Great Tips for Bluffing your Way to Victory
Many of the great players will say that the art of a great bluff cannot be taught, it must be felt. Although this is true, there are some ways you can learn how to make great bluffs by simply reading the situation and the player you are going up against. Like many of the poker theories, bluffing should not be attempted constantly. You will label yourself as a foolish player with this method and no one will respect any bluffs you try and make.
When you are playing live poker, there are many ways you can read people to decide if it is a good time to make a bluff. There are many different techniques you can use to extract information from your opponent. The two major ways to gain knowledge about the hand is through your opponent’s non-verbal and verbal communication. If you can master using these two methods, you will be able to play at an extremely high level.
Non-verbal communication
One of the oldest and easiest ways to see if your opponent has a good hand is by watching his body language. If he is acting very strong, like he has a good hand, it probably means he has a bad hand. In contrast, if he is trying to act weak, it means he probably has a good hand. Poker players are well known liars, so it is a good idea to believe the act opposite is true from the information your opponent is trying to portray. If you can determine your opponent is weak, it is a good time to make a bluff.
Verbal communication
You can also pick up some vital info from your opponent if you can get him talking. Asking questions like, “how many chips do you have left?” and “do you have a good hand?” will force a lot of players into responding. When they do respond, listen to the tone of their voice. If they give you an answer of how good their hand is, you can usually determine from the tone of their voice if they are lying or not. This will help you decide if it is a good spot to bluff or not.
Other Easy Bluffing Tips
One of the best times to lay down a bluff is on the flop. Especially if you are in a good position to act second and your opponent has checked to you, a nice bluff bet will take down the pot in many situations. Make sure you know how big of a bet to make if you are trying to force out certain hands like a flush draw or straight draw.
If your opponent calls your bluff and you think he does not have a good hand, you need to bluff again on the next street. You cannot afford to give your opponents any free cards and they need to know that you will not allow this. If you try and bluff once and your opponent calls and then the next card comes and you think he has made his hand, you have to be able to get away from your bluffing tactic. Ill-advised bluffing is one of the biggest mistakes players make. You need to have the guts to fire the second and third bullet if necessary, but you should not through chips away on a whim. You need to be sure you will win the pot if you are going to bluff at it.
Advanced Poker Techniques to Help you Win Big Pots
Reverse Bluffing
This type of strategy can also be known as setting a trap. The method is this, when you know you have the best hand, you try and make it look as if you are bluffing in an attempt to get your opponent to bluff back. Otherwise known as making your opponent fall into the trap. There are many ways to do this and sometimes you need to just invent a new reverse bluffing technique on the spot. Here are some ways you can incorporate reverse bluffing into your game.
The Time Bar Move
In online poker, one of your best friends and worst enemies is the time bar. This is the gauge that shows how much time you have to make a decision. If used correctly, the time bar will help you dupe your opponents into thinking you are weak when you are actually strong. Here is a hypothetical example: Let’s say you hold 67 and you are the big blind. Going to the flop it is only you and the small blind player and there was no raises, only a call by the small blind and a check by you. Then the flop comes {3 4 5} all different suits. That means you have flopped the nuts (the best possible hand). To make it even better for you, your opponent bets huge, you call. Then a king comes on the turn, he bets again, you call again (still holding the nuts). Then a queen comes on the river (you still have the nuts). Your opponent will either bet or check. No matter which play he makes, your play should be as follows. Let the time bar almost run out before making your play. Then you should bet huge so it looks like you are trying to steal the pot. If your opponent has any piece of the board he will almost certainly call because he will think you missed a draw. Use this method in other situations as you see fit. MAKE SURE YOU DON’T TIMEOUT AND FOLD A WINNING HAND BY ACCIDENT.
The Flop All-In Move
If you make a strong hand on the flop, you can go all-in really fast to make your opponent think you are bluffing. In many cases, players with a hand like AK will see all low cards on the flop and go all-in because they are upset such a big hand missed. That is why you can use this in a reverse bluff. If you make a huge hand on the flop, you can go all-in as fast as possible and hopefully you will get a call from someone that only has top pair. This tactic is so good that you might even get a call from a player with second pair or third pair.
Effectiveness
In every game you play, you need to determine the strength and personalities of your opponents. These bluffs will not work against really tight players because they are not willing to make those calls. You will need to devise some other plays for those situations. However, if you are in a game where the action is very loose and a lot of people are bluffing and getting caught, these will be amazingly profitable tactics.