One of the most powerful plays available in holdem is the semi-bluff. A semi-bluff is simply betting with a hand that may or may not be the best hand at the moment but has a good chance to improve if one of your opponents calls your bet. The semi-bluff is best shown with an example.
You have Qh Jh and the flop is Js 9h 8h. You have top pair, an inside straight draw and a flush draw including a straight flush draw. You may have the best hand at this point, but an opponent could easily have a J with a higher kicker or a straight. Even if this is the case, you still have a good chance to win the pot depending on what falls on the turn and river. By betting in this situation, you are able to play aggressively by showing strength and gain information about your opponent’s hands. For example, if your opponent raises you, then odds are that they have a straight or at worst a J with an Ace kicker. If your opponent calls, they are either trying to trap you or are on a flush or straight draw. If a blank hits on the turn, you may be able to get them to fold by betting again because they have missed their draw and the bets are twice as big on the turn than they were on the flop. Remember, by betting on the flop you are representing a big hand such as a straight or trips. Anyone on a draw against these two hands is behind.
One important point to remember, even though the semi-bluff is powerful, if you overuse it against strong competition they will quickly realize this and use it against you. When playing against strong competition you must vary your play so as not to be easily read. Against weak competition you can play the same most of the time and they won’t ever realize what you are doing as they don’t pay attention.
A perfect example of this is when I was recently playing in a low limit game and was just playing to have fun and wasn’t paying attention to my opponents. I was check-raised on the flop, turn and river. If I hadn’t been playing so poorly by not paying attention I would have saved myself quite a few bets. This brings up yet another point. Even the best players will at times play poorly and poor players can improve and/or play better some days than others. Every time I sit at a table, I try to look at my opponents with “new eyes” even if I have played with them many times in the past. This way I can see if they are playing the same as always or if for some reason they are playing differently.