You are playing a $10-$20 Texas Holdem game with $2,500 stacks. A strong holdem player in middle position opens for $80. You call on the button with

and the blinds fold, so the pot is $190. The flop comes

giving you a double-gutshot straight draw. Your holdem opponent bets $150, and you call ($490 in pot).

The turn is the A♣. Your holdem opponent checks. At this point, it’s reasonably likely that he plans to fold if you bet a "standard" amount. So you bet $500. Your holdem opponent thinks for a while, and then, to your surprise, calls. ($1,490 in the pot.)

The river is the J♥, pairing the top card and completing the front-door flush. You move all-in for $1,770, offering your holdem opponent slightly worse than 2-to-l to call. Hopefully your holdem opponent will think for a while and then fold.

Your turn bluff is a somewhat "automatic" play; your holdem opponent raised preflop and continued on the flop. If it turns out that he doesn’t have much (in this case, less than a pair of aces), usually he’ll check and fold the turn. To show an immediate profit, your opponent must fold about 50 percent of the time. Given the action, it’s likely he will. (Of course, it’s even better than that because he will sometimes call and lose to your straight in Texas Holdem poker.)

Of course, showing an immediate profit isn’t enough to justify the bet, by itself, as you might make more by checking. Nevertheless, in many situations and against many holdem opponents, the turn bluff is a no-brainer.

A river bluff is somewhat more daring. By calling the big turn bet, your holdem opponent establishes that he has a fairly good poker hand. A reasonable read would be an ace (ace-king probably) or one of the two available flush draws (hearts or clubs), perhaps with an extra draw like a straight draw or flopped pair. He could have other poker hands — a set, two pair, or a straight draw perhaps — but checking and calling after betting the flop is most consistent with a good, but not great, poker hand.

With a great poker hand, your holdem opponent might have bet again on the turn, hoping for a raise. Or he might have check-raised the turn. Or he might have checked and called the turn, but bet big on the river. Check-call on the turn and check on the river is likely not a monster.

The J♥ on the river is unlikely to please your holdem opponent. If he has a club draw, he missed. If he has an ace, he can’t like that the flush came in or the possibility of three jacks. And if he has hearts, he’ll be worried, given your big bets, that you flopped a set and now have a full house. With a flush he should probably call getting almost 2-to-l on the river, but a few opponents won’t, letting their fear get the best of them. And with anything less than a flush, you’ll usually get most opponents to lay down.

Also recommended:

1. When Bigger Bluff Sizes Will Fold More Hands
2. River Betting in Texas Holdem
3. Holdem turn strategy
4. When Your Opponent Could Have One of Several Draws
5. The Check-Raise Bluff in Texas Holdem