Is bluffing a skill?

[sibird]

after several times folding my winning hands I found bluff seems a necessary technique, which i am not quite good at.
So poker is not all about the probability, also cheating? Agree?

I don't think bluffing is a skill. It is how rich dominates the poor. If you throw a stone from above to-wards me, what i will do? I will run to save myself. If you have too many chips then just pour them into the pot. The player with low amount of chips will be forced to fold even with better hand then you. Why? Because, for him, it is a matter of survival in the game. This type of bluffing don't require enough intelligence and i don't think it is a skill.
To me skill means employment of intelligence.
However, you can say bluffing is a skill only when you are capable of entering into equally competitive opponent's head and read him correctly and then utilize that reading to your advantage. On a table where two good players are playing actually means intelligence playing against intelligence. Here bluffing is not so easy and that is why in good tournaments we don't see enough bluffings. Or i would say, bluffing vanishes as quality of players improves.
One most common bluffing we all do is due to positional advantage. But can we say that we are using our intelligence?

 

[odo333]

after several times folding my winning hands I found bluff seems a necessary technique, which i am not quite good at.
So poker is not all about the probability, also cheating? Agree?

Of course yes. It seems highly unlikely to win a tournament or some money counting only monster or good poker hands. Sometimes when the moment is right you have to bluff

 

[Jdjakubisin]

Of course yes. It seems highly unlikely to win a tournament or some money counting only monster or good poker hands. Sometimes when the moment is right you have to bluff

Example everyone thinks of is 2003 wsop Moneymaker bluffing Farha off top pair. Timing was perfect, the board wet with possibilities. Moneymaker will tell you he actually doesn't even bluff very often.


You can't let the idea consume you as if you should or would ever have to bluff more often, but in the moment you realize you can put one past the guy.


Also, TIMING is important. If you think too much, you can't bluff. The rhythm at which you make decisions calling, raising and folding gives me a lot of insight into what I think you have.

 

[Backlash]

It is a talent for sure. Adapting to when to pick your spots to commit a solid bluff.

 

[Pete Ski]

Bluffing is most definitely a skill. You have to recognize the right board and player to bluff. If you try it too frequently players will notice and call you down

 

[ozaloa]

Hey everyone, bluffing can be counted as a skill only if it works. Because you have to read your opponent first to bluff.Even if you are a good bluffer,you will be trapped and crushed if you try to bluff your opponent when he/she has the nuts.So that means you can not bluff all the time,you have to know the right time by reading the game and your opponent.And that requires skill and experience.

 

[AngelBLR_Poker]

Certainly I agree =)

 

[abyk]

Bluffing is absolutely a skill, and a crucial one. I don't think you can become a pro player without truly mastering bluffing.

Especially in the more skilled tournaments, if you don't know how to bluff properly, you will be eaten by the wolves.

 

[LanaRhoades]

I think that bluffing is the most importan thing in poker.IF you don´t bluf you will not win the game.

 

[Frankqc666]

it is more than a talent, it is necessary in tournaments to steal pots when they are considerable. a player who never gets caught bluffing does not bluff enough​

 

[SouthparkSith]

The act of bluffing in it's self isn't really a skill, anyone can bluff. However the ability to pick your spots and bluff to win hands you wouldn't normally win, choosing which spots to pull off a bluff and betting the right amount to pull it off are absolutely a skill.

 

[CallmeFloppy]

Bluffing is certainly a skill. Being able to successfully pull of a bluff takes patience, being able to read your opponent and foresight. You need to also consider your current table image (how your opponents think you play, not how you think you play) and the type of table image you are hoping to inspire.

 

[valanddon]

bluffing is part of the game, but knowing when to bluff is the skill part of the game.

 

[cubons]

Definitely, it's a part of the game! You have to be skilled to decide the right seizing

 

[aidos22]

im no expert but this is wat I no

Research push fold charts final table situations, meta poker and just basic on the button position. Use these to apply pressure so there is some method to your bluff. Just rember to tighten up because eventually you will bluff into a monster

 

[jmateuspoker]

Up to bluff needs to be skilled ie need to understand effective moment stack villain profile game to be worth bluffing

Poker is a game of skill not know bluffing or not bluffing will not guarantee you wins because the game have time for the game to be bluffed and that includes game volume at the right time and right stack

I see no poker bluff but not bluff like constantly so that the balance is successful for some bluffs go right

mateuspoker

 

[Steve Deeble]

Yes it is for sure a skill not all players have the ability to do it effectively. Making another player believe you have a hand that you don’t have requires the correct timing based off of the cards being laid. You Can’t win without bluffing.

 

[angelamsmith05]

Bluffing is not cheating but more of a lie.
When you raise pre-flop, do you often follow up with a c-bet even when you don't hit the flop or do you check/fold?

Having the ability to read players and board texture makes bluffing easy, if you do it long enough, you won't even consider it bluffing
Do not try to bluff multiple opponents, bluffing works best against one maybe two opponents at most IMO.

You probably have seen some idiot bluff multiple players then show the bluff and it is that type of bluffing that is not profitable in the long run.

Great post. I have not learned the art of reading players well and get to nervous to bluff

 

[recerveau]

Bluff is the icing on the cake.

 

[malaka]

yes bluff is skill,but you have never bluff a fun player,the bluff is for goods playrs only