To Bluff or Not to Bluff: Your Ultimate Guide to Bluffing in Poker

[Poker_Mike]

The big keys to bluffing are two-fold.

1. The story you are telling about your hand.

2. Bet size of your bluff - does it match your "story" and what you think your opponent is doing.

Good luck !

 

[thetick33]

unless your running SUPER good in mtt's you have to bluff so make a story

few ideals

second pair hits on board on turn make a bet whether x player foe bet on flop or not....

one thing to know is continuation bets a lot of time are simply automatic by certain players is good if can call at times....

another things tell a story you have a board 578 6-9 hole cards might be a little more hard to sell then board of 567 with 34 as hole cards

if you have a draw EXCEPT the ONE I hate which will say as follows betting is a good option this is a bluff in itself but a calculated one


say you have ace 10 and qj 8 hits??? thas a decent draw can bet cause 9 and king make str8s

but same thing a10 qj 4 hits??? rainbow??? hoping on that king str8 is not best place to play your chips in my expericen cause it RARELY at least for me hits....

gl

 

[EvandroGatti]

The big keys to bluffing are two-fold.

1. The story you are telling about your hand.

2. Bet size of your bluff - does it match your "story" and what you think your opponent is doing.

Good luck !

Mike, I agree with it, but I think it only works with experienced players. Fish are very willing to play hero. Harder than bluff right is to read out who you're bluffing in.

Am I right?

 

[makisaa]

Bluff is a necessary tool, in poker games and a very exciting one. It needs to be carefull and calm, if we must decide to continue the bluff or if we want to end it. We need to use it, because the cards we get will not be the best, most of the times. :nurse:

 

[Poker_Mike]

Can't Bluff A Donkey or A Calling Station

Mike, I agree with it, but I think it only works with experienced players. Fish are very willing to play hero. Harder than bluff right is to read out who you're bluffing in.

Am I right?

I completely agree.

But to be fair - not all my bluffs work. Sometimes my story doesn't make sense and sometimes (yes) my opponent has the stone cold nuts! I hate when they have the hand that I'm pretending to have!!! LOL

But yes - if a player doesn't know when they are beat. Or, they are always determined to call down even the river because they just don't know - then they can not be bluffed. They will go broke soon but they may win the hand that I'm trying to bluff.

Good luck !

 

[armoko]

pretty good explained article about bluffing. Bluffing is one of the important part in poker. Definitely worth to read it. I bluff sometimes it depends of course of many factors. Sometimes I bluff also in cases when I have a pretty strong hand and behave myself as a guy without good combination. It's like other side of bluffing, for instance, you got a full house on the flop.

 

[dayontour]

Fantastic guide to bluffing

Fantastic guide to bluffing. I will have to read a few times; it is packed with first class tips and information.
I always get caught out when bluffing so this guide is a must for me. Many thanks.

 

[tehb1987]

Bluffing is a very complex art. Before using it, you need to study the behavior of your opponents. In General, an interesting article. The position really solves a lot. But the main thing is not to be held hostage by your bluff. Otherwise, it will lead to a painful loss of the stack.

 

[BentleyBoy]

Another great article from the team at Cardschat . Whatever your ability at bluffing this article will assist you either learn or refresh. Thanks CC.

I have always maintained following great advice that to be successful at bluffing you need to know the table and also know how the table knows you. Don't try and bluff someone who doesn't really understand the game or a calling station. They will get you every time.

Also, keep the pressure on. Don't let up even at the attempt at a double back bluff, as it usually turns out badly.

Keep working on your technique, and those of you who feel nervous or don't like the idea of trying to bluff....give it a go...you don't know what you are missing in terms of the feeling of pulling off a great bluff.

Thanks

BB

 

[Andrew Popov]

The best way to bluff is Rock! Everyone always knows that the rock plays only the best hands. And therefore, even if the flop has opened, but there is clearly no good hand that will beat the rockets of the cliff, everyone will fold to the continuation bet. Scala is also the best image to just steal blind bets, even if you make a small preflop raise.

 

[zam220]

Thank you, a good guide to bluffing in poker.I bluff if my stack allows it,if the stack is small then I don't think about bluffing !

 

[fredastar777]

l think bluff is ok, but it must have sence, and cant be too often... sometimes it looks rediculess when play raises all the time

 

[Misofer]

Thanks for the guide!

