Advance Poker Strategy – Bull Rushing Pros

Inspired by the recent article on Bodog's "Play a Pro" leader board contest, here is a topic worthy of adding to your advanced poker strategy notebook – the Bull Rush. The idea, while at it's heart very simple, actually takes quite a bit of finesse to pull off properly and—like all things in poker—comes with an inherent risk.

The Bull Rush is just one name for the poker tactic, which is at its core a matter of putting the poker pro you are facing across the felt to tough decisions at the right times. Not just any tough decisions…this isn't a question of whether or not he or she should cold call you from out of position…but the biggest, toughest decisions, committing everything they have on one hand of poker. You do this by pushing with the all in.

In any game of poker a great tactic is to get the other player to make mistakes, and the only way they are going to make mistakes is if they have to make a decision. Your job is to make that decision as hard for them as possible, increasing the pressure and the odds that they will make a mistake.

This is true for any poker player. The problem is when playing a pro, he is much better at making the right decisions than "just any player."

The good news when playing a pro is they appreciate the pressure, and they know when it is being applied. If you put a fish to the test for all his chips because you know he is holding a weak hand, he might not realize it would be a bad idea to call, make the call, suck out and win. Putting that same pressure on a good player—and especially on a pro—could yield quite a bit of dividends.

But isn't pushing with all ins a risky proposition? Absolutely, but so is playing a long protracted game with a player who does this for a living. If you realize you are in over your head, get ready to go for it and do a little bull rushing.

(Editor's Note: Check out more advanced poker strategy articles on Bodog Poker .)