In the world of poker strategy, bluffing is really a
double-edged sword. Bluff at the wrong
time, and someone will most likely catch your bluff and then be able to read
you very well. However, if you know when
to bluff, then it will give you a much greater advantage over the rest of the
table.
A bluff is designed to help you win the pot when you have
nothing in your poker
hand that amounts to anything, and when you don’t expect the flop to be in your
favor either. What you are trying to do
is get your opponent to fold because he thinks that you are going to beat him.
The first rule of thumb in knowing when to bluff is: don’t
try to bluff a full table. If it’s not
spotted immediately as a bluff, someone will probably stay in just so the pot
doesn’t get handed over easily. That’s
not to say that you can’t bluff a full poker
table, it’s just highly unlikely that a bluff of this nature can be pulled off
successfully.
Lets say that your bluff didn’t go as planned, and now its
time to turn your cards over. Now the
whole table knows that you were bluffing.
Don’t look at this as a setback unless you are being discovered on every
single bluff that you do. Instead, use
it in your favor, as a poker
strategy. For instance, the next time
you’re in a similar situation, but with a great hand, you can try reproducing
the betting pattern you used during your previously failed bluff attempt. Other
players may see this as another attempt to steal the pot and call you down. Not
only do you trap opponents that way, you now also throw them off as to whether
you’re bluffing or not at any given hand.
With these simple things in mind, it should give you a
better idea of when you should and shouldn’t bluff. The most important thing is to not be
overzealous when it comes to bluffing, or any other kind of poker strategy -
you don’t want the table to stop taking your bets seriously. If you don’t think you can go through with
the bluff, then don’t. You’ll know when
it’s the right time to use this sneaky little skill to your advantage.
