Ive heard it said, if you are not caught bluffing, then you are not bluffing enough. There may be some truth to that statement, but it does not stand up if getting caught means you too often lose your table stake, your entire Bandar Bola bankroll or are regularly amongst the first few out of a tournament. So, there is more to this bluffing thing than meets the eye.
Some aspects of a poker bluff are covered in the pages, Bluff club (an overview), Semi bluff (semi bluff, continuation betting and positional betting) and Bluffing in a dead pot (why it is often wrong), which you may also find useful.
When a promising starting hand losses strength on the flop, turn or river, there may still be an opportunity to bluff and make a profit. Recognising the better bluff situations as well as the opponents who are inclined to believe your bluff, will benefit you in the long term; a good bluff will be rewarding, a bad bluff will often be expensive.
The selection of the right technique is important to have the advantages at the poker table. The identification of different methods is there to enhance the playing experience. The understanding of the basic is necessary to have the benefits at the poker table.
Bluffing the wrong player
There are a number of circumstances where bluffing is correct, but all occasions depend upon the player you are trying to bluff.
- Number one rule:
You should recognise a good player before you try to bluff them. Attempting to steal the pot from a player who does not understand what hand you are representing with your bluff will be a bad bluff. Their may be several reasons for a player being blind to your betting.
- Novices
while you may hoodwink one novice into believing a bluff, you may not be so fortunate against another. Be choosey.
- Poor players
an unskilled player may not understand what you are trying to tell them with your bluff and are liable to call any amount, with anything.
- On tilt
a player who has gone on tilt (say following a hit to a previously healthy stack) may make a marginal call out of frustration.
- Maniacs
maniacs will call any bet – every time. They will have made themselves obvious to the table very early.
- Bad bluff situations
There will be many boards that you can bluff on and players that you can take advantage of. Temper your aggression by recognising situations that may turn (or have turned) sour. The following examples are not comprehensive; there are just too many ways a player can shoot themselves in the foot.
- Versus the big stack
if you are short stacked on the button and the big stack is the big blind, think long and hard if trying to steal their blinds with a bluff when they can easily afford to call.
- Versus the short stack
push them as hard as you like as often as you like, but be aware that their circumstance may require them to make a call with a marginal hand.
- Versus a calling station
if you have recognised a player as a Ďcalling stationà think carefully when they start betting.
- Versus tight players
if you have recognised a tight player think carefully after they have shown strength.
- Bluffing when the pot has outgrown bluff territory
it is generally a mistake to bluff or continue bluffing when the pot has outgrown bluff territory. People do not make a habit of investing their chips without good reason. Always consider why so many chips are going into the pot.
- Bluffing too often
you can fool some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time, but you canÃt fool all the people all the time.
- Bluffing without position
from an early or middle seat position be wary of making too many bluffs that may get called or raised. Instead, understand and use ‘position’ when it is your turn.
- Your one bluff of the hour
bluffing after you have genuinely won several hands in a short time may not work out. If you win three consecutive hands without bluffing, then on the fourth, raise with another good one and miss the flop, a bluff is less likely to work out because others will be thinking you canÃt always have it (and why would you want to bluff; didnÃt you earn enough from the previous three hands).
- Big bluffs at little pots
regular bluffs and semi-bluffs at small pots can bring a positive return, but the frequency and the size of the bet should be measured. There is no sense in consistently bluffing 500 chips into a 30 chip pot.
- Slow-playing when you should be check raising
slow-playing and check raising are both bluffs (albeit, initially bluffing that you donÃt have a hand when you do). Problems arise when you donÃt understand the difference in the two plays and so slow-play a hand you should check raise with; link Don’t beat yourself up if one or two bluffs go badly, so long as you had considered all aspects before making the play, you can learn from the result. Not all bluffs that get called are bad bluffs; sometimes the caller was wrong, ambitious or brave when making the call, other times they may have had a good read on you or be simply holding the nuts.
