Semi-bluff
A semi-bluff is a bet or raise with a hand that is probably not the best right now but can still improve, so it can win either by making the opponent fold or by hitting later.
The two ways to win are what separate it from a pure bluff. A bluff has to work immediately. A semi-bluff that gets called still has its outs, which is why it can be made with a bet size that a pure bluff could not afford.
It also solves a problem that betting only made hands creates. Betting draws as well as value hands means a bet no longer means one specific thing, and the same board can be played the same way with very different cards.
an example
your cards
board
You have nothing yet, and nine hearts that make the best flush by the river 35.0% of the time. Raising can win the pot immediately if they fold, and when it does not, more than one time in three the flush still arrives.
This example is made up. The real one is in your own hand history: find semi-bluff in your own hands and see how often it came up and what it cost you.
related terms
Bluff
A bluff is a bet or raise made with a hand that is unlikely to win at a showdown, so all of its profit comes from the ch ...
Fold equity
Fold equity is the part of a bet or raise that earns its money from the chance the opponent folds, rather than from the ...
Outs
An out is a card still in the deck that would give you the best hand, and counting them is how you turn a draw into a nu ...
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Knowing the word is not the same as seeing it.
Forty hands against a bot, no account, and your own hand history at the end.