One of the most considerable conditions which provide successful playing in poker is unpredictability. There are many tactics which are used by players for this purpose; the most wide-spread are semi-bluffing, bluffing, trying for free cards, check then raising, slow play and others. There’s one way of playing that differs from the others which is known as advertising.

The efficient use of this kind of strategy in poker is extremely important if you want to keep your opponents guessing and off balance in order to benefit from them later on.

Just like real advertising, advertising plays are created to send a message to those who have been observing them. Their aim is to give the other players the impression that you are playing a certain way, so that you could take advantage of that impression by playing another way when the time is right.

There are some requirements you should follow if you want to emerge victorious varying your play by means of advertising. First of all, you must advertise only with a definite “target group” of players, those you are going to play with again and again. It is pointless to do advertising plays on a table you will leave soon and with players that will not see you next time.

When you engage yourself into an advertising play you must not do it with whatever hand you might have. Choose accurately the hands that you will advertise so that it looks real and you still stand a decent chance of actually winning the pot. Advertising plays like 3- 9 in the first position are just bad moves and won’t help you to achieve that result you are fighting for. They can even give an opposite effect, making you loose. For advertising purposes it is better to use such little connectors as 7-8 suited, 5-6 suited and Ace with another card suited or small pairs. When you get these hands, play them very aggressively .

For instance, you have got a hand of 7-8 suited. Being in first position, you would normally just throw this hand. But if you try to advertise, you will have to bet with this hand, raise and re-raise until you carve your way up to the river. Or if you are last, you will re-raise the bets that have been made so far and continue with the aggressive streak of moves from there on. From time to time you might get caught with your thoughtless bluffs on the river. You have to remain absolutely positive that everyone at the table sees your hand so they can all wonder how badly you played such a hand.
On rare occasions you might get lucky and win the pot even without having to show down your hand. That’s even better, taking into account the fact you have won money you would not have normally played for and soon you can start a new “advertising campaign”. Having made advertising plays it is time to play much tighter for a while and go back to your ordinary strategy. But the echo of your previous moves will sound in your opponents’ heads long after and they will make calls and bets against you that they usually wouldn’t. So always be aware that the other players are likely to make unconventional plays against you, just like you did to them.

When used correctly, advertising can be a profitable strategy in a poker play. But remember, by itself it will not necessarily lead you to success you expect. However, as a part of a skilful poker combination, it can bring you some impressive results.