9′). Again I flopped a set and check-called this time. On the turn my opponent betted again, I shoved him all-in, he called and I smiled at his shiny Jack.

So I guess my odds of getting quads are like 0,0 % in the next couple of days .