Poker without bluffing just is not poker. If not for bluffing poker would never have a chance of being classified as a game of skill. Without this ability you are simply playing the hand you are dealt, seeing the flop/river/turn for any chance to draw a better hand and having to fold on weak hands. New players will always start just playing the hands until they are familiar with the rules and math of the game but, if you want to become skilled at the game you must learn the art of bluffing.
Bluffing is all about making your opponents’ believe that you have a stronger hand then you do. You are able to make you opponent believe you have a strong hand when you actually have a much weaker hand and make them believe you have a weak hand when you are actually holding a Straight Flush. The trick is to make your opponent believe your hand is the opposite of what it actually is and bet or fold accordingly.
There actually two ways to bluff. Both of these require setting the stage. The first way is to play predictably for the first few hands. This means visibly staying in when you have strong hands and folding quickly when your hands are weaker. If you have to draw, continue playing but do it slowly, cautiously. If you’re in a strong position, be very aggressive in your play and betting. Play like a robot, textbook poker.
The second way to bluff is to play unpredictably. Guard all of your reactions to other players betting and to the cards that you draw. Keep your face locked up. This is not the best tactic however because most players, no matter how good they are have some sort of “tell”. A tell is some sign of what you are seeing in your hand or what you are about to do. Experienced players know how to look for and spot these tells and will play accordingly. Think about this. If you never bluff and only bet when you have the best hand your opponents’ are going to be able to bet or call just by what you do when it is your bet. Finding a middle ground is the secret of bluffing.
There are two online tells that will help you spot ahead of time what your opponent is going to do or what kind of hand that they have. The first is always waiting for a flop. If you are playing and you spot someone always waiting for a flop you will be able to eat them alive by showing false. The other online tell is always folding. If someone folds on even relatively strong hands they are a very cautious player who will only bet on sure wins. If this player is still in the hand after a couple of rounds you can bet they are holding a very strong hand and you might want to duck out. These players are easier to bluff than most.
If you are playing at an online casino believe it or not, there are tells that you can give up or spot in your opponents. Obviously, since you cannot see your opponent the online tells will be different then the offline tells. Learning how to spot these tells will be important to your online poker success.
