'The Biggest Bluff,' the wisdom-packed new book by psychologist and author Maria Konnikova, will teach you a little about poker and a lot abou tlife. In this 10-part beginner poker strategy series we'll to show you exactly how to use these powerful poker moves to make more money. Today we’re explaining the bluff catcher. We’ll show you how, against the right opponents, even marginal hands like ace-high and bottom pair can make you big money on the river.
Bluffing is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting aspects of poker. Deceiving your opponent by representing better cards than you actually have and thereby making them fold the winning hand can often be very exciting and rewarding. But apart from the rush factor that bluffing provides, it is also a key element if you ever want to be a successful poker player.
If a player would always have to wait until he was dealt the best hand in order to win a pot, poker would not only lose much of its appeal, it would also minimize your profit margin, as every player would become very predictable. Bluffing allows you to mix up your poker strategy and constantly leave your opponents wondering where they stand in a hand. However, the thrill of bluffing always comes with a risk, and if not applied properly, it can get you into a lot of trouble.
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Bluffing in poker is an art, and involves a lot more than simply shoving a big stack of chips into the middle to intimidate your opponents and hoping they will lay down their hand. A bluff can’t just be pulled off out of nowhere, but needs to be carefully planned. You need to take into account your opponent, the board cards, the stack sizes, your table image and how the hand was played so far.
Victoria Coren Mitchell won $2.50M playing Poker. When playing against a beginner or a fish that is likely to call every pair and every draw, there is little point in trying to bluff him off a poker hand, seeing as he is very likely to call anyway. Against these kinds of players it makes more sense to play straight up, wait until you hit big and then take them down.
If the flop brings a scary board like A-K-10, chances are one of your opponents has hit a part of that flop, seeing as many players tend to call aces and face-cards preflop. Don’t go broke trying to bluff somebody off a hand when the chance is high your opponent(s) flopped a strong hand.
If the player you’re trying to bluff only has very few chips left in front of him and has already invested a great deal into the pot, he is pretty much forced to call any bet you make. If the pot already contains $ 20 and your opponent only has $ 3 left, there is practically no way he is not going to call your bet, no matter what cards he has in his hand.
Bluffing successfully greatly depends on what the other players at the table think of you. If they’ve already caught you bluffing a couple of times, chances are they’re not going to believe you the next time. Feather falls casino oroville ca. If, on the other hand, your table image is very tight and you’ve always shown strong hands on the showdown, your opponents are more likely to give you credit for another strong hand.
Think about what you’re trying to represent with your bluff. If you’ve been showing weakness throughout the entire hand (simply checking and calling every round), don’t expect your opponents to believe that you’re suddenly holding a monster on the river.
As you can see, there are numerous aspects to bluffing in poker, and as with most things in life, the best way to learn is by doing. Just make sure to put some thought into it before putting your well-earned dollars on the line. And don’t worry if the bluff doesn’t always work out. If you never get caught bluffing, you’re probably not bluffing enough.
Here is one of the biggest bluffs in the history of poker, by one of the (if not the) best poker player in the world Phil Ivey:
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Poker bluffing is a very important aspect of the game of poker.
In basic terms bluffing in poker is when a player fakes a move and also fakes his face against his desired or real motives, luring his opponents to act in a desired way.
To be successful in poker bluffing, the bluffer must know the thoughts of the other players so as to create a game plan for winning.
Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.
Casino vicenza. The understanding and awareness of certain factors are very important in poker bluffing.
Some of which are the types of poker players at the table, the number of the opponents on the table, the ability of the bluffer to read the plays of his opponents, the cards on the board post-flop, the image already created by the bluffer for himself at the table, the size of the pot already on the table and his position in the hand.
Before I begin with my list I would like to share you my favorite bluffing video featuring Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 WSOP for some inspiration. He really shows us how to bluff in poker.
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Top 10 Poker Bluffing Tips
So there are many tips and how to guide on how to master the art of poker bluffing. Here is my very own top 10 of different ways to bluff in poker. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.
Winning with poker bluffing requires you to not play every hand, and you should always reserve your bluffing for the moments of better chances of winning.
Most people can’t skip a round even when they are given a lousy starting hand because they get bored when they fold.
They cannot stand to wait for the next hand and play anyway, leading to loss of money to them.
However, it will eventually be discovered by people if you never put any money on the table without having four of a kind first, leading to smaller pots on your winning hands because your opponents will definitely fold.
