Bluffing

"Sometimes nothing can be a pretty cool hand."

— Paul Newman as Cool Hand Luke, showing his stone-cold bluff after winning a 7-card stud pot

The do's and don't of bluffing could fill a small book on their own, but here are a few of the most important things to keep in mind:

Avoid bluffing heavy winners: they can afford to Call and usually do.

Beginners are often desperate to know what you've got and will call just for the sake of knowing.

Experienced players play a cagey game, are studying your actions more closely, and are often easier to bluff.

Ask yourself how good your cards might look to the other players. Don't bluff without at least a little something in your hand to make it look threatening.

As a general rule, bluffs have a better chance to work well at tight tables, and are pretty much doomed to failure at loose tables, unless all the "loose players" have already folded.

In low limit games, there’s really no point in bluffing. For a buck or 2, you can bet that most of the time someone will call your bluff. With high limits, and especially no limit games, bluffing is at its most effective.

Don't bluff at big chip stacks. They have the chips to absorb a loss, and are more likely to call. On the flip side, bluff at the short stackers. They're protecting their chips like a hen on her eggs and faced with any real challenge they may “chicken” out.

Common sense tells you that the more people you are trying to bluff, the less chance you have of it working. Remember, your goal is for everyone to fold.

Bluff from late position whenever possible. If everyone is checking, calling or folding in front of you, it’s a perfect time to try and buy the pot. It’s not wise to bluff from early position, because you have no clue as to who has hit their hand or been dealt killer cards.

Many would argue that to bluff with "outs" isn't a true bluff. But logic dictates that you're better served bluffing when there is at least an outside chance of you forming a decent hand. This is also referred to as a “semi-bluff,” and is made when there are still cards to come.

For example, you are dealt AK in a Texas Hold 'em game and the flop completely misses you with a board showing J, T, 3. This might represent a good time to go ahead and bluff at the pot. You are representing a big pair or that you caught a piece of the flop, and your show of strength might prompt the rest of the table to fold, giving you the pot right there. However, even if someone does call your bluff, you have outs. An ace or king on the turn or river gives you top pair, and if a queen hits, you have the nut straight. Bluffing with "outs" simply means that even if the bluff does not work, you're not completely dead in the water.

So many people think that if they bluff a lot and play loose and crazy poker, it makes their bluffs stronger because no one can ever be sure what they have. It actually works the exact opposite. As anyone who’s played long knows, great cards don't come often, so the chance that the wild player is holding trash is generally higher than the chance that he’s got good cards. Therefore, strong players almost always call crazy bluffers. On the other hand, it’s very hard to call a person’s bluff when they always play good cards. When you have the image of a strong player who throws away the trash cards, the other people at the table know that odds are you have good cards, and to call the bluff is taking a big risk. Play a good number of hands at any one table and build your table image before trying to bluff.

You’ll have the opportunity to practice all your new found skills online in many venues. Now we’ll look at the “special” games that are found in almost every online poker site.