Poker Bluffing 101 - How to Bluff in Poker

Bluffing is part of poker but not a rule. To use bluffing properly you need to keep track of your opponents and be in the right position.

What is Bluffing?

To bluff in poker means to act as if you have a better hand that what you really have. This is what makes poker so exciting and it is well worth to learn more about this important part of the game. There are different levels to bluffing. The most blatant kind is when you truly have a poor hand and you know that it stands no chance. Still you raise and act as if you’re the given winner. This kind of bluff is intended to make the others fold from fear of your pretended great hand. Another type of poker bluffing is the kind that is made on a hand that has a chance of improving. This kind of bluff is very common and is less risky than the total bluff.

When to Bluff

The total bluff can be a lot of fun to pull, if it works that is. Bluffing is not a rule of poker and therefore it is simply foolish to insist on playing bad hands by bluffing. To determine when you should bluff you need to understand what your odds for pulling through with this scheme are. Let’s say that you are at the flop and you are four cards away from completing a flush. In this case it could be a good idea to raise and thereby bluff.

You need to keep a good eye on your opponents to know when to bluff. If no one has presented a strong hand you could definitely take the chance to bluff, especially so if you are in late position. When the cards that you have showing make it seem as if you could have a strong hand (like in the example of the four cards away from a flush) you could get away with bluffing. Something that also plays into your decision is how many opponents you are facing. With only one other player by the table you are in a much better position to bluff in the poker game.

Mastering Bluffing

Good bluffing certainly includes knowing when to bluff but it also relies on your poker face. In online poker it could seem that a poker face has less value but this is not so. You won’t see the facial expressions of your poker opponents in the poker room online but you will learn to recognize their moves. There are players who will never fold, no matter what and there are players with the kind of bankrolls that won’t be intimidated by your raise. These are things that you must keep in mind when you are about to bluff. With experience you learn to recognize the style of your opponents and the openings for bluffing. Make sure not to bluff too much. This is a very bad trait that is soon recognized by most and it puts you in risk of becoming a losing poker player.