By Bob Shilling
We all know how important the bluff is to successfully
winning in poker; in fact some bigs claim it makes or breaks a run. And of
course never bluffing is as wrong as always bluffing bad… when you bet
they’ll know you think you have something. The bottom line is to develop a good
bluff early and use it wisely.
Customizer → Monetisation → in_articleThe essential thing to know about bluffing is that you’re trying to induce an
action (or reaction) from your opponent that you otherwise wouldn’t have gotten…
either him folding or throwing more money on the table. The response you get to
your bluff is decided by how well you’ve mastered it, of course. But the point
here, the takeaway from this discussion is that you have to throw out a fake
bluff a time or two to really sell your look. I’ve played with countless guys
who play the same lame bluffs all night and they become so easy to read.
No one wants to lose money on purpose, so make it a small loss. But make sure
you “look” like you’re trying to bluff but got busted. How well you
play this out decides how well your bluff will ultimately work, so hone up your
acting skills before you belly up to the table. For example, if you’re holding a good hand, say a
partial high straight with your card and only a low pair on the table, you
wouldn’t be squirming in your seat or drinking lots of water to clear the dry
mouth (signs of nervousness). You’d be pretty confident with a hint of smug,
not fidgeting with your hands (exception is if that is how you ALWAYS are).
The top winners make their living off of reading players; they’ll leave a low
percentage hand much more often than an amateur and rely on indicators besides
the cards to decide if they want to pursue a lowly hand. If you’re playing your
bluff well you will have the added advantage of assuming that the other guy is
in mostly when he feels he has something viable to work with, which means you
may be more likely to use your bluff best on opening to coax him to fold.
Your bluff is most valuable when you’re opening… your opponent has two choices
he can make that can lead to a win for you, he either folds or bets a losing
hand. If you bluff on a call, the best you can hope for is that you
“really” have the better hand. So clearly, based on the gap concept
use your bluff most effectively on opening.
There are lots of sites to help you beat poker that you
can rely on for learning the tactics that give you an edge, because at the end
of the day those are the things that determine wins or losses. Luck is what it
is, but paying attention to details and applying some basic skills will be huge
steps to increasing your win column.