How to detect bluff

#1 August 13th, 2020, 8:10 AM

Hi guys!!!!

Asking again for your wisdom!!!!!

Days ago I was on a HU table and I lost not that much amount but my bank roll after winning a tournament... like 70 Dllrs

Aprox.... there were players that kept rising crazy and I was playing safe... it didn�t work for me....

So I was so sure this guys were bluffing a lot.,.. but due to amount of chips that they raise ... sorry for grammar.... I didn�t pay all time,..

So... any tips for recognizing bluffers??? Not that I haven�t bluff ever... but this was a masacre,,,

Thank you again !!!!

#2 August 13th, 2020, 11:18 AM

You can't "detect bluff". You must "detect" enough bluffs in his range. To make a profitable call or raise ("re-bluff").
You look for aggression. HUD, notes...The players from some countries are more aggro. The "rich" ones. But not only...
His range.... How wide is his range? Do you know something about this? Do you notice something?
The board...Are there possible draws?

That's it...But also you must know something. The very good calls (Hero calls) more often are losing. This can be tilting for some people. Also they can change thei r style. Will be more scared. Not good obv...You must have heart obv. Heart of a gambler.

#3 August 13th, 2020, 3:46 PM

Heads up is totally different than multiple player games. Your cards mean far less in heads up. How many times did you go to a showdown (other than the last)? Aggression becomes a major factor.

Cards that are normally unplayable are valuable because you can make the villain fold. You can raise 47s, and if villain shows aggression, you can fold. Playable cards like TJs are worth raising to see a flop. If villain shows aggression, you can call. Great cards like AJ and KK are worth a raise, and if the villain shows aggression, you can go all in.

If the other player shows first aggression, what do you do? You can't just call or fold. You need to have a wide range of reraises. See how above, raising doesn't always mean great cards. It also means trying to steal a pot when you have bad cards. So reraise hands could include good suited or connected, Ax and K9+, and any pairs. Calling range should be playable cards like T8+, Q9+, lower connectors and pairs.

Heads up comes down to a final hand for all the marbles. So what do you jam and what do you call jams with? Ideally, you want at least an Ace with a good kicker or a decent pair. I will jam with a wider range because of fold equity. KTs is not bad to shove, but I wouldn't call a shove with it. I want AT+ or 99+ to call for all my or his chips. If villain keeps shoving every hand, Ax and Kx become calling range, and small pairs only if you need to. Ax and Kx do way better against any two than 44.

Too soon, heads up becomes predictable. As soon as villain starts to react better to your game, change your style and sizes. I like to vary between min raises, pot size bets, and all ins. Sometimes 3X and 1/2 pot works best. Find what works and do it until it stops working, then change.

#4 August 13th, 2020, 4:02 PM

The poker player who builds the entire strategy of the game on intuition and trying to reveal the opponent's bluff is a potential loser.

#5 August 13th, 2020, 4:03 PM

Intuition and repitition helps - you should be looking at time when the villain plays the hand in a way that doesn't make sense for the bets he does. A player who has a strong holding is more likely to try get value from the hand. For example let's assume it's heads-up at 50/100 with a 3k stack and no antes.

Hero is dealt: 88(heart and a spade)

Villain raises 2.5

Call

Flop - 7 10 2 all random suits

Villain bets 2.5 again

There's only one overcard here and it's head up so call

Turn - K

Villain bets pot (10bb - now a 20bb pot)

Now here is the decision - the bet indicates the opponent has either a very strong hand or its a semi-bluff and at worse he is just punting. Now you have to think about the opponents style of play - last time he was strong did he bet small or big? Was he betting or hoping you would bet in position? In this situation it usually looks like the opponent is betting big because he is either protecting his hand or has hit the king right? Well you can also play 89 this way which you are beating or the K could now have a potential flush draw that the opponent is betting big with his pair of 7s as an example

Until midstakes players are not very good at bluffing at all - usually when they bluff it's a deviation from their normal strategies. It's seeing the small signs

#6 August 13th, 2020, 4:23 PM

Again...How wide is his range? Do you have info for the Cbet OTT. With what he do that Cbet?
For me this is an easy call. Standard. Vs aggro player. But with enough info can be fold....
But just shove pre vs aggro player. This is your mistake. Easy shove for me...

#7 August 13th, 2020, 6:08 PM

Thinking too much about a bluff risks starting to suspect a bluff in almost every hand. Do not waste your time on this, make such bets that will immediately determine your next actions and there will be no doubt in the future draw. How to detect bluff

#8 August 13th, 2020, 8:33 PM

The times when I correctly identified a bluff was when the player's bets didn't make sense. The player's bet in relation to the board tells a story. If the story is reasonable and makes sense then it's quite likely the player is not bluffing. Over time your observations of the players at your table give you sense of how they are playing. When one of them makes a move that sets off alarm bells it's because they have strayed away from the pattern you have been seeing. The you have to ask yourself if the 'story' makes sense.

#9 August 16th, 2020, 8:21 AM

Originally Posted by thehangdude

Heads up is totally different than multiple player games. Your cards mean far less in heads up. How many times did you go to a showdown (other than the last)? Aggression becomes a major factor.

Cards that are normally unplayable are valuable because you can make the villain fold. You can raise 47s, and if villain shows aggression, you can fold. Playable cards like TJs are worth raising to see a flop. If villain shows aggression, you can call. Great cards like AJ and KK are worth a raise, and if the villain shows aggression, you can go all in.

