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There are opportunities for poker bluffing on sixth street that should be utilized. One situation can come up where you catch a baby on sixth street that has paired you and he catches a bad one. You should bet if the hand has been played in such a way that your opponent may have paired earlier.
It is now important to bet in the hopes that he had paired even though your hand isn’t as good hand and even though he will call if he hasn’t paired.
For instance, if your opponent has started with a 6 followed by a 4 followed by a 9 and a king, and you started with a 3, caught a 10, then an 8 and then a 2, you should bet on sixth street even if the 2 has paired you.
In this kind of poker games situation, you have a 10 made and are drawing to an eight low. He probably has a nine made drawing to a good low. The reason why you should bet, however, is because of the possibility that the 4 that he caught on Fourth Street paired him.
The reason why this is a possibility is that when you caught a 10 on fourth street he would have bet even if the 4 did pair him and then would have continued to bet on fifth street.
If, in fact, that 4 did pair him, he will be drawing to a nine and facing a three-card eight which he thinks could easily have him drawing dead, he will fold. The key to this play, however, once again is that there is a possibility that he paired 4s on Fourth Street. It is certainly not correct to bet
into a three-card nine showing when you have a pair if it is certain that he has a nine low and you are only drawing to an eight.
The only reason why this semi-bluff can be profitable is because of the possibility that he has paired. If he has paired he is incorrectly folding a four-card nine against your ten-eight made, thus gain via the fundamental theorem of poker.
One other play that can be used on sixth street is the play of raising on sixth with the intention of checking down the river if you don’t improve. This play is normally only worth it if you have scare cards showing. As an example, if your opponent is low with
and you show
and have a seven-six-five low you should usually raise on sixth street if he bets. Down the river, when he checks, as most players will almost certainly do, you should check yourself unless you have made a six low.
The reason why this way of playing poker is better because just calling is because you do just as well if he has a good seven and you don’t improve. In that you lose two bets on sixth and seventh because if you just call him on sixth he will bet again on seventh and you are forced to call.
You also will do as well if he has an eight low are forced to call. You also will do as well if he has an eight low and you don’t improve. In one case you win two bets on sixth street and no bets on seventh.
In the second case he will bet on sixth and then check on seventh probably calling you when you bet. You also do just as well if he has a good seven and you make a six. In one case you win two bets on sixth and one on seventh and in the other case he bets on seventh and you raise him.
In the specific case, however, where he has a nine or an eight and you win up making a six low you may gain one bet because when you raise him on sixth street and bet on the end you make three bets, but if you just call on sixth street and he has a nine or an eight he will check and you will only make one more bet.
This is another one of those situations that occur in razz and stud games in general where a certain play is better because it will either win as much or more than the alternative play.
It may also be that it will either win as much or lose less than the alternative play should a specific set of events occur.
It is true about these plays that we assume we are up against a certain type of player who will check if you play it one way and will bet if you play it another way and will always call, etc., etc. Against very fancy and tough players we may have to alter this particular type of strategic thinking.
I have given a few of the types of plays that might be made on sixth street. Other examples are given at the end of the book.