To Bluff or Not to Bluff: Your Ultimate Guide to Bluffing in Poker

Many new players poker may bluff too much, and in the wrong spots. Some may not bluff at all. But you can't always rely on having the best hand to win; sometimes you have to bluff at pots to stay alive and grow your stack. There's an old saying in poker, "If you don't get caught with your hand in the cookie jar every once in awhile, you aren't bluffing enough!"
It is a crucial skill that every good poker player must possess, and although risky, mastering the art of the bluff can take your game to the next level. Read our Ultimate Guide to Bluffing, then come back here and tell us about your take aways from the article.

Have you been bluffing too much? Not enough? When do you think is the optimal time and situation to bluff? Let's hear it!

The story has to be well told. The bluff can not appear out of nowhere, it needs to be carefully planned. It's very important to take into consideration your opponent, the board cards, the size of the stacks, your image on the table and how the hand has developed until then.

POKER BLUFF

Poker is actually an art of bluffing in my opinion but the people of names such as reverse implied odds or equity to make a stronger hand as we call semi bluffs, but also there are the really bad hands so called airs that will not even performing fairness would then be a pure bluff

The ability to vary played between nuts semibluff and total bluffs makes a difference to a good poker player I believe if you play only by value can not have good moves and this makes our game is always inconsistent've been trying to improve every day and I know that to play the winner need to know to bluff and be a catch bluffer in some situations

Following studying the article gave several tips on when to bluff and not bluffing and streaming Bluff was also fun to see

mateuspoker

I liked it. Some times you can see players just over bet out of nowere on a card that does not fit their range and yes, sometimes it works, but when people figure out what you are doing they will be calling you so light your hands will itch with a wish to mark them as a "recriational".
About they saying... it's also 100% true =)

I have played poker for 14 years and I still have trouble mastering the technique of bluffing.

I tighten up it works to certain extent only to have my chips grinded down by blinds.

I try to loosen up more and I get called every street.

Its a hard technique to succeed.

I think I have bluffed too much .. Today even due to trying to spend some bluffs I lost 60%, the day started well, more terminal bad .. is part of the game, living is learning.
I think it's the best time to pass a few bluffs, it's ITM time, it's FT's bubble, a lot of people keep sticking to the top not to fall before ... I think it's the perfect time to pass some bluffs.

Very good article. I'll certainly improve the issue of bluffing. Part I knew, but not all. Example from SB when steal high bet is recommended. My was about x5 and too short. It is similar when we use squezze poker. I like this form bluff. Very good for bluff is also floating. As for me, it is worth mentioning in article. Important, never bluff a fish, at most, you have a monster and you want him to think you're bluffing!

From the article, my most important bluff key, which I will also remember:
The best positions for bluffing are late, CO, BU, SB.
Raising from the blinds can also be an effective bluffing technique if players are only limping into the pot before you.
In multi-table tournaments, it's generally not a good idea to try a lot of bluffing in the early levels, when blinds are low and every player is relatively deep stacked.
Semi-bluff is better. Technically you are bluffing because you do not have a strong hand – yet – but you have a lot of potential to make a better hand.
A good rule of thumb is to take the big blind and multiply it by at least 10. If you're not willing to commit that many chips to make the bluff work, then don't try it.
A common mistake made by a lot of players who have followed up a pre-flop raise with an aggressive continuation bet after the flop is to check or bet a smaller amount after the turn. Doing either of these screams weakness and will not convince your opponent you have a strong hand. This play is appropriate when you have a good hand and want people to call or even re-raise you, but it's not a good idea when bluffing.
The groundwork for a good bluff must be laid before and after the flop by either raising or calling another player's raise. It is not necessarily critical to be the aggressor before the flop, but it is important that somebody has instituted a pre-flop raise
Post-flop is the first real opportunity to start weaving your tale, but you have to take note of the flop. Is there an ace, or did the board pair up?
When bluff ansfer: raiser before the flop?, bet after the flop and call your re-raise?, is cbet?, check/call preflop bet?
Best times to bluff:
PRE-FLOP: When you are in late position, it folds to you and the players to your left have been fairly tight.
POST-FLOP: When you are last position and it checks to you with an innocuous board (rainbow, no pair and nothing higher J+).
ON A PAIRED BOARD: If there is a low pair on the board.
ON THE BUBBLE: If you're in a multi-table tournament nearing the money bubble.
Don't be afraid if the other players find out you were bluffing. It is part of the game. If a poker player is not bluffing, then he's not really playing poker.v
DON'T TRY TO BLUFF FROM AN EARLY OR MIDDLE POSITION.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO KEEP THE PRESSURE ON IN THE LATTER ROUNDS.
DON'T GIVE UP.
DON'T TRY TO BLUFF MULTIPLE PLAYERS.
DON'T TRY TO BLUFF WHEN YOU ARE SHORT-STACKED.

