Bluffing is perhaps the most well known and popular skill recognized in the game of poker. Even so, it is not a skill that should be used often. While there are few hard and fast rules about bluffing, and while the players at any given game will affect when and how often you should bluff, there are some good tips for a beginner bluffer:
1) Don’t bluff too much! This is the most common mistake early players make. If you have nothing, and the other player has aces, all bluffing is going to do is make you lose money, and if you bluff a lot, players will notice and actually call your bluffs more often because of it, making bluffing an even worse play than before?
2) Semi-bluffs are the best. A semi-bluff is a strong bet when you have a good chance of getting a good hand, but don’t have it. A good example would be Texas Hold ‘Em if you had 10-J of hearts and the board came up Q spades, 9 hearts, Ace hearts. In this situation you are probably behind, but any heart gives you a good flush, and any 8 or K gives you a straight, meaning almost a third of the cards left help you get the best hand. This is a good time to bet heavy in case you hit your monster hand.
3) Less is more. This is good for two situations. Less bluffing will make the bluffs you do make more effective. If you are known as a bluffer, you will NEVER get away with bluffing frequently. The other side of less is more, is to only bluff when there are not many players in the hand. If you are the dealer, and everyone folds, this is a good time to bluff because there are only two players left and you might be able to steal the blinds. If five people call or anyone raises, then this is a terrible time to bluff because there are some good hands at the table.
The rest is practice. More hands in more games will teach you the other when, where, and how’s of bluffing. Remember that although a successful bluff can be extremely dramatic, bluffs are not the main point of any successful players’ games. Keep growing your other poker skills and eventually bluffs will come naturally.
