bluffing

I'm not that great at bluffing. Any suggestions on how to improve this skill?

*Christi

Obligatory pimpage for an article I wrote a while ago.

Read Dorkus' article and then the bluffing and semi-bluffing in TOP (The Theory of Poker): it will give you a rough idea of how you can include bluffing into your game. But, in my mind, you cannot be bad at bluffing, you can only be bad at reading hands/flop, remembering bet patterns, picking your spots: bluffing is not a skill per se, it is a mix of different skills that leads to the decision to bluff and how to do so.

what i do is bet 100 if they just call then go for 250 if they still just call then take it up to 500 or more that has worked for me lots good luck dont hate the messenger if it dont work out lol

Brilliant!

gotta get a good read of your opponent. if they have a strong hand, continually raising your bet means you will just lose more money.

I'm picturing the two cartoons from that Guiness commercial that kept syaing "Brilliant!" over and over again. Thank you for the laugh.

Thank you for catching the reference.

When I go in on a bluff I usually bet 2 to 3 times the BB depending on my outs. If i get a call, I know that person might have a hand, or at least similar outs. I then play off the turn and river as to what I do next. If i hit, I will play the hand accordingly(sp). If I miss, I will either check if I think my oppenet has a strong hand, but if I think he is chasing or a weak player in general, I will lay down another bet.

U cant bluff in this game ANYMORE!!!!!!

No sarcasm leaking through there.

Pretty general statement. Care to ELABORATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's hard, because you can't come across too weak or too aggressive. You have to find a happy medium where they think you're betting just enough to get them into the pot and making enough money off of the hand. That's what I try to do, and it works for me. But you have to have a good read on them because they just might have a good hand.

Well everyone just about sumed it up, i personally try to figure out the player first, put him/her into groups (per say). For instance if i know my player is loose then i wont try to bluff for the simple fact that he/she may have a weak pair and decide on calling just to see what u have, but if i feel this player is semi tight, and only comes in with nice starting hands, then i call because i'm trying to pull off a bluff on this person no matter the flop, unless it's a high flop, then nah cuz i'd figure this person connected due to his/her image at the table. Sry i can't be more help then that....

i've found some players fold easier when there's an ace on the board. so i do know that it's easier to bluff if there's an ace up.

Are we talking internet poker here or real poker? I always think its much harder on the internet because you don't get such a good read of your opponents.

It can be good to bluff boards with an ace on but remember the people likely to have called to see the flop are those likely to have high cards like aces.

Only other advice I can give is to know when your bluff has gone wrong. If you get raised you can often feel like there's too much in the pot for you to throw away but if you haven't got anything its best to lay your cards down. If you just try to bluff more you can get yourself into a lot of trouble.

Julian

its hard to read people on line...bet higher ( big bet) ...if they still call you know they have something good.. gl

Post about MICRO games.

It is true that it is somewhat harder to bluff on the internet (and I'm talking about a stone cold bluff): people tend to chase and call even with 3 pair no kicker, even in PL or NL games. What does that teach us ? Unless we have very good position (last to act after the flop), you are facing few opponents (2-3 max), the flop is very dry and THE POT is also very dry, we shouldn't attempt stone cold bluffs unless we know the opposing players is /are capable of folding. Since we need to bluff in order to increase our deceptiveness, it is better to do so in small pots than in big ones, since the pots don't get magically big (someone is bound to have a big hand that doesn't warrant a fold). When we go up in stakes, bluffing in big pots is a move that should be attempted more often. In micros, it won't work often enough to be +EV against a good portion of the opponents we will face.

On the other hand, we should semi-bluff (drawing to the nut with more than 10-12 good outs) more regularly and also value-bet more, since people are more likely to pay us off. We should also learn to fold the big hands (AK, namely) when unimproved against opponents who are still following after a flop and turn bet (and even then, I'm starting to let go of AK regularly against more than 1 opponent on the turn UI in small to medium pots).

PS: I'm not talkign about c-betting when I say to bluff less often in first paragraph. C-betting should be a mainstay in your arsenal since against most opponents, even at the mircos, it will get you a fold 60-70% (maybe not on the flop, but probably on the turn).

Even though I posted my strategy earlier, no one style will work for one person. I've read many articles on bluffing and none of them worked for me. You have to develop your skill your own way. Ive been playing for 4 years and I'm just starting to get to where I can pull off some good bluffs. Practice makes perfect, and if you're going to bluff, your reads better be perfect.

2 things that I pay particular attention to.

