An Exception to the Basic Rule

US players are welcome

You may want to bet more than it takes to get the job done if you plan a follow-up bluff on the next betting round. That is, if you plan to bluff the turn, and, if called, also bluff the river, you don’t necessarily want to make your turn bet as small as possible.

A planned follow-up bluff provides an extra incentive to make a larger bet: you may win a bigger pot on the second round bluff.

For instance, say you bluff $500 into a $1,000 pot. Your holdem opponent calls. The pot is now $2,000. You bluff again, and this time your opponent folds. You’ve won $1,500 — the $1,000 that was in the pot originally plus your opponent’s $500 call.

If you had bet $800 instead of $500 on the first round, then your second round bluff would have won $1,800 instead of $ 1,500. Sometimes, in Texas Holdem this extra incentive to bet more will affect your bluff-sizing. See the next article "Bluffing on the Turn and River" for a more detailed analysis of this situation.

Good luck.

Also recommended:

1. An Example of the Play (Bluff on the Turn and River)
2. About Post-Oak Bluff in Texas Holdem
3. The Pot Size Philosophy in Texas Holdem
4. Bluffing Techniques against Solid Holdem Players