When to bluff?

[aces_up]

I have a hard time with bluffing online. It just seems to me that things that usually work live don't work online. Does anyone have any strategies for bluffing online. I know sometimes it's all about the timing, but what about bet size and how to represent a hand believably?

[Tigerstripe]

Make another system. Roll dice, i-ching, a spinner, any secondary system and make it about that. Then make your game about a system behind the bluff. Thay way other players can never guess your system or habits.

[aces_up]

ok, that sounds interesting but I don't understand a word you're saying except keep the others guessing. There's a bluffing system?

[The Professor]

I believe what Tigerstripe means is to keep varying your bets sizes and patterns on both your good hands and your bluffs to make sure that your opponents arn't getting a read on your bluffs.

It's very hard to give advice on these sorts of aspects of strategy - because it is so dependent on the situation at that particular time.

When considering a bluff take a look at:

1. Number of players - you should never really try to bluff a multi-way pot, only in a situation with 1 opponent or maybe 2 opponents should you attempt a bluff.

2. Opponent situation - what type of player is your opponent .. a loose player will more likely see out a hand and will be harder to bluff - also what is the players situation .. with bluffing you should be targeting the middle stacks and not the short or big stacks as these are both more likely to call or re-raise.

3. Betting Pattern and your "Story" - before you bluff take a look at what "story" you have presented to the rest of the table with your actions in this hand, and then try and follow on that story in the direction of hand you are trying to represent with the bluff - if you make your bet believable and in sync with the rest of your "story" then your bluff is more likely to succeed. This is really how you come up with how much to bet.

Most people think to bluff you have to stick in a huge bet but this is not the case at all (in fact this is usually a good way to represent a bluff with a good hand!) instead you have to make the size of your bet fit in with your "story" - thats why sometimes some of the best bluffs you see on the TV are small bets which worry the opponent into thinking why does he want me to stick around! Of course you have to have a good mix of this with also being able to put pressure on your opponent to fold.

[Sweetness]

All that the Professor says is true and very valid. However, there is one thing that I also think plays a part in the bluffing situation. Position! Position! Position! A lot of how you play your game depends on Position. This is a very important aspect. If you are the first to bet either pre-flop or after the flop or on the button this puts you in a good position to bluff.

When I am trying to bluff I will only raise either 1 or 2 times the BB and make sure of the position I'm in.

[PokerPrincess]

For sure position plays a big part in bluffing. I will tell you that when I'm first to bet after the flop I will bet 3x the BB especially if an A or K is on the flop as I am representing one or the other.

Mind you I normally play a very tight game so when I do this people already know that I have the goods in most cases. So unless they have ppA or ppK they will usually fold to my bet which nets me the SB the BB and any others who may have joined in the hand.

Remember the purpose of the game is to end up with all the chippies. Some of them you have to steal and others will be handed over to you by donkeys.

[aceswild]

Thanks for asking this question. I am the same way. I am slowly getting the hang of it. I play mostly live and bluffing with my friends can be hard. I have figured out what kind of players they are and a few actually give themselves away.

[najdoyza]

Sweetness is right. Real Estate is all about location and Poker is all about position. A good player takes position into account when playing any hand. Strong hands bet in early position can scare out potential donors. Late position is nice because you can see what others have done. But when you are in late position you have to consider that other players will factor that in and if you make a bluff they might call because they know you were last and could be betting because no one else has.

Bluffing can be the trickiest part of poker. It really is an art. But you can use this to your advantage also. If you have an aggressive player on the table and they are in a later position then you can check a very strong hand and because you know they are asggressive you can almost count on them to bluff or raise with a marginal hand if no one else is betting. By letting them bet into you you can even determine the possible strentgh or weakness of their hand by how much they throw out to scare others away.

Likewise if you have a tight player on your table and they are merely calling your bluff bets then you can assume that they have something and you need to be careful. There are no really set rules to bluffing - it's all about playing your opponents and not your cards so you have to have some feel for how your opponent plays to bluff successfully.

I also do not bluff alot because once you get caught, all the others on the table will know, and you are more likely to get called in the future. It's all about balancing the mix of the playing styles you use in your game. Keep them guessing or make them think they have you figured out and you have a better chance of pulling it off when you need it.