When you are bluffing

What goes through you mind, when you make a stone cold bluff......how do you act......what do you think about??


Do you feel it in your stomach??

Do you get real scared??


How do you prevent this.....what can you do??

What do you think about??

think about how the table/opponent has been reacting to you. if theyre folding, your bluff has a better chance of working.


im watching the other player to guage if hes just calling me down, or is hoping to catch. that should take your mind off your own cards. since your hand sucks anyways at that point. so your not going to win a showdown.


player knowledge goes a long way here


b

When I run a stone-cold bluff I expect it to work and may have a slight twinge of dissapointment if it doesn't. This is because when I pull a bluff of this kind my action on the previous rounds dictates wether or not I bet the river without cards. When I bluff and lose, I proudly show my cards to the comp (I play in a cardroom). Since my starting and playing requirements are somewhat higher than the average of my competition, I feel as though I lose nothing here. My opponents often see that I had some reason for betting the way that I did and that has some impact on how they percieve me. I play off of these perceptions. (It is a beautiful thing, actually, for in the game that I play, opponents talk about how they played their hands fairly openly afterwards, lest someone at the table feels that they "play bad") So, my bluffs work for me when they fail.

However, my bluffs (and we are still talking stone cold here) work often enough that I make a profit with them. This is because I bluff in either early or late position and stay away from middle position bluffs. Early position bets represent strong hands, so I am working off of my opponents impressions here. Late position bluffs tend to work out for me because I try to maximize the strength of my position whenever possible and my bluffs are usually a result of that fact. All that said, my bluffs are usually done with confidence because I feel as though they make me money wether they win the pot or not. My thoughts while I'm bluffing are usually quite simple, something like, "Here goes a bluff," or "OK, let's see what happens." This could actually lead to another discussion- perhaps something like, money in poker is won round by round.

Nothing scares me at limit. But I get real scared at no-limit sometimes, when I've got a monster and there's big action on the flop with plenty of chips left and the opponent knows I'll stab a lot at these kind of pots on the turn. So I make my move on the turn and I'm thinking ... Please put me on a bluff! Please put me on a bluff! My fear is that he will fold. And then, when he doesn't fold, I now revert back to the usual fear: will my monster look ugly to him?


Tommy

I don't mean this to sound condescending at all but in answer to your question:


What goes through your mind, when you make a stone cold bluff


Nothing at all. You've already made up your mind it's right to bluff at that particular moment. Mild curiousity about whether your opponent calls or not is about as deep as your thoughts should get once your money is in the pot.


Best of luck to you. Billy(LTL)

I feel a surge of nervous energy when I have a monster, and at the river I freeze up and stare at the pot. I don't feel much of anything when I'm betting what I'm convinced is the worst hand, but since I know what I do when I have a monster it's easy to do the same. This is a really simple solution to the problem: teach yourself to just fixate on a chip at the river, whenever you've bet/called on the river. Make a checklist of posture, expression, etc., and practice that checklist. You may find that this provides insight into when you are tired or on tilt -- eg, when you aren't at your best you don't bother with the checklist.


And remember to breathe. Blue people are not in style.

And remember to breathe


Who are you? Mr. Miagi?

A couple of things that I consider are:


What do my opponents think that I have. How have I played my hand and does this bet on the end fit into my plans. In other words, does my bet on the end make sense based on what I think that they think that I have?


How many people are in the pot with me. Do I have to cram this bluff past a single opponent, or multiple opponents?


What types of players am I up against. Are they calling stations or are they opponents that can lay down a hand?


Also... What is the size of the pot. Is it small enough that my opponent can fold, or has the pot become so large that they will call in order to ensure that they don't make a huge mistake? Is the pot big enough that I can safely say "There are 12 big bets in the pot and I believe that I can get my opponent to lay down his hand more often than 1 time in 12"


Lar

I've noticed that in the games/limits I play (up to $20/40 in California), the tendency of the other players is to call a bet against me if I am staring at them or make longer than momentary eye-contact; conversely, if I stare at the board or look at the TV or something non-threatening, they tend to fold.


This is strictly a generalization, and I obviously try to mix up what I do against any aware opponents. But, for the most part, against weak or unknown opponents, I will stare at the board if I make a bluff, trying to think about something completely unrelated to the hand I'm in.


DC

i convince myself that i just hit the stone cold nuts, and i am betting for value. then just act natural. i feel like this makes me do whatever i would 'naturally' do when i have a monster. i don't know if it works or not, but i have been able to pull off several good bluffs at low limit loose-passive tables.

I was watching the movie BLOW yesterday......and I came across a very good part in the movie that I think I can use when I stone cold bluff....but it will take much practice-


Johhny Depp's character this big time Drug Dealer says something to this effect.....


"when you are smuggling drugs and you have to pass through security you want to imagine something pleasant like a party, but you just don't think about the party, you have to think about every little detail...."


EVERY LITTLE DETAIL about the party, this is sort of a game that you play with your mind... when I bluff (stone cold bluff)...and I don't do this often.....only in NO-Limit....if I think of something to this effect...it will relax me better.....make me feel more at ease.....and completely throw my opponnet off.....


You see the thing is this....A stone cold bluff will only work.....if you have been showing down good hand after good hand after good hand....if you have a large bluffing frequency.....you are going to get called....and there is a good chance that your bluff will be snapped off.....


Bluffing for me is used very rarely......I used to think it was a big part of the game...but not anymore...it's a very small part of the game...but when used effectively.....you definitley should be able to show a profit.

Mikey,


When you bluff bet you should do exactly what you do when you 1) value bet a marginal to strong hand or 2) bet the stone cold nuts.


Since you need to see your opponent’s reaction in case 1) you watch your opponent(s) then. Since you need to cover the times you need to watch with the times you don’t need to watch (e.g., betting the nuts) you always watch your opponent(s). If you worry that your eyes give you away wear sunglasses (although I personally don’t like to wear them, I’m considering a change when I play higher limits).


Develop a standard look/stare/posture no matter what you are doing. Always put the chips in the pot the same way with the same timing. Always handle and protect your cards in the same way. Do everything the same way.


In establishing a standard, I recommend a somewhat relaxed posture and look. If you try to be really stiff and unmoving, advanced players may be more able to discern slight difference in comfort level.


Regards,


Rick