Good Job CC!

I don't like to bluff, but without the bluff poker impossible. I use a bluff when I do not get good starting hands for a long time.

Pure bluffing needs to be well-timed and well-calculated.

As Daniel Negreanu once said: "People don't bluff as much as you think they do". And he is right. There are some spots during a hand that you can throw a nice bluff versus the right opponent, but again you need to pick your spots carefully.

When it comes to semi-bluffing, things are a bit different. Sometimes you have a monster draw and you need to play it aggressively or even put your money in the middle.

Bluffing too much is a mistake but showing a few bluffs in a game can get you paid off later with marginal hands held by opponents.
If sense weakness it is an important part of poker as lot times both players miss or even have the same hand whoever bluffs or bets normally wins.

It's a very fine line and a risky game. You definitely need to throw in the odd one here and there but I probably do bluff less than most (at least I think). Looking a fool and losing a big chunk of chips or even all your chips is motivation enough to be very picky when you do. Position and your opponent are both key imo, these are the two main factors I will weigh up.

As a rule , I try not to bluff ... having been caught once is too many times ( a long time ago ! If I am going to bluff - I try hard to make it a time when there is a possible flush , fh etc on the table .
I agree with the article , you need to play with is one the table - and it better be enough to make the other player see the possible outs - and then it happens you don't get that flush , or fh, or strait and yes I end up folding if if I get a raise thrown at me. ( and yes - this is how I get chipped away at as I call it )

So, I prefer to watch if the other player is betting weak - and then call them , and if they are still betting weak - I will raise if I have the cards.
Otherwise when you catch someone at a bluff - and then they do it again - well they may as well just sit out as the whole table now knows they are a loose player.

There is a big difference between a weak bet and a believable bet.

Bluffing ia a hard technique to master, i have found my self n stitutions where you find a player definetly bluffing way too much ,and you call his bluff,only to find they are holding the nuts oops a bad beat ??. I only use it occasionally, on certain players after watching their actions, Its awesome when you your holding the nuts and they fall it

Well, I think the bluff is one of my weaknesses in poker, although sometimes it has worked out but sometimes it has not, I put in a balance I think I lost more bluff than I won, I think it is very important to know your opponents in the table before bluffing, it is also a bad idea to show your opponents that you have done bluff because they will catch you on any play, my advice is that you never show your bluff and that before doing so you know your opponents very well

One of the biggest leaks in someone learning poker is making to many bad bluffs. Poker is decision-based so getting to fancy and playing your hands incorrectly for the situation then bluffing will get you picked off my good plays and cost you money. Bluffing is a fine art thats takes years to master however if you are not getting picked off bluffing once in a while you are not playing a A game.

very interesting and useful article (as always), as for me, i don't like bluffing, because mostly i play tournamen with micro buy-ins and too many players there calling with any card my bluff) thats why i prefer to play tight and steal chips of agressive players)

great artical. i still need to pay more attention to my position when bluffing. it seems like everyone knows when im bluffing, and im never sure about them. i hardly ever pull off a good bluff. could be because of position.

It's part of the game is almost a rule, but we have to take care, because there are situations that we are induced to bluff, and in these situations are what we lose.
The blefer by itself is not a good blefer you need a strategy, or better have to have a fresh head, and observe each play and have a reading of your game, in that sense the blefer can be successful.

When I first started playing poker I very rarely bluffed, now I do it much more often. it all depends on the structure of the board and the opponent, but the main thing to remember is - never bluff into the fish)

Bluffing is the most complicated part of the poker and also the most important. I doubt there's any winning player that doesn't bluff because then he would be very predictable.

When I started I used to bluff every hand and slowly learned to pick my spots.

I don't think beginners should think about their image because that will only work against regulars and more often than not they will just hang them selves.

I personally try not to bluff fun players,and kinda still have a small opportunity to hit some kind of hand,you can't always have a good enough hand to play so sometimes you have to bluff to increase your stack,but you need to make a convincing story to go along with,and also should always be based on the pot odds.

Speaking of poker bluffs, we must understand well what the villains are at our table. At the lower limits of the game you will see a huge number of players who will call any of your preflop raises with any of their cards. Probably, this can also be called a bluff. But this leads to the fact that you put some money or chips into the pot, and you find yourself on a flop with weak cards, without getting anything, and against a player whose range of hands is too wide to accurately determine the odds. In this case, the semi-bluff is more successful, as well as just a broad pre-flop game, especially if the villains allow you to see the flop with minimal costs.

To Bluff or Not to Bluff ... will always be a difficult decision to make ... however it is a valid tool in poker ... and if it is used at the right times it could make you win a tournament ... It can also leave you out of a tournament ...!
Normally I analyze my opponents well before thinking about making a "BLUFF"
and I always try to be in a situation where I am alone against an opponent ..!