 

[GRIN281289]

Bluffing is an art and if you don’t own it then it’s better not to do it!
Thanks for the great article.

 

[VovanBaron]

I worked out this article and it was hard but i noted down the main points and now I am really exited about it.This guide gave me few interesting point which I m gonna use in my game and I hope I can bluff better with this teoretica material. I will review it from my note book later for better memorising. Thanks moderators for preparing such useful information.

 

[Pimp 007 x]

Thank you for this great article, it was very informative and insightful.

Bluffing is like a hidden ace under your sleeve, you know you have it, you know you can use it at anytime, but just because you can, doesn't mean you should, you need to wait for the right moment, the right place, the right player, the right time. Because if you use it in a bad spot and your opponent catches you, you will be in a world of trouble.

That being said, there is a very peculiar feeling when you perform a bluff right, for outwitting your opponent. Specially when you make your opponent lay down a big hand.

Improving your bluffing game is very well worth the effort, and anyone who is serious about winning poker hands should definitely take the time to study what constitues a good bluff play.

 

[PLAYFUL1]

With all the BS hands that do win over good tight hands it is tough to bluff especially on ACR

 

[Dejana]

Thanks for the article!

We all bluff sometimes, and I'm not big bluffer, but I do it ofc when I see a fantastic opportunity for bluff...

 

[Ranish625]

Poker without bluffing is no longer poker, I just can't play poker without bluffing, I bluff constantly, but I don't always succeed

 

[Anders1616]

An excellent article about bluffing.

Bluffing is poker and poker is bluffing.

Over a period of time we all gets the same cards.

So if you want to win in poker you need to bluff.

 

[AndreyMav78]

I absolutely agree that bluffing is an integral part of a successful game strategy. However, I myself am probably more a proponent of semi-bluffing. Somehow to completely bluff, I probably lack practice (experience).

 

[Aballinamion]

bluffing at the micros

Whether you like it or not, bluffing is an integral part of a well rounded poker strategy. But there is an art to this skill, and we are here to help you hone it.
That's why we put together the Ultimate Guide to Bluffing.

We'll go over all the essentials: the whens, hows, whys, and the don'ts; plus laying your foundation, sizing your bluffs, and following through. Our guide is a must read if you struggle with bluffing, or even a great refresher course for you seasoned bluffers out there.

Do you struggle with pulling the trigger on a bluff? Got any other tips you've been successful with? Let's talk about it!

Hey Tammy, what's up? Congratulations, very nice article about bluffing.
One thing that we comment a lot here in the forum is when to bet for value and when to bet for bluff. Many players seem to confound the notion, and many times they turn a strong value hand into a bluff, or they turn the nuts in a bluff, or they turn a bluff into a value:

""The purpose of a bluff is to get a player with better cards to lay their hand down. When you don't have the best hand, the only way you can win a pot is to bet your opponents off their hands".

However, we have many friends here who play low limits and micro-limits. Bluffing at the micro-stakes is more than an art, and should be do it with caution, as Scourrge states:

"Patience takes you SUPER far in low buy-in fields a lot of times, and you won't always run well enough to go deep or take one down, but I think looking a little too hard for bluff spots can be dangerous and lead to us being the ones doing the punting."

My personal gameplan doesn't include to many bluffs from 2 NLHE to 5 NLHE. At 10 NLHE I start very slightly and slowly to put some preflop and postflop bluffs. For example, I open at maximum 14% from UTG, but sometimes my image gets to nitty at the table, and I need to try to risk (otherwise I wouldn't play poker), and I open hands such as JTs, T9s, QTs, KTs,(that will looks like AK, AQ, or even AA and KK) that I am not opening 100% of times, but I know that because of my image, I will get many folds and if I get called by a recreational in the blinds (I would only open weak combos from EP when I have information about weak players in the blinds, otherwise fold). As the article describes:


"The ability to successfully execute a bluff depends in large part on your table image."

