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About Bluffing
"You can fool some
of the people all the time, and all of the people some
of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all
the time." - Abraham Lincoln
One element of poker is deception.
Bluffing is the quintessential trick in poker. Of course,
the reasoning for a bluff is to deceive the other players
into thinking you have a better hand when you actually
do not. For a bluff to work, you need the other players
to think you actually have that better hand. Many beginning
poker players love this idea of bluffing and often misuse
it. The value of the bluff increases under certain general
circumstances that often have a lot to do with information
you assume about the other players. This vagueness makes
it difficult to give definitive reasons or places to bluff.
Some less generalized times to bluff and some advice are
given below. The bottom of the page gives some more ideas
and perspectives on deception in poker.
Some typical reasons
to bluff...
A. When there aren't many
other players in a pot.
Simply put, it's easier to trick a couple people than
a crowd. With fewer hands out there, chances are better
that no one has made a reasonable hand. This is fairly
common though, so many players won't believe you. Some
will stay in the hand just to "keep you honest",
so sometimes this needs to be a persistent bluff over
a period of two or three betting rounds. That can be costly
if they don't fall for it. You need to know the players
before you use this type of bluff.
B. When you're up against fairly tight players.
Those that tend to fold easily are the biggest targets
of a bluff. Bets will be put out just as a form of information
gathering on this player's hand. If you bluff early (pre-flop,
flop) against a very tight player and they don't buckle,
you should think twice about trying it again on a future
round. They have something. Your job is to determine whether
they have a made or drawing hand. Once again, you need
to know the players.
C. On the river.
Especially if apparent drawing hands missed. That's when
players react to rule #1 "the moment you know you
can't win, throw in your cards". It is often a good
idea to bluff with a weak hand, like ace-high or lowest
pair with these kinds of bluffs, because some players
will stay in just because of pot odds. If you do that,
it is actually semi-bluffing (see the bottom of the page).
D. You're in late position and everyone else checked.
This one you'll have to gauge for yourself. It will most
likely force some players out, but not all. This is a
pretty common bluff once again, and many players will
stay in just because of bet odds, and/or to once again
"keep you honest". This is another example of
a bluff that needs to be more persistent over a couple
betting rounds.
E. You bet pre-flop and missed.
That's because they don't know you missed! This can be
dangerous, and you really have to evaluate to board before
you get into this one. Sometimes it's good to bluff when
AK misses, sometimes when 99 misses. You have to really
feel this one out.
F. You have given other players "the fear".
It's about how other players perceive you. If you just
won a hand through good play, the players who say "nice
hand" are the ones who now respect you. They will
more likely fold to your bluff if you play it right. The
trick is to play the hand exactly the same way you played
the other winning hand. Give it the "here we go again"
act.
G. When the flop isn't so great.
Some players will fold automatically if all they have
is an overcard. With a rainbow flop of 2, 6, 9, not many
players will have much. This is another example of a bluff
that can go horribly awry. I wouldn't be too persistent
in this case, unless only more low cards pop up. Once
again, know your players.
H. Pre-flop on the button, and everyone else has folded.
This is usually best used with tight players to your left.
Its good because it can change from a bluff to a deceptively
good hand with luck and the right flop.
I. When there is a pair on the board.
This is especially useful when the pair is 88 or lower.
Chances are that these cards might have been folded or
are still in the deck. This is one situation where you
want to evaluate the hand very carefully if they do call
though. This is a great situation to read the tells of
the players who are NOT involved in the game. It's much
easier to give away the fact that you HAD a card than
if you HAVE it.
Keep in mind that these are
pretty common reasons to bluff. Many players know these
reasons. Most of the time it just won't work. The main
thing is always to know your players and to not do it
so often that it never works.
There's some great books about bluffing out there. We
suggest reading as much as you can about it, as it's one
of the most misunderstood aspects of poker. One site,
PacificPoker,
is actually offering "Winning Low Limit Hold'Em" by Lee
Jones for free just for playing on their site.
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