Bluff How To

[Louie Landale]

Bluffing is mostly about knowing what the opponent has. Bluff when he doesn't have enough to call.

Bluffing is secondarily about what the opponent thinks about your image. Tend to bluff when he thinks your tight or he fears you, tend not to when he thinks you are a, well, a bluffer.

Bluffing is also about being sure the opponent can visualize a real hand you could have: can you represent something? I've seen some of the most rediculous bluffs imaginable from "tight" folks who could not possibly be betting a lagit hand. Here's one from many years ago. I was in the BB with 62, tight player called, Villian called on the button, and I checked. Flop was QT6 everyone checked. Turn was 3. I bet, tight folded, and villian raised... Now what can he have? He would have raised PF with QQ or TT and would have bet a Q or T on the flop. Maybe he made trip 3s. Maybe he had QT and slow-played. But the point is there are few hands he can have. I called and paid it off, and he complained about the idiots he's playing with...

Here's one. I called with 76 on the button, and 5 of us take the flop. Flop is K54 2-flush. Blind bets, one call, and I raise and they call. Turn is T. Everyone checks. River is 9 making the flush. They check, I bet, they fold. This works since I can represent a flush, since that's how many folks play their flush draws. Note: whether I play my flush draws that way isn't as important as whether THEY play their flush draws that way, and presume others do as well.

So. Bluff when you can represent an actual real hand when the opponent doesn't have much and fears you. In fact, bluff is almost all those situations. Bluff fairly often when you've got 2 of the 3; rarely if ever bluff if you have only 1 of the 3.

- Louie

[Lawrence Ng]

Bluffing is very player dependent too.

You will need descriptions of the players as well as their positions, their styles.

[Neil Stevens]

Just got my copy of Theory of Poker today, and it has 2 chapters on bluffing and one on semi-bluffing. That's probably as much of a how-to as exists.

[Steve Chase]

WOW, Very good post.
Very helpful.
Thanks

[DyessMan89]

The best strategy is to bluff when the board is A,A,A,A,A. This is the only time you can ever bluff in No Limit Holdem.