On the other hand, players love to bluff a lot at the micros, and I love it! Instead of trying to bluff players who almost never fold the top of their range (or whatever they stick to it), I let them bluff me, most of times. We must consider the image of the player we are going to battle with.
We know by default that many micro stakes players, don't love to leave their monsters and many times they turn value hands into bluffs. We must use this image on our favor, we use this aggressive/exploitative game they make and put the onus on their own backs:


"You must also take into consideration the image of the player(s) you are trying to bluff. A tight player will be more prone to fold even a decent hand against an aggressive bet. A loose player will hang on to his pocket 4s all the way through to the river, making him more difficult to bluff."

Now, the article says about timing for bluff, and I believe it is correct, but, depending on the image we/they have, we can, a few times, open weird combos from UTG to play in position versus a weak player in the blinds. (having information of CO and BTN not to be wild 3-bettors/Squeezors also).
EP is the worst position ever for bluffing preflop, however is the best position for bluffing postflop:
If a tight passive call us from the BB and we are opening from MP, many flops with Tx, Jx, Qx and Ax are very good for bluffing, if we put the right price (not too low, not too high)
When our image is Tight in the table, we can open 22 from UTG, get called from anyone in the blinds that know that our image is strong and C-bet a lot of flops with overcards and broadways and we will get many folds! Sweet If they don't fold in the flop, most of them will do it in the turn. Many players just call a c-bet flop to see what you gonna do next, so do not slow your bluffs in the turn.
IMO, the perfect strategy for bluffing at the micros is to try to bluff preflop, by raising and 3-betting light, having information, of course. Then I would c-bet, donk, or check-raise flop. I will not have many bluffs in the turn!
I see that many players at the micros love their draws and play their draws as if it is the nuts in a very high frequency: OESD chasers, Flush Chasers (check Polished Poker Vol 1 https://www.cardschat.com/forum/cash-games-11/polished-poker-vol-i-study-group-227214// , the book has a lot of good material for cash games!).

Many players at the micros are very sincere when they have a weak hand or a strong hand. When they have a strong hand they make bigger sizes, and when they have a weak hand or a bluff, they make smaller sizes (preflop and postflop)
For example, many players at the micros open from the CO, for example, and we defend the blinds, given price. The CO players bets 2/3 pot/ 3/4 pot in a very dry board and we call because CO cannot represent too much strenght right now. In the turn, opens a OESD+FD and the player in the CO double barrels for 1/3 pot! WHAT?!?!?!?
Either the big size or the small size polarizes the range of the bettor: either he has a strong hand or it is scary. Of course that small sizes could be bluff, but it is rare to see players at the micros inducing bluffs: they follow Nathan 'blackrain79' Williams recipe to the maximum: if you have a value hand what should you do? Bet! Bet! Bet!
It is correct, but we gotta have some common sense at the tables.
If we want our bluff to pass in the turn (if we really believe the player we are involved with is capable of folding AA, trips, some bottom sets, which is very rare at the micros, then we should make a very high c-bet turn, something between 66% to 150% pot in the turn, so we can really convince Villain we have something). When we bet small in the turn, either we are inducing bluffs or we are bluffing anyways, no matter if we have a value hand or air:

"A common mistake made by a lot of players who have followed up a pre-flop raise with an aggressive continuation bet after the flop is to check or bet a smaller amount after the turn. (...)"

Very instructive article, I also loved the related links, good for diving in deeper questions and analysis:

https://ibmathsresources.com/2014/02/08/the-mathematics-of-bluffing/

https://www.cardschat.com/poker-strategy.php

https://plus.maths.org/content/bluffing-and-exploitation-introduction-poker-maths

Once again, thank you very much Tammy, Debi, the moderators all the CardsChat staff for doing such a marvelous and sui generis work!

Regards;

Carlos 'Aballinamion' Barbosa

 

[Muzyka1996]

i'm a tight player and i don't bluff very often. My bluff will be in the first place on my stack. For me, bluffing is always because you can lose some of the stack

 

[antonis32123]

Thank you CardsChat ,this is a very helpful guide indeed . I bluff weak opponents , very tight players . Trying to learn how to bluff more and better , I believe if you don't know how to bluff or if you are uncertain in a specific occassion , then don't bluff , just focus on how not to fall victim to other players' bluffs .

For sure I know 100% one thing , when it comes to bluff , don't ever try to bluff like this guy



.

 

[akgross]

A good article and details the mistakes that often happen to a player with a bluff. In general, one should not get involved in bluffing, in no case should one lose the real course оf the game.