You should always bluff a maximum of 2 players at a time if you want to be successful at poker bluffing.
With many active players at the poker table, you are not likely to scare more than 2 away.
Going against this rule causes one of the unmoved players to call your bluff if he has a really good hand.
In most cases, pots with more than 2 players are not profitable for bluffing because the more the opponents you are betting into, the less willing a player would be to call.
You should not bluff when playing against bad or newbie players, as these people frequently call bets regardless of the strength of their hand.
They do this because they still don’t know what the game is all about, and are thus happy to call down bets with mediocre hands.
Inexperienced or bad players do not have the ability to fold, while a good player first tries to understand the strength represented by you.
This rule should be followed even if you feel you have a stronger hand.
Your bluffing should always be based on the pot odds, which means you should always display the attitude of a person with a winning hand each time you bluff.
In most cases, a player anticipates folding of a minimum of one hand when he bluffs.
But, you will be exposed if your bluff fails because there is no fold.
A player is not likely to fold if there is more money in the pot because he has more to gain by playing while your bluff will fold more hands with a small pot.
Therefore, a bluff should not be wasted on a large pot.
Bluffing is a good strategy which can be done when you actually hold aces full of kings.
It could even be done if you had low bets and a good hand, as that is a tactic which engages your opponents, forcing them to add to the pot for you to end up with a bigger pot when the hope of winning is lost.
You should also pay attention to the opponents who have folded already, because a player who is out of a hand tends to register more emotion on his face.
If a person folds an eight, it is easier for you to know before two eights are on the board.
In addition, if you notice that a player is upset, there are more chances of you being able to bluff the remaining opponents in the hand and take the pot.
Though bluffing is a common poker strategy, a long time is needed to really be good at it.
You should know when to bluff, making it a strategy that should be launched by experienced players.
Most inexperienced players think that to really become a winning poker player, they need to bluff.
This is not true, because it is possible to be a winning poker player without even bluffing once.
Thus, your bluffs should be limited as much as possible.
They are to be used only in situations where you are sure your opponent will be forced to fold.
You should never be compelled to bluff because you have not done that for a long time.
If all signs indicate that your opponent has a strong hand, you should not bluff.
If you cannot just sit without doing anything, using a semi-bluff is a good idea. This is the type of bluff backed up by a decent poker hand.
The semi-bluff works if you are both having the same hand, and though it is an aggressive move, it is not as risky as a true bluff.
It is a large bet that is being made by you to avoid a showdown, but you would not be helpless even if the showdown were to still occur.
If your betting shows a consistent trend, you should bluff.
For instance, if you had a pre-flop raised in a game holding 6-6, and the flop produced A Q 5 after getting a caller, it would be an indication of the best time to bluff because of the consistent trend.
At the same time, this should be done carefully and not too frequently during the course of the entire game, or you would be caught by the other players that you were just bluffing.
The secret of an effective bluff here is not making the others to be aware that you are following a specific trend or that you are bluffing or not during the game.
If you completely missed the flop after pre-flopping with a good hand, it could be a good idea to repeat that bet.
In some cases, this is a good time to bluff because a better hand could still be made with subsequent cards.
Now, many of the other players are aware that your bet pre-flopped the last time, and don’t know that you missed it.
If you represent your bet, pressure will be put on the other players because they will have the suspicion that you now have something better than you have actually.
Bluffing also works when there is a pair on the board.
The reason is that the chances of a person hitting a hand are reduced.
When you have 2 cards, and they are the same cards on the board, it means they are less of a flush possibility (not the same suit), less of a straight possibility (not ordered), and that out there, there are only 2 other cards which could match them to make a set.
It could be that those 2 cards had not yet come, or were either buried (especially in a low pair, would people often fold lower cards pre-flop).
In this situation, it is like having 2 cards coming on the flop, and statistically, this means only a few people would have a drawing hand or have hit their hand.
Therefore, you have a good opportunity for bluffing.
final thoughts
Poker bluffing is an art because the player needs to consider a lot of factors.
At the same time, the paradox of bluffing is that if nobody has ever caught you bluffing, you are either not bluffing enough or you are one of the best bluffers.
You would be bluffing too frequently if you were caught almost every time you bluff.
Poker Bluffing Strategy
Late positioning and sensing weaknesses should form part of your bluffing strategies and though they do not usually win a pot, they narrow it down to a few people.
Poker Bluff Strategy Games
Now you should go and practice your newly learned poker bluffing skills by playing some real poker.