bluff with playing equity

bluffing at the right time and against the right opponent makes all the difference if your bluff is going to be profitable or not, if you bluff against beginner players you will certainly have losses in the long run as this opponent will call your bet with any pair in the hand.

bluffing with nothing in hand is only a good move if you're a poker pro, I like to bluff when the board favors me.
for example:

villain opened from HiJack AQs

I'm in the bigblind with 65s and I call.

on the flop opens 783

my action and check raise if villain makes a bet

or if he checks back.

if the turn opens: 6, 9 or 4 I like to bet first and take the pot soon.

I like to bluff if the opponent shows weakness

I’m still not good at bluffing but look forward to reading more of these replies to learn more about doing it well. Thanks!

Leandro6803 said:

bluffing at the right time and against the right opponent makes all the difference if your bluff is going to be profitable or not, if you bluff against beginner players you will certainly have losses in the long run as this opponent will call your bet with any pair in the hand.

bluffing with nothing in hand is only a good move if you're a poker pro, I like to bluff when the board favors me.

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You can bluff with air against players who overfold on the flop or players who float with draws and fold by the river. No need to be a pro to do so. Cbet bluffs vs players who do 'fit or fold' on the flop prints money. There are lots of players who will float the flop a ton, but always fold their air on the turn if you barrel. There are quite a few players who can be extremely sticky on flop and turn with draws, but fold the river if they didn't improve.

Against most players though it is definitely preferable to semibluff with some equity rather than pure bluffs.

It would be nice to read a separate book on bluffing. Maybe someone knows so book? Something like with tittle "The Art of Bluffing".

You can only bluff against a player who understands and believes what is being presented to him.

Obviously, it’s best to bluff against a tight player because he will only call with a few hands, but complex and sophisticated bluffs against sensible good players can also be made at the right moment.

I think it depends a lot on the frequency and situation. But bluffing is definitely a fundamental part of the game. If you don't use it, you have one less "weapon" in your arsenal than those who do.

For example, flush draws are an interesting spot here in my opinion.
On the other hand, bluffing with nothing can also backfire quickly. Especially in low-stakes tournaments.

It isn't as common as people believe it is—or as common as you see in movies/TV. Or even on YouTube because they are plucking out hands that seem "cool". However, there is a lot of semi-bluff situations going on. For example, OPs post would certainly be a semi-bluff in that he has a decent draw with the OOSD.

These are also helpful when you do have some showdown value but also the potential to draw to a better hand. They aren't necessarily called a semi-bluff at that point, but can act as one.

For example, similarly to above, 87 on a 976 board gives you not only the OOSD but 77 for some showdown in case the rest of the board bricks. Normally, you wouldn't be too happy about 77 but it's something. If the turn comes as an A or K, you are now worried that V hit their pair and your 77 is no good, but you still have the OOSD.

The true bluff is where you have complete air but are betting into a board that you figure doesn't favor the V. Take the same board above (976) where you completely missed and have no draws. If you are putting V on 2 high cards (e.g. AJ+), you can get away with firing at that knowing that calling with 2 overcards is not great pot odds. The problem here is, what if you are wrong?

Bluffing on the river alone is common but not as effective as running a 3 street bluff. Those take some commitment to carry through since you don't know what the turn and river are going to bring and yet you may have committed to roll it out.

You need to know who you can bluff and who you can't. And you also need to create a reputation as a "serious" player around yourself so that your opponent does not want to check a bluff or not a bluff ... Sometimes if they don't believe you, they go all the way even with the weakest pair.

Most people assume there is a lot of bluffing but its much less than expected. The problem with bluffing is you need to sell you story. This is where many players make there mistake.