Bluffing is really a tricky thing. I really see it as a whole art. It is not so easy to be able to use bluff plausibly, especially when you are playing with the same players.
But it is much more difficult, in my opinion, to recognize the opponent’s bluff.
There are completely insane players (like me:sweat_smile:) who play the same hands regardless of whether they have the best hand or it’s just a bluff.
There are aggressive players who practice semi-bluffing.
There are very tight players who play 98% of the time only with strong hands. And these, in my opinion, are the most terrible rivals. Having acquired the image of a serious player who does not play when he has nothing, such a player can bluff at any time and it is possible to recognize his bluff only if you have absolutely the best hand on the flop. And most likely, he won’t give you a lot of chips, since such players are usually well-oriented and know how to fold cards, not considering it a difficult decision.
The players who only play 98%(NITS) are the easiest to play against. Since you know they only play very strong hands they are rarely bluffing. So in that case, if they enter a hand with a bet, unless you have a very strong hand, you fold. Most of the time they’ll limp, check, and fold to aggression. But, if they play into you, they have a hand. I’ve gotten to recognize some of the players here as NITS and rarely ever lose anything to them anymore. You win small amounts regularly against them, but if you play smart, you won’t lose much, and you’ll rarely win much. But, you’ll win more than you lose.
Howdy @sandino81 , welcome to the forum, hope you will come back soon. A lot of great info here and yes bluffs are part of the great game of poker. GL at the tables
Bluffing is an integral part of Poker. Mastering it takes a lifetime. It really doesn’t work on Replay Poker because everyone chases pots but in live cash games it’s very profitable
Indeed the Bluff is part of the great game of poker. However, I would add you should evaluate the risk verses reward and be prepared to go all in for the win or the loss
Oh, bluffing is an art, but unfortunately I’m not good at it
I’m especially bad at bluffing players who know me. They almost always call my bets… How I came out wrote Bluffing is an art you need to learn so that your opponent believes that you are bluffing when you have a good card
More For example, I like to set a trap to force my opponent to bet…I know for sure that you can’t bluff too much, they will still understand you. I don’t know about anyone, but it’s hard for me to bluff in front of new players,
The actual secret to bluffing is knowing you have the nuts but making your opponents THINK you are bluffing to get them all to call.
That’s mastering the bluff.
Not sure I follow your logic @Craig_Anthony ? How is it a bluff when you “know” you have the nuts? In my opinion knowing you have the nuts does not equal “mastering the bluff.” What you are describing sounds more like trapping to me. Please expound. Thanks
For me, the most beautiful art in poker, I win many hands with bluffs and many times against two when they check when the flop falls, even if I have connected cards on the table, I tend to go for deception and it has worked for me, this is one of the most important skills a poker player should have the art of deception
According to my opinion it is necessary that somebody who wants to be a good regular player has the knowledge to make a bluff at the right time and against the right villain!
If i play a tournament and most of villains @table are short stacked i wouldn´t try to bluff because i will get more than one or 2 calls from villains!
It is also very important that your bluff is well prepared - you need information about other villains and their range, so if im playing against 3-4 villains and there is no preflop action and nothing after turn it is more difficult to make a good bluff and get the pot.
It is always risky to try a bluff when you have played only a few hand on table, i wouldn´t do that in the early stage of a tournament because if it doesn´t work - your 2nd try might be your last for tournament because everybbody has seen your lousy bluff before ;-)!
When playing poker, bluffing is essential for a winning player. For a bluff to be credible though, you need to consider a lot of factors, such as your perceived range, your table image and your previous actions on the particular hand. Also, to bluff succesfully you need to try it against opponents who do NOT hold the nuts!
Evenmore, you should avoid bluffing against recreational players or in freerolls and micro stakes. If it doesn’t hurt, people don’t fold.
Another factor in bluffing credibly is the betting strategy you have used in the previous streets. If you have been the pre-flop aggressor, suggesting a stong pocket hand, bluffing representing a middle straight might not be credible at all!
From my knowledge, the lower the buy in of a tournament we will have a greater number of recreational players, so in these situations it is less likely that bluffs will pass, they are players who are calling with any hand to see if they hit something on the flop, and they will continue to pay until the river, at higher limits or close to the final table, the tendency is for players to think more before calling with any hand, at the time of the bubble this also happens, so these are opportunities where bluffs can be better used.
Another important issue is always when we are going to bluff, use the semi bluff, never a dry bluff, with cards like 7 2 off for example, but cards that give us more equity to improve post flop, like J 9 suited for example, in addition to variables such as number of players in dispute, position at the table, value of your hand and profile of the opponent, whether he is a passive or aggressive player.
By studying and understanding the right time to use bluff, it can become a very efficient weapon, bluff is part of poker, around 70% of the time the opponent also doesn’t hit anything on the flop, so these are situations that you should manage to make your bluff more efficient in poker, I hope I helped.
Sorry, I know you have been playing here for 40+ years or what ever it is, but I simply do not recognise your vision of Replay Poker. At SnG high/elite stakes at least there are certainly high levels of bluffing and folding of strong hands because of it. At some 250k + tables there is even people openly talking about how they just folded some very strong holding. I find thst the majority of players at the higher stakes take the game pretty seriously, I know I do as I hate the thought of losing bankroll and no longer being able to play high stakes.
It doesn’t matter what stakes you play at, there is always bluffing going on and players fold with winning hands as seen when the winning player shows his/hers hole cards.
Bluffing is an art form and if you are good at it you shouldn’t be afraid to lose your bankroll like you said. It’s recreational poker afterall. Don’t take online video poker that seriously, it’s free chips. Good luck in your journey and I hope you get to play in some WSOP tournaments like I do if you have the entry fee. No free chips to be found there.
Can’t seem to edit my previous post, sorry for making another post on this.
As I kind of expected and feared, you were absolutely right all along. Since making my last post, every man and his dog are calling to the river with nothing (and hitting the river pretty much every time). This is both in 100k Astral Pegesus and 250k 6 max sng. Just shows that experience rules. I bow sir. Very disappointed.
) who play the same hands regardless of whether they have the best hand or it’s just a bluff.