Bluffing: Whom to Believe in Poker

In poker, the cards you have in hand don’t matter as much as the message you send to your fellow players. This is the reason why bluffing is such a big part of the game. A bluff is basically misleading other players to think you have a hand that you don’t. It involves making a bet to cause a person that has the better hand over you to fold.

Basically, it is lying to get your opponent with a better hand to fold by making them think that you have a better hand than they do. A bluff works when the probability of a player being ousted from the game is low as the people around have a high likelihood of folding thereby raising the odds for the said individual to win the pot.

What happens when your opponents call your bluff?

Many people mistakenly think that poker wins are all about successfully bluffing opponents. However, this is misleading because the art of bluffing is like seasoning in food, too much, and you risk spoiling the dish, too little and there is something lacking, but just enough and you have a perfect dish.

If you bluff excessively in poker, you will lose money because your opponents will quickly get an idea of what you are doing and use it against you. The aim of poker is to win so you can’t afford to raise suspicions in your co – players in this way. However, to win the game you have to play your cards in a better fashion than your opponents at the table. Hence the focus should be on your skill as a card player, and bluffing ought only to be one off your last minute choices. It can only be done when you are sure that you have a high probability of winning the pot based on observing your opponent and the way they are playing.

How do you tell when it’s the right time to bluff?

It takes a lot of experience and a thorough observation of the other players at the table to be able to judge the right moment to pull a bluff. It can only be done when a player is sure that they have a good chance of winning a pot when they bluff; otherwise it’s a bad idea. Generally, you should bluff when you sense that your opponent is ready to fold. You need to be a seasoned poker player to be able to see the signs. Some good points at which to bluff during a poker game include:

- When you are in the last position

- When you raise a pre-flop

- If you are playing against a player with a small stack

- If you are on a draw a such as a flush or a straight

The bottom line is that you don’t need to bluff to win a poker game, but your need to practice and learn more about poker to be a great player. This way, you will know how to read the players at the table, and how and when to make the right moves.