I love poker, but I suck at bluffing. WHAT DO I DO?

[Mylobox]

bluffing is not easy for me...but sometimes it works...and sometimes i place a trap for the other player who will give all his chips ...this is my favorite bluff..like a full house on the flop and i check until the river

 

[the lab man]

Stop Bluffing and learn to play what hands in what position and when...

 

[daddykong]

The answers here are hilarious. I think if you take a little bit from each of the comments, you will do just fine young padawan. Be a man.

 

[PershingSt]

Bluffing in the micros is overhyped ! The smaller stakes games are much more about getting value and learning when and how to get the most value out of your good hands . It is much more important skill to learn first is how to value bet your hands , and start to put your opponents on a range of hands . This will lead you to understand when and where are good spots to try bluffs .

 

[thetick33]

well your getting started and when getting started practice patience over bluffing sure can steal something here and there but your gonna give it back most times cause of calling stations and bad players. You have to get to second third hours with good players to make a bluff work.

Me I dont really bluff often. More I can stand a call sometimes im overmatched etc.. it happens but is a lot involved the player their style will they bluff out if is a rainbow see I try to identify players early are they what call rubish players 6-2 suited chasing flushes etc.. Is very hard to bluff bad players they are always bluffing so think you are.

You have to establish your table image good time to bluff is when people dont have draws or hands and your on a streak of cards etc..

Helps to show some hands at times major hands when people let something go etc..

Like said I really dont bluff a lot myself unless is to steal a blind late in events keep healthy but if I do go all in I can stand a call 98% of the time lol.

I firmly believe the cards will come its the choices we make that matter.

So learn patience identify your opponents wait for the right opportunities hope you think and choose wisely in those moments etc.. Cards usually come to keep you around a bit if have patience than have to learn when how to make moves to move up etc..

I am as comfortable in first position at a final table as in last. Honestly usually in last position can take time and finish top five anyway. If in lead sometimes mix up too early with big hands and dont finish as well as should etc..

 

[nygmen2007]

Bluffing is all about the spot you are in chip stack blind size... Its amazing because when I bluff I find I can do it more at the deepr levels then in the beginning... I always wondered why that was.

 

[love that omaha]

Bluff less often and your bluffs will be given more credit - bet the same amounts as if you are value betting - evaluate your opponent throughout the hand, obviously your bluffs succeed more vs. weak hands or missed draws. Using leverage definitely increases your success rate i.e. bet 1/3 pot on flop 40 pct pot on turn half pot on river - also how much does your opponent have invested vs how big is their stack - if they have too much in the pot and not enough left in their stack to fold there is no sense in bluffing them - also bet your strongest hands the same way and hopefully show some strong hands before bluffing

 

[exidas]

Bluff is good when you dont use it too much and my advise would be dont use it after good pot hand if you win

 

[bracadelija]

I agree bluff for later levels when the tournament was better players left me almost always fish caught bluffing and better players rarely.

 

[badalhoco345]

How can I say this... I love poker. I play it with my buddies on a bi-weekly basis, but always lose because I suck at bluffing. I mean I am absolutely horrible. I hesitate, I overthink, I give off cues, etc. How do I improve?

I think you should not make bluff anymore. Define hands that you have to play and play them in the poker. If you pay with anything your risks are higger to be catched in bad beats, to lose chips...

And also, other players are going to know your type of player (bluffer) and your risks are even more higher.

If you love to play poker play it to win.

 

[Teofealter]

If you suck on bluffing then DON"T BLUFF!!!. That's it.

 

[BullWink]

How to bluff

I am going to let you know the best secret to bluffing.

Check back here next week and I will reveal it. OR am I bluffing.

 

[BullWink]

I do agree very much with many of the other posters who recommend NOT to bluff, but instead to play solid poker. BUT, the original question asked about how to bluff, so I will give my thoughts on this.

First, I do think that the occassional bluff is important and IS part of poker. It makes it harder for your opponent to read you, it lets you steal the occassional pot, and it can add some excitement to the game.

