thepokerkid123
Visionary
Silver Level
I've been unable to find any good articles on bluffing, anywhere. It seems strange since there's so much to it that everything anyone's written on it (that I've been able to find) seems so basic.
The fact is that I think my bluffing is only slightly proffitable, and it needs to improve a lot. I see good players bluff way more than I do, and get away with it way more than I do, they know something that I don't but so far I've been unable to figure out what that is.
Here's what I know so far:
Only bluff someone who can fold.
99% of the time, you should be bluffing with outs. Overcards, straight draws, flush draws etc. Don't let your opponents believe you do this regularly.
Don't bet draws into someone you wouldn't make a complete bluff against.
When someone makes an "I surrender" check, usually on the river when they've either been flat calling you or making small bets (to stop you making bigger bets) all the way and now they've checked it to you. A bet will usually take the pot down here.
Another circumstance is when there's a four flush on the board and they check it to you, the vast majority of the time they have a low flush at best the only question is can they fold a low flush.
When someone who's ahead of you in a hand sees a scare card, ask yourself if they're capable of making the laydown if they believe you're ahead.
Usually you should only bluff into a pot in which no one has taken an interest yet. If you're on the button and suspect someone else has made a steal attempt before you get the chance, usually you should concede the pot to them. Whoever gets in first takes it, they've represented strength which is either real or fake, it's often not worth finding out.
Consider the pot odds. You should usually be betting upwards of 80% of the pot, so in order for this to make you money you have to have gotten this far in the hand based on the probability of your cards winning the hand (almost never enter a hand with the intention of bluffing, it should be a back up plan only).
Make your bluffs seem real. Don't throw out a bet on the river because you've missed your flush when you've played it like you were drawing, only an idiot will believe you here and an idiot still wont fold. You've got to consider what your opponent could think you have.
Watch out for low flops in raised pots. If you take the flop heads up and it comes 257r, the only possible hand you could have that liked this flop is a pocket pair, often your opponent wont believe your bluff here. This can be dangerous because you both know that the other didn't hit.
When an opponent is drawing and you become aware of this, you can take the pot extremely easily. Good players wont pay more than they've got odds to pay in order to draw, even if you've completely missed and their ace high is ahead, make it unprofitable for them to draw against a made hand and they'll fold. Keep in mind that you can again only do this against intelligent players, some people are gamblers and will take their chances.
Position is important. Don't bluff from early position especially when there are a lot of players in the hand. Bluffing from the button is troublesome because it's such a good position for it that most of your bets are considered to be a steal attempts by other players.
People call more than they should, it's rare for someone to fold more than they should. Bluffing should be done sparingly.
That's all I know about bluffing, or at least what I can come up with off the top of my head. There's obviously a lot more to it and I'm wondering if anyone could add to this list, or tell me where I can find some useful information on bluffing.
The fact is that I think my bluffing is only slightly proffitable, and it needs to improve a lot. I see good players bluff way more than I do, and get away with it way more than I do, they know something that I don't but so far I've been unable to figure out what that is.
Here's what I know so far:
Only bluff someone who can fold.
99% of the time, you should be bluffing with outs. Overcards, straight draws, flush draws etc. Don't let your opponents believe you do this regularly.
Don't bet draws into someone you wouldn't make a complete bluff against.
When someone makes an "I surrender" check, usually on the river when they've either been flat calling you or making small bets (to stop you making bigger bets) all the way and now they've checked it to you. A bet will usually take the pot down here.
Another circumstance is when there's a four flush on the board and they check it to you, the vast majority of the time they have a low flush at best the only question is can they fold a low flush.
When someone who's ahead of you in a hand sees a scare card, ask yourself if they're capable of making the laydown if they believe you're ahead.
Usually you should only bluff into a pot in which no one has taken an interest yet. If you're on the button and suspect someone else has made a steal attempt before you get the chance, usually you should concede the pot to them. Whoever gets in first takes it, they've represented strength which is either real or fake, it's often not worth finding out.
Consider the pot odds. You should usually be betting upwards of 80% of the pot, so in order for this to make you money you have to have gotten this far in the hand based on the probability of your cards winning the hand (almost never enter a hand with the intention of bluffing, it should be a back up plan only).
Make your bluffs seem real. Don't throw out a bet on the river because you've missed your flush when you've played it like you were drawing, only an idiot will believe you here and an idiot still wont fold. You've got to consider what your opponent could think you have.
Watch out for low flops in raised pots. If you take the flop heads up and it comes 257r, the only possible hand you could have that liked this flop is a pocket pair, often your opponent wont believe your bluff here. This can be dangerous because you both know that the other didn't hit.
When an opponent is drawing and you become aware of this, you can take the pot extremely easily. Good players wont pay more than they've got odds to pay in order to draw, even if you've completely missed and their ace high is ahead, make it unprofitable for them to draw against a made hand and they'll fold. Keep in mind that you can again only do this against intelligent players, some people are gamblers and will take their chances.
Position is important. Don't bluff from early position especially when there are a lot of players in the hand. Bluffing from the button is troublesome because it's such a good position for it that most of your bets are considered to be a steal attempts by other players.
People call more than they should, it's rare for someone to fold more than they should. Bluffing should be done sparingly.
That's all I know about bluffing, or at least what I can come up with off the top of my head. There's obviously a lot more to it and I'm wondering if anyone could add to this list, or tell me where I can find some useful information on bluffing.