To Bluff Or Not To Bluff : Poker Strategies, Theories, and Tactics

To bluff or not to bluff, that is the question. What is bluffing? When should I bluff? When should I not bluff? What are the different types of bluffs? When is bluffing most effective? These are all good questions pertaining to the art of bluffing. So go pour yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy the lesson.

What Is Bluffing?

Bluffing is when you are making it seem like you have a big hand but, in reality, you don't. Also, you can bluff with a big hand and make it seem as though you have a weaker hand.

Different Types Of Bluffs

Semi-bluff - Which basically means that you are betting on a hand that still has a chance to win, such as a draw.

Stone cold bluff - Is when you are betting or raising when you have nothing.

Opposite SCB - I call this the opposite SCB bluff because it's the opposite of the stone cold bluff. You are bluffing and representing a weak hand when you actually have a big one.

Reasons To Bluff

1. Not a lot of people are in.
2. Missed on the flop. For instance you had an AKs and nothing came up for you on the flop. You may want to bluff.
3. When you are up against conservative players.
4. On the button.
5. You are sure everyone has junk.
6. If your a very conservative player and people know that you are.
7. It will help you gain more money.

Reasons not to bluff

1. Lose a lot of money.
2. Can get you in a bad habit of bluffing all the time.
3. Aggressive players may catch you in a bluff.
4. You may get too carried away with the bluff and put too many chips in the pot than you really should.
5. Against a lot of players.
6. If you just got caught bluffing.
7. If you don't like taking risks. *

*Note: If you don't like taking risks, than you shouldn't be playing poker in the first place.

Thoughts On Bluffing

First off, you CAN'T bluff by calling someone all the way. Obviously, if they are betting, they have something unless they are on a bluff themselves. By you calling all the way, you're not going to change my mind. I can't take the bet away from the middle of the pot that I just put in. Bluffing is suppose to be a trick. I made a bet, you called, you're not tricking me into folding.

Bluffing works best in high stakes NL (No-Limit) games. In limit games the bluff is not that effective. The reason for this is because it probably isn't that much more to call the bet. This is why people are able to bet more on draws in limit games than NL games.

Too much bluffing will make you go broke. Don't over use the fine technique. Bluffing is like gambling, it can be addicting. People use drugs and alcohol to get themselves out of reality, don't use bluffing as a way to get yourself out of folding all the time. Fold if you have to, bluff occasionally.

Getting caught bluffing once and a while is good. It will get people thinking, that you may be bluffing, when actually, you are holding a really good hand.

Examples When To Bluff

-Flop comes and you're in late position. No one is showing a strong hand.

-If you raised pre-flop. Raising pre-flop shows that you have a strong hand. If you're pretty sure your opponent drew blanks (cards that don't help him) on the flop bet on the flop.

-Missed a draw on the river. Better to use this when you think your opponent was on a draw too and he also missed.

-You're up against a conservative player and the flop is low. You feel like he is weak because he would usually have high cards.

-When you are up against a chip stack smaller than yours. -When the flop is checked and the turn is also checked to you. If these players are conservative it's a good time to bet here, if you're in the late position.

*Note: Also if you're facing a poor player. A poor player probably doesn't even use the check-raise technique. So if a poor player checks it, it usually means he has nothing.

Finishing It Up

Finally finished! I hope you enjoyed this article on bluffing and I hope you learned different things about bluffing. Almost done with the coffee? Just in time! The article is coming to a close as well. So now you can get up from your chair and put the mug into the sink for cleaning later on.

"To bluff or not to bluff" - that's one of the major questions for beginning players

The usual recommendations is NOT to bluff if you don't have a decent amount of chips and there are many players at the table. When there are only 4 or 5 players left, then bluffing becomes very important and you can take some extra chips if you do it right.

But when there are still many players at a table, hold your self together and don't bluff. There are so many DUMB players online that they can call you even with the lowest pair.

I "never" bluff, becouse I don`t say bluff
But if play 3-4 players is good moment for bluff

Bosxs wrote:I "never" bluff, becouse I don`t say bluff
But if play 3-4 players is good moment for bluff

Well, Bosxs... I'd say that it doesn't really depend on the number of payers, it depends on your positions and the amount you bet and the carts on the table... But the less players the better

The golden rule to bluffing is this: 'you win every pot except the last'. That's why I rarely bluff on MTT tournaments, but on SnG tournaments (= MTT Final Table), without bluffing your stack will just fade away.

You may get too carried away with the bluff and put too many chips in the pot than you really should.
This happens me all the time in MTT but in SnG it works

in the long term bluff doesn't pay

good artical i will use it on tables thx

I like use bluff

And you sometimes burn by bluffing?

e-gamblingcity.com wrote:in the long term bluff doesn't pay

Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that :rolleyes:

Also, you can bluff with a big hand and make it seem as though you have a weaker hand

I wouldn't call that a bluff

1) The Semi-Bluff.
You don’t have a hand but you’re on a draw. And it is a draw to a very good hand
2) The Steal Bluff
You don’t have a hand. You’re on a draw and you raise at pre-flop in order to steal the blinds.

3) The Resteal Bluff
This type of bluff means that if you see someone trying to steel the pot you REraise in order to REsteal.

4) The Follow-up Bluff
This is the most dangerous type of bluffing. Only for the very experienced players. Because this can make you predictable. And thus your opponent will expect you to bluff.

5) The Total Bluff
You raise… with rags, trash

I like to beat bluffs...

Bluff is one of the greatest parts in Poker IMHO That excitement when you have nothing and move all in is priceless

Opposite SCB - I call this the opposite SCB bluff because it's the opposite of the stone cold bluff. You are bluffing and representing a weak hand when you actually have a big one.

Isnt this called trapping or slowplaying?