The Dark Arts Of No Limit Hold'em

You're playing the $10,000 Buy-in Main Event. At your table, there is a satellite winner. You and him run in the same circles. You know he plays low stakes tournaments primarily. He's a solid player. He's a little too tight and not exactly creative, but he knows how to play cards.

This satellite winner opens from the hijack. He has been opening more today in the Main Event. He's clearly told himself to play more in the early levels. He wants to give himself a chance to win this one.

You look down at Th-8h on the button. You haven't played many hands at all today, so you know you have a tight image. You know the solid player is likely uncomfortable playing more hands than normal, so you threebet. It folds around to the solid player. You and he are heads-up.

The solid player goes to his chip stack and fourbets, but...it's a small fourbet. It's an odd fourbet. It's like he doesn't want to commit to it. It's like he knows he's supposed to do it, but this whole situation makes him uncomfortable.

You call because you're getting a great price and you're in position.

The flop comes out 6s-6c-7h. Not the greatest flop, but you can work with it.

Your solid opponent bets 33% pot. You call.

The turn is the 7s. The board is now 6s-6c-7h-7s. Your opponent stares at the board for thirty seconds. He checks.

It's on you. What do you want to do now?

You bet large, around 85% of the pot. He announces "call" automatically and puts the chips in.

The river is a 2d. He checks to you. He has a pot-sized bet left.

This is your moment. Do you pull the trigger? Do you back off?

You should shove here.

Your opponent has essentially waved a flag saying he hates this flop. You need to take advantage of that.

What clues did you notice during the play of the hand?

Let's see if you caught all of them.

For one, when he fourbets you, that tells you he most likely has Kings or Aces. He's unlikely to be fourbet bluffing you because he's a solid player. Also, today you have been playing tight. He has no reason believe you're attacking him. If he had a decent pair or suited connector, he'd likely just flat out of position.

Secondly, it's unlikely he has a six or seven that matched this board. It's unlikely he fourbet 6-6 or 7-7, because he's not that aggressive of a player. It's unlikely he fourbet some suited connector or suited ace to play back at you, because that's not how he normally plays.

Thirdly, if he did have a full house on the turn, he wouldn't beat you into the pot when you bet. He would likely not want to give off strength.

He's trying to get you to not bet the river. You see this all the time in major tournaments. People take forever to call you when they're trying to feign weakness. They get their chips in quickly when they want you to think they're strong.

Of course, this small tell on its own doesn't tell you much, but when we consider how unlikely it is a solid player is fourbet bluffing in the Main Event versus another solid player, it paints a clearer picture.

You know the only hands he really wanted to fourbet preflop are Aces and Kings. It's highly unlikely he has a six or seven when he fourbets. He hates this board. This tournament is important to him. He'd call you all day in a $109 tournament, but this is different. You can force him into a decision for all of his chips right now. Let's see if he wants to call off his Main Event with one pair. Let's see if he's ready to call off his tournament and wait another year for another opportunity. Let's see if he's ready to go back to his hotel room.

Remember, solid players get their reputation because they fold when they're confused.

Confuse them.

You move all-in. He loses his mind. "How could you call preflop with that hand!" he yells at you. He shakes his head and stares at his cards.

"You're not doing that with Queens," he says to himself. "Do you really have quads? Or just some A-7s?"

He sits there for a few minutes studying you. He disgustedly folds.

This hand illustrates The Dark Arts Of No Limit Hold'em

The dark art is the process of elimination. The dark art is using every contextual clue to get an exact read on your opponent. The dark art is being able to make the huge fold, bluff, or call that others are unwilling to do.

Most pros can pull off a play like this one. Have you ever made a bluff this big? Did you catch why this was such a good spot to bluff?

If you want to get better at large bluffs, calls, and folds, this is your chance.

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