Bluffing or Not

Hi All,maybe someone can help or make some suggestions to my promblem. I've tried using on line notes how to know if their bluffing or not;still having problems. I play tight and go in with good cards or pairs and the next thing I know it's a large bid or all-in,I usually fold and have even have them show after with a 2 & 9 things like that. They don't take cards seriously. Thanks to all. Good luck and Good Cards To All.

Well.

Bluffing with a 2 9 can be done. Good players do it. Bad players either get lucky or get spanked for playing it. But, if it was suited you can usually count on them thinking it was a callable hand. And a raising hand if the had for to a flush.

Hi I think they might be taking a poke at the pot with big raises. If you feel you have the best hand call or raise back.A good player will spot your weakness if you fold everytime a big raise is placed, and bluff you out of the game.

I'm not sure that all the notes in the world are going to help you know when someone is bluffing at an online poker table. I personally try to concentrate on MY cards. Do I think I have the best hand, based upon the progression of the hand and the betting patterns to that point? If I think I do, it doesn't matter to me if they're bluffing or not. If I DON'T think I have the best hand, I will fold 90% of the time, bluff or no bluff. I'm just not going to look someone up if I think I'm beat, on the hunch they may be bluffing me. I believe the percentages encourage that style of play over the long haul, even if I allow some thievery now and then. But God help 'em if they try to run me down, 'cause sooner or later they'll go to the well once too often and I'll bust their chops!

Are you talking about before the flop or after?

Thanks all. I've been going mainly on how I feel about my cards. I'll stay pre- flop if I have AA,or A-10,high pairs,and some suited ones. I know they can't bluff me out all the time and been brunt several times with kicker. After flop if I have good pair with nice kicker I'll stay and if I got a chance with a flush early in game. Hope I get to play with you all some time soon. You've all been a big "Help" Good Luck and Good Cards".

I'll have to agree with rammerjammer, its best to play your hand in the long run it works out. In rare cases you will come up against players that are so easy to read their bluffs that you laughing when you call and when they say "why did you call that...you only had a pair of 4's", just reply "you just sooo easy to read...dumbass".

If you are talking online,,,Just play the numbers. Online Poker is a game of Math...The only real read you can get on someone is pay attention to the hands they are playing and betting patterns....There is a Myth that length of time to bet is a online Tell...It's isn't realy...To many factors such as lag time, could be answering the phone or playing in multiple games at the same time....The Myth that if it is a quik check they are weak,,,well Pros are taking advantage of this by using the quik check box when strong...than coming back over the top. Players that tend to Bluff a lot end up losing in the long run. Play the numbers ad don't worry about it. Make sure you are raising preflop 3.5 to 4 times the BB. If they are still playing trash, you will profit in the long run.

In Live games you need to watch their hands, body language and facial expressions.

If you do get a Tell on someone and catch them bluffing. Never ever say anthing aout them being easy to read. That is the stupidest thing I have heard. If you do, they will change up on you and your tell is gone. Why in the world would anyone want to give that advantage up? Plus it is poor sportsmanship to talk trash.

Well, you do get that alot in online tourneys, some fool going in with some stupid hand hoping to get lucky when you hold a strong hand. If it is at the beginning of a tourney I often fold. No use in getting caught up in someone getting lucky on the river. Later on it's a different story, ask yourself, has he done that a lot, what hands did he do that with, and where does he sit? There are quite a few players out there trying to steal the pot with this method. But they only need to do it at the wrong time once.

The only thing worse than having a tell yourself is picking up on someone else's tell and letting them know it. Silence! (Watch the climactic scene in "Rounders" between Teddy KGB and our hero, involving the Oreo cookies. Priceless.)

Hi - I honestly can't believe it when people say then don't even play their cards unless they have AA/AK/A10 or pp's. When 9 out of 10 people are in the pot (and that one person out of the pot is me), they all don't have those great hands. I hear so many people say "I never go in a pot with anything lower than AA/AK/AJ/AQ/etc." If that were true, there might be two players in the pot. I sit there many times, the only person who folded (say K6) or whatever and the rest of the players are playing J/2 and other garbage hands. I know they win but lets be honest - if you play marginal hands admit it.

P.S. I told one guy who bet 1000 every first round betting. I wrote "predictable"... he just kept doing it. LOL Never changed a thing.

Actually, Michele, that's probably how many people should legitimately be involved in a pot...2 to 4 in a full ring of 9 or 10. Notice when you're watching the big boys play on the WSOP or the WPT how many times you see no more than 2 or 3 players in the pot. Most of the time, right? There's a reason for that...consistent winners don't play a lot of marginal hands. (Except Gus Hansen, and he's a freak of nature.)

I never say "never", if I can help it, 'cause there's always more exceptions than rules in poker. But I can tell you straight-faced that I very rarely play anything smaller than AA, KK, QQ, or AKs in the first hour of a multi-table tournament. If I'm in very late position, and can limp in for the blind, I might play JJ, AQ, AJ, or smaller, including the pairs 10 and under. But that's just my approach, for what it's worth.

if your patient, and wait for your cards. you will usually take those bluffers out eventually. but sometimes they will still get lucky. thats why its gambling.

And, let's not forget. Bluffing is an integral part of No Limit Hold 'Em. It is a key component of the game that every player should learn to use to his/her advantage. Bluffing in and of itself is not a sign of weak or bad play. The greatest players in the world routinely run bluffs on their opponents when the situation calls for it. In fact, if you never bluff, it's a significant weakness in your own game.

thats one of my problems is bluffing, i never do it. but i see other people do it all the time. im to chicken

Notes can only help you that much, that too with good players. I find that my notes dont help much with poor players, cause they are too unpredictable. It usually depends on the pot size, the number of cash u have, your position on the table, and most importantly the type of player when deciding whether a hand is worth calling. It doesnt take much to spot a loose player or moron or a person on tilt. Right off the start if someone monster raises or all ins you, fold, unless u have pp kings or aces. Take your time to read your opponents and see what type of hands they play. Find out who are the looser players (they are bound to get caught in a bluff). That will make your decision easier next time someone calls a bluff. Good players make good bluffs, if you think someone is very tight player it is usually better to fold (give them the benefit of the doubt) unless you have a monster hand. If you are a good and tight player, the better players will usually give you a wide berth (raise wise) unless they have a good hand.

The art of bluffing is worthy of a section all its own in the Strategy section. Nowhere is the bluff more powerful than in No Limit Hold 'Em, when you can put someone to a hard decision for all their chips with a single move. It brings a complexity and intensity to the game that no other poker variety can boast.

I will offer this small tidbit to encourage timid bluffers to try it more often. Productive bluffing is 80% position and 20% timing. If you're "out of position", it's usually not a good idea to bluff. That's why making a bet from the button after the flop when everyone has checked is such a strong play. It doesn't matter if you've picked up anything on the flop or not. Everyone else is basically telling you they didn't by checking. So, when you throw a decent bet out there (not just the minimum), you'll pick up that pot a lot of the time. And all those small pots you steal along the way add up to a big pot you can play for free later.

I'll only bluff with 10 3