Bluffing doesn't work for me, what is the trick?

[thwenth1983]

Bluff?

Good morning everyone.
In the micro limits, it is not good to bluff, because the villains usually pay when they hit the 2nd, 3rd pair and even 4th pair.
How should you play? Simple betting only when it has value, after I learned it started to win many chips in the micros.
I remember a hand that I with As8s, flop 7s6dAh flopped and took a call turn 9c bet and villain call, river 10s, bet and villain call showing 33, it's not profitable to bluff on the micros.

 

[BelFish]

You can read the book "Theory of Poker" (David Sklansky). There is a chapter on the optimal bluff frequency.

 

[Thewha7]

Think of player specific calling range vs your betting range and factor in turns and rivers on how likely that range is to fold

 

[sharipov8090]

Hi!You're not the only one who can't bluff)I have many years to learn this but so far my bluff is read by people but I do not despair skill comes with experience-the more you play the more you understand!good luck to you!

 

[skaniol]

If they always read you well, and you can't bluff them, bluff yourself! It's hard to figure out whether someone is lying, when they believe in their own lies. Imagine that you are holding something else, and play like you'd play if you really had it. Just make sure you are consistent throughout the hand. You can't switch your hole cards mid-hand, obviously. This is the story everyone is talking about. Your actions from the start of the hand to the bluff should be consistent with how you'd normally play that hand if you really had what you are trying to represent. This is easier if your opponents already have some idea how you play your strong hands.

If they catch you bluffing, they still can't tell next time whether you are bluffing or not, as long as you play your bluffs and strong hands the same way. Just don't overuse bluffs, because people will notice, and they'll try to catch you. You may use bluffs to compensate a bad run of cards, if that would bring you to an average level of luck, but it's generally not a good idea to bluff so much, as if you are in a hot streak of good cards, unless your opponents are really passive. In tournaments, the size of your stacks relative to each other, and to the blinds, also matter. A big stack bullying the smaller ones shouldn't count as bluffing.

I'd say the decision whether to bluff or not is most of the work, because if your opponent/s really have something, then it's a suicide. If you suspect they are really strong, you should be semi-bluffing at most. Better leave the big bluffs with trash to the TV stars.

 

[Erik moraes]

I think there is no trick, what matters is the position and knowledge about the opponent

 

[CallmeFloppy]

Bluffing is more than just dumping a bunch of chips in the pot to intimidate your opponent.
You need to understand your opponent and his range. Is this a person who tends to fold or likes to call? What type of hands do they play? Do those hands match up well with the board?

The bluff also has to make sense. You simply can't decide on the river to bluff at a pot. If your bet seems suspicious, you are likely to be called. However, if the board and the hand you want to represent ( yes, think about what your opponent would put you on) make sense, you are more likely to take the hand down.

Good bluffers know how to when to make the attempt and use all the information over the course of the hand to support their lie.

 

[chilindrodolar]

Really i think if you have lost with many lanterns, i give you a council does not farolees more than those are your losses, you left it very clear how Council, because there to know much, knowing with whom and to know the right time.!!!

 

[recerveau]

So, I am now furious with frustration because I simply CAN NOT make a bluff go through.
I play Pokerstars online, and I have lost a few tournaments and too many hands to the evil of bluffing. Everyone else does it, but when I try, you bet they will not f*cking flinch!

What on earth are the magic to bluff? I am close to crying because of the frustration, so I therefore took a brake and figured I could ask someone instead of loosing in tilt mode.

Don't worry, bluffing is more present in poker than you might think. And it is not used only when the cards go to opening.

 

[pacificatorul]

Try to improve in reading your opponents. You will become better in finding the bluffing spots!

 

[tame4g]

It's possible you're bluffing calling stations, a mistake I make all of the time myself

 

[tw082]

I play only micro where bluffing is hard. For the most part I only bluff when already caught some hands and other players have seen me winning, tends to work a lot better. Live poker is a different world. But unless people think of you as some what of a threat they won't respect your bluffs. Live is a lot about how you represent yourself. If your playing at casino with people for first time you can represent yourself however you want to try and take advantage. Even your appearance clothes hair cut ect. can affect how people play you the first time especially. You want to get called? Fumble with your chips, don't have blind waiting. But not for bluffing.

 

[praevus]

Bluff is like telling a story, most of the time you have to show that you have a good preflop hand without even having one.
You have to pay attention on some points: as position, the image you have of the table (if there is someone who always pays, the bluff will hardly work), the image that the table has of you, stage of the tournament (hardly the bluff works in earlier stages) among other things.

