32Red Poker Blog

The post-the-oak bluff

A bluff is usually thought to be a big move at the pot, designed to put your opponent under so much pressure that he will have to pass.

A post the oak bluff is a tricky attempt to sneak the pot with no hand by betting a small amount. Here, we’ll talk about post the oak bluffs as being very small, 25% or less of the pot.

These kind of bets are so small that they will often be called by your opponent if he holds any type of hand. You may well persuade him that he is probably beat, but any element of doubt will be enough for him to call. 

Post-the-oak bluffs work under only certain circumstances. Let’s have a look at some opportunities you may have to pull off this stylish bluff:

You and your opponent both have a missed draw:

Let’s say you hold , and miss on a board which comes
 . You call your opponent’s bet on the flop, and he checks to you on the turn, and then again on the river.

This is a great opportunity for a small bet at the pot to be enough to take it down, if your opponent also had a drawing hand, e.g. . You are representing a small part of the board, like  or . If your opponent has no better than ace high, it will be very difficult for him to call any bet.

Why a very small bet rather than a big one?

There seem to be two types of hand that your opponent could hold given this action. He either was drawing himself and now has nothing, or has a very marginal hand, say  or . The small bet will be of course be called by the marginal hands, but there is a good chance that a big bet would be called by these hands as well. Your opponent should correctly deduce that there is a good chance you are bluffing, and make the call if he has any kind of pair.

Thus, the small bet is almost as effective as a bigger bet, and so figures much better on the risk-reward ratio.

You are following up a bluff on the turn:

The post-the-oak bluff is designed for when you hold absolutely nothing. You are representing that you only have a small piece of the flop, but enough to make your opponent throw away a hand like AK-high or a low pair. Here is another example in which you can use a sneaky small bluff to make it look like you must have some piece of the board:

You hold , and the board on the turn is . You have both checked the flop, and now on the turn, you have a straight draw, and so bet half the pot hoping to take the hand down.

Your opponent calls, and the  on the end to make the board  leaves you with Q-high. Now, you make the post-the-oak bluff, of maybe 25% or 30% of the pot.

If your opponent holds  or better, he probably will make a crying call. However, this bet will be very difficult for him to call if he is weaker. The reason is that your bet is so small, that it looks like it cannot possibly be a bluff.

The second chance at a bluff:

This style of bluff is a very difficult one to pull off. You have had a good stab at the pot on the flop or turn, and your opponent has thwarted you with a call. Rather than deciding whether to follow up with a big bluff, we are suggesting that actually a smaller bluff on the end will work. Of course, there is less chance of success, but the amount you are risking is far smaller.

The big hope for the play to work is that the decreasing bets look very untypical of a bluff. On the board above of , you will find that many opponents happily call with a hand like  - high on the turn, but then feel satisfied that they have stood up to you. Often, any bet on the end is enough to take the pot.

The daring post-the-oak bluff:

There is an even more daring form of the bluff, which includes making a big call with nothing on an earlier street, in order to make a small bluff on the end. Again, the structure of a call and then a small bet is designed to make it look like you could not possibly be bluffing.

Example

You hold , and hit absolutely nothing on a board that comes  . Your opponent makes a big bet on the turn, and you decide to flat call to set up a bluff. If your opponent checks on the end, make a small bet.

Almost any opponent will think that on this action you must have some kind of hand. He may give you credit for a hand as good as three aces, or may believe you are value betting with a marginal hand like . Either way, it will be very difficult for him to call in the likely scenario that he himself holds very little.

The common factor:

In all these examples, we have said that a small bluff has almost as much chance to work as a big bluff. Not only does a small bet often look stronger, but the common factor is that with the hands that our opponent would call a small bet, he would call a big bet as well. Always look out for these situations- they effectively save you a lot of money as you are giving away fewer chips when you are caught!

Good luck at the tables, and, most of all, have fun!