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An
Introduction to Bluffing
Bluffing is perhaps the most well known and popular
skill recognized in the game of poker. Even so, it is not a skill that
should be used often. While there are few hard and fast rules about
bluffing, and while the players at any given game will affect when and
how often you should bluff, there are some good tips for a beginner
bluffer:
1) Don’t bluff too much! This is the most common
mistake early players make. If you have nothing, and the other player
has aces, all bluffing is going to do is make you lose money, and if you
bluff a lot, players will notice and actually call your bluffs more
often because of it, making bluffing an even worse play than before?
2) Semi-bluffs are the best. A semi-bluff is a
strong bet when you have a good chance of getting a good hand, but don’t
have it. A good example would be Texas Hold ‘Em if you had 10-J of
hearts and the board came up Q spades, 9 hearts, Ace hearts. In this
situation you are probably behind, but any heart gives you a good flush,
and any 8 or K gives you a straight, meaning almost a third of the cards
left help you get the best hand. This is a good time to bet heavy in
case you hit your monster hand.
3) Less is more. This is good for two situations.
Less bluffing will make the bluffs you do make more effective. If you
are known as a bluffer, you will NEVER get away with bluffing
frequently. The other side of less is more, is to only bluff when there
are not many players in the hand. If you are the dealer, and everyone
folds, this is a good time to bluff because there are only two players
left and you might be able to steal the blinds. If five people call or
anyone raises, then this is a terrible time to bluff because there are
some good hands at the table.
The rest is practice. More hands in more games will
teach you the other when, where, and how’s of bluffing. Remember that
although a successful bluff can be extremely dramatic, bluffs are not
the main point of any successful players’ games. Keep growing your
other poker skills and eventually bluffs will come naturally.
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