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Bluffing at Poker
Ask most poker players to define bluffing and they'll tell you about betting a weak hand with the hope of driving other players out of the pot. After all, without bluffing, poker would be a boring game. Bets would be made and the best hand would win- Always.
But some players win most of the time and some players lose most of the
time. And it's often bluffing - or more precisely the possibility that one's
adversary might be bluffing - that goes a long way toward separating the
winners from the losers. Bluffing, after all, is merely a form of deception-
and deception is an essential component in winning poker.
After all. if your omonents always knew what cards you had they'd be tough
to beat. Deception is the art of keeping others off balance. Like amisdirecplay in football, or a baseball player hitting behind the runner into an area
vacated by the infielder on a hit-and-run play, deception is a required skill for any poker player.
The threat of a bluff is just as important as a bluff itself. A good player - one who bluffs neither too often nor too infrequently, and seems to do so under
the right conditions - has something else going for her too. It's the threat of
a bluff. Does she have the goods or is she bluffing? How can you tell? If you
can't, how do you know what to do when she bets?
These answers don't come easily, and even topnotch players are not going to
have a terrific batting average in most cases. As a result, the threat of a bluff combined with the bluff itself, is designed to help a player win some pots that she would otherwise lose and to win more money in pots where she actually has the best hand.
After all, if you have the best hand and come out betting, your opponent
won't always know whether you're bluffing or not. If there's a lot of money in
the pot, she'll probably call. That's the less costly error. After all, if she were to throw the winning hand away and relinquish a big pot, that's a much more costly faux pas than calling one additional bet.
Remember Not all poker bluffs are the same. Some work better in one situation that others, so
let's look at the various kinds of bluffs and distinguish between them.
Bluffing is tricky business. You never know for sure if you'll be called or if you'll be able to steal a pot out from under your opponent's nose. The next time you're inclined to perform larceny at the poker table, keep these tips in mind:
- Be aware of how many players you'll have to bluff your way through.
While one or even two players can be bluffed, don't think about trying to
bluff more than two opponents unless you really have strong reasons to
believe you'll succeed.
- Understand that a bluff doesn't have to work to make it the correct
decision. After all, you're usually just risking one bet to win an entire pot
full of bets. Bluffing has to work only some of the time to be the right
choice. And even when you're caught, a bluff can be successful if it
causes opponents to call when you are betting a strong hand.
- Avoid bluffing players who are either experts or brain dead. Instead,
aim your bluffs at good opponents. Poor players will usually call " . . . to
keep you honest," while experts are more likely to see through your
chicanery.
- Don't bluff for the sake of bluffing. Some players will bluff just to
"advertise." There's no need to do that. Bluff if you believe you have a
reasonable chance to succeed. You'll get plenty of advertising value
because some of your bluffs will be picked off regardless of how well you
assess your chances for success.
- Never bluff a hopeless hand when there are more cards to come.
Instead, think about semi-bluffing, which allows you to win the pot two
ways: Your opponents may fold, or you might hit your draw. (See the
section "Bluffing with more cards to come" in this chapter.)
- Take the opportunity to bluff if all of your opponents check on the
previous betting round. It's even better if they've all checked on an
expensive betting round. But your chances are diminished if any newly
exposed cards appear to have helped one of your opponents.
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