A good bluff:
- Should be done when there are only a few people (best if just one other player).
- It should be done against a player that folds often.
- It should be done when it makes sense (i.e. if you raise pre-flop often when you have an ace, then fire off a bluff bet if the flop contains an ace).
- It doesn't need to be a big bet. Often on the river, if the hand is consistenly checked around on flop and turn, I will put out a BB bet representing I have middle pair.

 

[BiliousBetil]

You learn to bluff the same way you learn to drive a car, by practicing without being reckless. Sklansky and Harrington have suggested tecchniques for bluffing at a reasonable frequency. Start there and in time you'll begin see spots that work for you.

BTW, if you choose the Harrington method the time to look at your watch is before the cards are dealt, not in the middle of a hand.

Cheers!

 

[max5222398]

How can I say this... I love poker. I play it with my buddies on a bi-weekly basis, but always lose because I suck at bluffing. I mean I am absolutely horrible. I hesitate, I overthink, I give off cues, etc. How do I improve?

Gather a strong hand and catch a bluff on the hook:marchmell

 

[Dagano]

Bluffing makes for good TV.

A well timed bet will win many more pots.

This I would say is betting when it is checked around to you, playing position.

Also bluffing very overrated weapon....

 

[hffjd2000]

Aside from your bluff problem, dont overthink or hesitate. Dont show any tells.

Maybe thats the reason youre losing because you are easily read.

 

[Mr Buster]

Aside from your bluff problem, dont overthink or hesitate. Dont show any tells.

Maybe thats the reason youre losing because you are easily read.

This could be the problem but I think it has more to do with how you play from pre flop to river. If you are selling a story that doesn´t match how you played all streets, noone will buy it. Try to call down a two suited flop and value bet or jam the river when the flush hits - simple and you get a lot of dudes to fold in that spot. If succesful learn diffrent textures of the board which are suitable for bluffing but remember don´t ever bluff a calling station. If you use a HUD than use WTSD ratio if high than don´t bluff, if low than go for it!

 

[Bee]

Oh, you must have to learn! You have to work on that. Try the small tournaments 0,10 to 0,50 $ where you can not much to lose. If you're going to succeed you have to learn.

 

[LornaMurray]

You need to be aware of that problem, there are various types of bluff like Quick bluffs, Semi-bluffs, Stone-cold bluffs (or naked bluffs). You should know all the techniques to prevent bluff before playing.

 

[SloPowers]

A mentor of mine always said to chat it up with the guy on your right (the guys that's going to try and steal from you) and don't say a word to the guy on your left (the you're going to steal from)!

For me bluffing is situational and position dependent. It also depends on your image... if you are new to the game and still trying to figure things out, my advice is to avoid bluffing.

Figure out your game style, develop your image and you will figure out when & where to bluff.

Good luck!

 

[Casthaneda]

On micro and low stakes dont try to bluff anyone except the regulars. People are just calling too much.

You have to know three things, who you bluff, when you bluff him, and what hand you are trying to represent.

You dont want to bluff the calling stations, generally bad players who just call without any good reason or the way too aggressive players who might raise you with air. You want to be more careful bluffing someone who is known to slowplay his hands often.

You dont want to bluff when you hit your hands too often in previous rounds but they didnt reach showdown, and people are starting to doubt you. But you should try a few steals when you werent too active lately, but in your last showdowns you always had value hands.(even if they lost)

Its easier to bluff someone who just won a pot recently and can afford to let one go, than to bluff someone who missed and folded a lot, got bullied around, and might make a tilt call soon. Its obviously easier to bluff from position.

About what you try to represent: make sure that your line makes sense, if you always bet when you hit a flopp, you wont be too convincing with your bluff, after you checked the flopp and the board texture didnt change too much. And always try to figure if your opponent can have the hand you are trying to rep.

 

[wowasenotrusov]

try to bluff less especially in the game live because your opponents you can quickly get to the core by your involuntary actions.

 

[sujeesh811]

Bluffing is just a part of Poker and is not all.Bluffing should be implemented only if there are very few players left and make sure that your story adds up

 

[LinkornU]

You probably have the same problem I had. I played too many hands and it forced me to bluff a lot in order to win. Just play less hands and there'll be no need to bluff often. If you still need to do this make sure you bluff makes sense and your play doesn't look awkward.