 

[Adrianlovera]

You need to sell it

You need to sell it, when You Bluff You are pretending have a strong hand or better that your oponent. You need to have a good idea about rhe range hand of your oponente and his equity fold. Much greater equity fold much succesfully bluff

 

[terryk]

Pat your head while rubbing your stomach,,, Works 4 me,,,

 

[tigervball]

It’s all about timing. That can mean a few different things, but take advantage of timing and you will have some success.

 

[Pokerpoet2]

You need to prepare for a massive bluff to work, One particular hand I was involved in a live game was, that I was on the BB with an Ace 9 suited and the button raised pre flop to 2X the blinds, the small blind folded and I just called, I missed the flop completely and checked. He 2X blind continuation bet and I quickly called. The Turn card did nothing for my hand and I checked a 2nd time and he bet 2X again, this time I raised to 4X the blinds and he called. I knew then I had only one option left to win the hand and that was to bluff on the river so when the board paired on the river I put in a big bet for 12X the blinds, he only had about 15 BB left and really had to shove all-in if he was going to see my cards.
He sat staring at me and I just sat back and sipped on my coffee waiting for his call and after around 6 minutes he still hadn't made a decision. Some one called the floor to put the clock on him and I said to him "just think about it You raised, I called, I checked, you bet I called, I checked again you bet I raised. Now on the river you are not so sure? I think your 2 pair are not good enough"
He looked at me as if I had seen his hole cards and folded his 2 pair. I had nothing but air.
That is where the bluff begins not on the flop but on the Turn card. You have to show confidence in your actions and it is not that easy on-line that is why I prefer the live games where I can run good bluffs when I have to.

 

[KozakAlex]

So, I am now furious with frustration because I simply CAN NOT make a bluff go through.
I play Pokerstars online, and I have lost a few tournaments and too many hands to the evil of bluffing. Everyone else does it, but when I try, you bet they will not f*cking flinch!

What on earth are the magic to bluff? I am close to crying because of the frustration, so I therefore took a brake and figured I could ask someone instead of loosing in tilt mode.

A bluff passes when the opponent doesn't have a good hand. In addition, there are players who respond to each promotion. This is an aggressive type of player. You need to be aware of who you are bluffing against. If you read the player only then you can bluff.

 

[youri]

You gotta tell the story right and pick the right spots. You can't just limp with a weak hand from MP for example and face a raise behind you then, at a flop like AK9 you suddenly decide to bet, it won't add up. I guess you need to also be optimal with your play. If you're 80 or 100 percent of the time trying to bluff, it won't work. It becomes obvious. In Post-flop, you gotta balance things out like this if you can, 50 percent honest bets, 25 percent semi-bluffs and 25 percent bluffs with air. It will be hard for them to pin point you. When someone is confused they usually fold. Don't forget about table image too, its important and factors whether your bluffs will be succesful or not.

 

[Crash Burn]

Bluffing in poker is nothing more is to make your opponent believe that you have the best hand than him, or the best hand formed post-flop than him. There are not many secrets or tricks, a good poker player does not play with his cards that he has in his hand but with the cards of the flop, turn and river.

 

[alien666dj]

As far as I can tell, now bluffing is not as easy as it was before, because the thinking style of the players has grown enough. Even poker superstars don't always do it well.

 

[odo333]

In the long run, you won't make money with a bluff

 

[valen_niyee]

Do not starts bluff until villain respect you. You need to win some pots with some action first. Until you win several pots and villain know you are play like a pro. Then bluff bluff bluff

 

[Maekz1999]

Jeah.. Online that is prtty taff. I think bluffing on low stakes not working that great because people don't care about the low stakes. But on high stakes it will work better is my guess.

 

[kraemer]

Successful bluffing largely depends on your table image.
If you play a lot of hands people will not think you always have a top hand.

If you play few hands and turn around great cards on showdown a few times
then people will fold to your bets more often.

Also check your betting patterns. There should be no difference between the size
of bets with great cards and the bluff. I see it often that people check the flop and
then suddenly bet big on turn although no real improvement of a hand is possible
with that turn card.

Bet sizing is important. Many pülayers tend to bet too much when they bluff.
But if you really had something you would bet less, so your opponent is likely
to call and adds more chips into your pot... Very big bets often look suspicious.
Like you are wanting them to fold. And so they call...

Also make sure to pay attention to what people do in hands in which you are
not involved. This way you can spot tight players that have a pattern of raising preflop,
then firing a continuation bet on the flop most of the time but often fold if you re-raise
their flop bet. Often they have good cards like A10 - AK. So they raise preflop and then
try to win the pot on the flop, regardless if they have hit something. Often the opponent
has also missed the flop and best kicker is still good. But if you then re-raise they have
to fold because Ace high is not really a hand to call 3-bets wiwth.