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The Post Oak Bluff Steal

A lot of poker players think a player who bets the minimum raise is either a weak player or a player who is accustomed to limit play. This is not always true as the post oak bluff steal has become a play many players use effectively early in sit ‘n gos.

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Number of Opponents: Any number of limpers

Types of Opponents: Tight players early on

Explanation:
When the pot checks around to you early in the sit and go and no one has shown any aggression towards taking down the pot, you can often stick in the minimum bet and win the pot. This play is especially effective when low cards come on the flop, and your opponent(s) probably have solid holdings.

Furthermore, if you receive one caller, a minimum bet on the turn will likely prompt that person to fold as well. It is not the size of the bet that scares the person but the consistency of the betting.

For the astute reader out there who understands pot odds, this seems to be counterintuitive. First, you get great odds to make the first call. Then, you get a minimum of 5:1 odds to make the second call. That’s true, but do you go to the river with nothing but two over-cards?

Example:

Beginning of a SNG at Absolute Poker with 10/20 blinds, unraised pot pre-flop, 3 limpers and the blinds are in the hand for a total of five. The pot is $100. You were dealt :

and decided it was decent enough to see a flop but not raise this early on.

The flop comes:

The blinds check, the next person to act puts in the minimum bet. The player next to act folds. You think its time to give it up, but you’ve seen this player buy two pots in the first five hands and you are getting 6:1 pot odds to make the call. You call. The blinds both fold. The pot is now $140.

The turn comes:

Your opponent bets the minimum again. A loose aggressive player here would reraise to test your opponent, but a pot sized reraise would cost you 160 chips. In addition, the opponent could have a made hand and is waiting on you to make something to get you to commit more chips.

Do you really trust your read on this player in just five hands of action?

Are you willing to short stack yourself this early in the game with nothing if you are wrong?

This shows how this move can be effective, and I have seen a lot of players fold in this situation.

Note: You could’ve simplified this hand by raising pre-flop. A four BB raise would have cost you 80 chips. You lose only 40 chips if you fold but that’s a horrible play given the pot odds. If you call, it will end up costing you 60 chips plus any river betting. You could’ve been the aggressor in position by betting pre-flop.