If the other player shows first aggression, what do you do? You can't just call or fold. You need to have a wide range of reraises. See how above, raising doesn't always mean great cards. It also means trying to steal a pot when you have bad cards. So reraise hands could include good suited or connected, Ax and K9+, and any pairs. Calling range should be playable cards like T8+, Q9+, lower connectors and pairs.

Heads up comes down to a final hand for all the marbles. So what do you jam and what do you call jams with? Ideally, you want at least an Ace with a good kicker or a decent pair. I will jam with a wider range because of fold equity. KTs is not bad to shove, but I wouldn't call a shove with it. I want AT+ or 99+ to call for all my or his chips. If villain keeps shoving every hand, Ax and Kx become calling range, and small pairs only if you need to. Ax and Kx do way better against any two than 44.

Too soon, heads up becomes predictable. As soon as villain starts to react better to your game, change your style and sizes. I like to vary between min raises, pot size bets, and all ins. Sometimes 3X and 1/2 pot works best. Find what works and do it until it stops working, then change.

Totally speechless!!!!! Thank you so much for this awesome advices and tips!!! Definitely will take in consideration!!

#10 August 16th, 2020, 8:24 AM

Originally Posted by TetraTap

Intuition and repitition helps - you should be looking at time when the villain plays the hand in a way that doesn't make sense for the bets he does. A player who has a strong holding is more likely to try get value from the hand. For example let's assume it's heads-up at 50/100 with a 3k stack and no antes.

Hero is dealt: 88(heart and a spade)

Villain raises 2.5

Call

Flop - 7 10 2 all random suits

Villain bets 2.5 again

There's only one overcard here and it's head up so call

Turn - K

Villain bets pot (10bb - now a 20bb pot)

Now here is the decision - the bet indicates the opponent has either a very strong hand or its a semi-bluff and at worse he is just punting. Now you have to think about the opponents style of play - last time he was strong did he bet small or big? Was he betting or hoping you would bet in position? In this situation it usually looks like the opponent is betting big because he is either protecting his hand or has hit the king right? Well you can also play 89 this way which you are beating or the K could now have a potential flush draw that the opponent is betting big with his pair of 7s as an example

Until midstakes players are not very good at bluffing at all - usually when they bluff it's a deviation from their normal strategies. It's seeing the small signs

Oh God... I believe My opponents mostly figures out my style Of play :S

#11 August 16th, 2020, 9:34 AM

Sometimes to caught my opponents bluff i re raise his call about 7-8x and then he fold and it feels good to caught someone's bluff and sometimes my opponents became mad they go all in whenever i reraise their call the i understood he must have some good hand and i fold.. thinking he is not bluffing i am the buffer one.

#12 August 16th, 2020, 10:08 PM

I want to begin by stating that most players bluff less often than most people think. If they bet, they often times have something. Perhaps they really just had some good cards. You can call them down sometimes (just to "keep them honest"), but sometimes they are just really lucky too.

With this said, there are many things that can help you "spot bluffs" more often. If a live game, then tells is a very helpful tool if found. However, in most cases (and especially for online) you can suspect a bluff when their "story doesn't add up."

For example: let us say that you are heads up. You have the button (cards are not relevant for this example).

Say it is checked to the Flop:

Kc, 2h, 2d

Both check.

Turn: 4s

Both check.

River: 8s

They bet the pot. You...?

Maybe you wouldn't have checked this way and of course you would know your cards, but this is just an example I made up. Is your opponent likely bluffing or not? This of course depends greatly on many factors: What is their play-style? How aggressive are they usually? How do they perceive you? (Table Image) and so on.

When players bet big on the river like this, they usually have it. You can probably assume that this person doesn't have pocket Aces or Pocket Kings etc. here though. Why? Well, maybe they have it if they are "trappy" by nature, but they didn't raise pre-flop, so it is less likely they have a premium hand like that. This flop is also a "hit or miss flop" that they either hit really hard or have nothing. When they check the flop and then check the Turn, they are representing weakness. Maybe they have it and maybe not, but the River bet is really polarizing.

They are either saying: I've got this hand won, or I am bluffing. If they had a hand like A4, then they would probably bet smaller to value bet or just check it down if they weren't too sure.

Therefore, the "story" doesn't "add up" for certain hands, so you can eliminate those options as likely.

In this example, it is my personal opinion that they are either bluffing or have something like three of a kind in 2, but this isn't too likely in my mind since they might have bet on the Flop or Turn with a made hand like that. They are likely bluffing in my example (also a rainbow board so Flushes are of no concern here and the lower numbers are less likely to be held - especially when they bet big at the end), but typically a big polarizing bet on the River like this means they are better.

Hope my example helps How to detect bluff

#13 August 17th, 2020, 12:27 AM

Heads up is a different animal as most bets you see depending on your opponent will be a bluff. In heads up playing you should be bluffing often depending on how call stationish the opponent is. Heads up comes down to how many of your bluffs can make your opponent fold and how often is your bluff still good when they call down with a bluff catcher that is still not a made hand.

Lets get to your question though which about bluff detection. I am not the best at it but what I try to do is see if the picture that has been painted by the villain actually makes any sense. What I mean by that is if the villain has a string hand given the board would they have played it the way they did? Is their pre flop play fit a big hand given the board? Flop and turn play fit? I try to put all this together to see if it makes sense to me. It is still a work in progress for me but if you think about all their street action through each street many times you will be able to sniff something out that just doesnt add up.

#14 August 17th, 2020, 12:35 AM

Playing HU is all about playing the cards you get. I don�t like HU. Much different than tournaments, which I play. But you need to find his range and re raise, show aggression when you have any reasonable hand. Expand your range.

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How to detect bluff

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