Bluffing Poker Hands

Admit it: half the reason you took up poker in the first place was because you wanted to bluff people out. The idea of fooling someone into giving you their hard-earned money is an appealing one. But be careful: just because the cool guy in the movie can pull it off, doesn't mean you should just jump right into it. Being able to bluff your opponents is a powerful skill, but only use it at the right time or it can get you into even more trouble.

When You Should Bluff

• If you make a big pre-flop bet, but don't end up drawing what you'd hoped for on the flop, play it up as though you did: the other players don't know that you just got dealt crap, and with any luck you can convince them you were dealt gold instead.
• If most of the other players at the poker table have already folded, and there's only a few left in the hand, you'll have a better chance fooling them. Because obviously, it's easier to fool two people than four or five. Be careful, though: this is a fairly obvious trick, and they might be trying the same thing on you.
• If you just won a big hand through what was obviously skilled playing, try it again: play your next hand the same way, and your opponents may assume you've got another good hand.
• If you're at a table with a lot of tight players (check out "Playing Styles" for more information) start your bluff early, in the pre-flop or the flop. Tight players are more likely to fold early than loose players, and though this won't bring in the big money, you can steal a few blinds here and there, and that money does add up.

When You Shouldn't Bluff

• Don't bluff just for the sake of bluffing: it'll probably end up backfiring.
• Don't bluff if you've just been caught in a bluff. Wait a while until they've forgotten what a sneaky little bugger you are.
• Don't bluff when there are a lot of players at the table with you: you can fool all of the people some of time, sure, but it's pretty rare.
• Don't bluff if you've been losing a lot; that's just what they're expecting you to do to try and win some of your money back.

Keep in mind at all times that these are pretty common tricks, and your opponents are just as likely to know about them as you are. So - and this is always the best advice - make sure you know as much about your opponents as possible before you start trying to mess with them at the poker table. Know what they'll fall for, know what they wont, know what traps they'll fall into and which ones they wont. Because they may have read this site too, remember.

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