1) Know who the bad players are... the ones who will call seemingly at random or chase insane draws

2) Know what table image you are projecting to the players that show skills and are paying attention

Once you have those 2 figured out you can pick intelligent spots to bluff

That's a good point. If the board looks scary to you, it probably also looks scary to your opponent. This is where postion can pay. If the board comes up AhKhQh, this can be a good situation to bluff if it is checked to you in a three/two handed situation.

Also, its important to remember to bluff mostly in headsup situations.

Couldn't agree more!!! (about not being able to bluff in this game anymore!!)

why BLUFF that board....JJ is callin u with no heart!!!

Hope this helps you out! and Good Luck!

"Poker is not just a mathematical game. It is also a game that entails a lot of psychological combat. Three of the most important psychological weapons in poker are Bluffing, Semi-Bluffing, and Slowplaying.

Bluffing

Bluffing is much more useful in a no-limit game than in a limit game. In a no-limit game, a player's entire stack is at risk each hand. In a limit game, players know they can only lose so much if they call to the river.

Bluffing is almost useless in a low-stakes limit game (anything less than $2-$4). Rarely will a hand not be called to showdown, so there is no point in scaring people out of the pot. Bluffing becomes a much more powerful tool at high-limit games. When you play at a higher limit, it's best to bluff when you 'represent' something and there are only one or two opponents in the pot. For example, betting at the flop with a high card on the board represents a pair, and raising with a flush draw out represents the flush.

Semi-Bluffing

Semi-bluffing is the name for bluffing when you also hold a drawing hand.

Your Hand As Ks
Board Js 3s 4d


You currently only have ace high, but you may hit a spade flush or make a pair of aces or kings. If you bet with this hand, you are bluffing, but you also have a high likelihood of gaining a strong hand on later betting rounds. Semi-bluffing can be a very useful technique, especially in no-limit games.

Slowplaying

Slowplaying means deceiving your opponents into thinking you have a weak hand, when in fact you hold a powerhouse."

Don't think of it as bluffing, think of it as agressive play. Watch the players and do it more to the ones that have a pattern of betting only when they have something. If your in postition or close to being in good postition don't ever let anyone have a free card. I hear this often "If you bet or raise you have two ways to win"

Great advice....I like this one

If you go all in with 72o you have about one way to win.

bluffing is a skill you just need to play with some one and let them tell you what to improve something that when you bluff to make you look confident in yourself and your hand something that will scare anyone away idk i read this in a book hope it helps see you in the poker room :P

If you're relatively new to poker, then one thing to bear in mind is that the bluff is one of the most over-used tactics in poker, and can make for very costly mistakes.
It's less about how much you bet (you want to be enough to put someone off, but not risk more than you need to or look like it's just trying to buy the pot, but the exact amount depends on your opponents and the table conditions and what kind of hand they have and more), and much more about psychology and position.
Being in late position gives you the advantage of being able to see if someone looks weak or not (and therefore how likely they are to fold to a bet), and the psychology comes in when you're trying to work out what kind of person they have and what kind of hand they're likely to have. Some people will rarely fold, especially on the river, and you'll have a hard time bluffing them. However, others will play very tight, and will often fold when the flop misses them.
The other thing to be aware of is what the other person is likely to fear. Overcards, and cards that make a straight or flush possible, those are often cards which will either improve someone's hand or make them think about folding. Equally when the board pairs one of the lower cards, this can give a player pause for thought. It's not very helpful to think of particular cards (like Aces) as 'good for bluffing', it is far better to think in terms of likely hands for the opponent to have and what cards would make them think that you have made a better hand.

Just don't fall into 'fancy play syndrome' and throw away money on hands where all you can do is cut your losses.

Bluffing in poker was banned in 2004 - didn't you get the memo?

hehe, if your playing heads up and feel the need to bluff play every hand like limit poker

ahh the art of the bluff, so hard to master, but for me the best part of the game

I played a hand recently where I had - I think - second pair, an overcard and an up/down draw. Flop was checked, on the turn my opponent bet (I think with top pair and a weak or weakish kicker) and I called. On the river a 3rd suited card came down and I'd missed my straight draw. I was pretty sure i was beat at this point. However I bet fairly low (perhaps a third of the pot), a bet which made it seem obvious that I'd hit the flush and wanted my opponent to call. He folded.

With bluffing, sometimes opportunities just present themselves.

A common falacy, too, is that you've got to bet big to push someone off a pot. Sometimes the bets where it looks like you want your opponent to call are the ones most likely to get your opponent to lay down his hand.