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The bluff is an important tool for all successful poker players. More ore less all winning
poker strategy has an element of bluffing. If you don’t bluff you become too predictable.
Don’t make it easy on your opponents You will never get paid for your good hands if your game is too predictable. It is also hard to win in the long run if you only bet when you are sure you have the best hand. There are lots of cash sitting on the table during a poker game, and if you don’t try to get it, someone else surely will. There are players that never bluff and players that bluff way too much. One of the most important things when it comes to bluffing in poker is finding the proper balance. If you bluff rarely or never, you will have a hard time getting paid for your premium hands and are also risking being pushed out of the pot frequently by your opponents. But if you bluff too often, your opponents will call you down even with marginal hands. If you keep your bluffing on a proper level, your opponents will have a hard time reading your game. They never know if you have a strong hand or if you’re bluffing when you make a bet. If you time your bluffs right, both your chances to get paid when you have a good hand and to take down pots with nothing, will increase. Find the right spots To choose the right spots to bluff isn’t easy. You need to have a good feel for the game and your opponents in order to time the bluff just right. It is hard to give general advice on how this is done, because bluffs depend a lot on the given situation. But there are some instances when bluffs should be avoided. Don’t bluff when there are more than three players in the pot or if you are up against a loose player that rarely folds. Also avoid bluffing when there are several potential draws on the board. Low rainbow flops that probably haven’t helped anyone are often good spots to bluff. Scare cards can also create good bluff opportunities, for example when a third flush card comes or when the board is paired. But to bluff here you should be reasonable sure that your opponent didn’t have a flush draw or the card that would give him trips. When you get a good feel for the game you will be able to find good spots to bluff and the only way to get there is by practice, and more practice. |
