Then, should one or both of your answers be “No”, kindly take the time to read all of what was mentioned in the second question….both the ‘Intro’ and the ‘BAB’ Articles.

You need to learn how to play poker at a basic and intermediate level on free poker NoPayPOKER before you can get into this material. If you don’t then quite frankly this material won’t mean much to you. Start at the beginning!

Without doing so, you could easily get ‘lost’, ‘confused’, ‘misled’, ‘trampled’, or ‘frustrated’ in your pursuit of the advanced strategies and insights that will be presented in this series of seven (7) Articles. Even worse, you could end up in the ‘Farm Animal’ pastures.

The preceding aside, welcome to the fascinating world of bluffing; it’s a major factor in the game of poker, and it’s a skill, or an art, or a science, that can be easily developed.

Few, if any, professional players have not mastered all aspects of bluffing.

And, I’d like to take you down the ‘deception road’ towards either some semblance of that mastery or a total duplication of that mastery. Welcome to ‘Expanding Your Bankroll’.

Let’s begin with a definition. Bluffing is one of the key elements of poker; it’s one of many potential plays that makes the game….well….such a great game.

If in every game of poker, every player knew every other players’ cards, the best hand would always win. And, in all candor, what kind of fun would that be?

But, the fact that poker is a game of imperfect, incomplete information, makes it possible to win just by representing that you have the best hand….and getting the other players to believe you. That’s a bluff.

In simple terms, to bluff means to bet or raise with an inferior, bad, or weak hand. And it’s important to understand how and when to bluff if you want to be a winning player.

It’s easy to win when you get dealt aces every hand, but the odds are against that….they’re a bit over 200 to 1; and if you waited to play only aces, you’d be bored to death, you’d be going broke with posted blinds, and you’d be ‘read’ by everyone at the table.

Therefore, in order to be a more profitable player, you’ll need to be able to win even with the inferior, bad, or weak cards.

Yet, on the other hand, if you bluff too much, and if you bluff in the wrong situations, you’ll become a losing player….quite literally removing the ‘advantage’ you’ve built concerning game play.

Moreover, that dreadful ride to the fly-ridden, dung filled, odorous confines of the waiting pastures will probably be one the least favorite experiences of your life.

- The Semi Bluff: when a player bets on a hand that is probably not the best hand at the moment, but has a reasonable chance of improving.

For example, if a player holds K/J suited, A/K/4 shows on the flop, the Ace and the Four match the player’s suit, and he /she makes a pot-size bet; that’s a Semi-Bluff.

Too often, many players make the mistake of believing that they must initiate a bluff on a ‘fixed number of hands’ or a ‘fixed amount of time’ basis. And, they do this without any regard to all of the ‘fundamental guidelines’ associated with a successful bluff strategy.

Their rationale for deploying this monstrosity of a mistake is to ‘fall in line’ with what they believe is a mandate….to change their style of play on a regimented schedule.

And, while it’s true that they are using a ‘bluff’ technique….technically they are bluffing, since they are trying to represent a bigger hand than they have….they have not paid attention to the other players and they have not properly picked their spots.

Needless to say, non-effective bluffing can and will be a costly part of playing poker….in many cases, the inept or unskilled bluffer does nothing more than follow the path to ‘DonkeyTown‘.

Thus, while bluffing is an essential skill to learn, it is not a mandate or rule of poker. The game does not care how much or how often you bet.

You will not be measured by how often you bluff, but by how often it works. Moreover, be assured, that the latter is absolutely true.

Because when it does work, it’s only you who knows that it has worked….and only you will do the measuring.

So, what’s required to structure a successful bluff strategy? How do we do it?

How do the professional players do it?

To answer, I’ll use the following guideline: the best times to bluff are when you meet one or more of the below listed conditions:

• You are in late position and no one before you is representing a strong hand
• The board cards make it possible for you to represent a strong hand
• You possess the table image of being ‘a rock’….of being ‘tight and conservative’
• You have read other players tells and sense they are weak and will fold to a bet or raise
• You are facing only one opponent and he/she is not a ‘chip-flinger’ or ‘farm animal’
• You hold a stack that is equal to or greater than the table’s average stack size

Conversely, the worst times to bluff are as follows:

• When you have not had ample time to assess the playing styles of your competitors
• When you know a player still in the hand is the kind of player who never folds
• When you have a table image that is ‘loose’, ‘wild and aggressive’, or ‘frequent bluffer’
• When a player is chip committed to the pot; any raise won’t be enough to force him out
• When there are 3 or more players in the hand, or, whenever a ‘solid’ player remains
• When you’re playing in a hand where the current pot is not worth stealing

I can’t see any justification for additional commentary on my part concerning the ‘worst times to bluff’. Y’all are experienced poker players, and I’m convinced that the above list provides enough information to convey ‘rules’ regarding not bluffing….plus, I’m equally convinced that y’all have readily agreed with what you just read.

And, by chance, if you didn’t find a commonality between us in the preceding, my guess is that you’ve already found yourself amongst the ‘dung’ heaps of the pastures.

However, regarding the ‘best times to bluff’, recall that I used the words ”when you meet one or more of the below listed conditions”. And, unquestionably, I’m compelled to elaborate on those words.

Mostly because it’s generally true that you’ll need at least 2 of the 6 conditions to be present in order to successfully implement a bluff.

Almost always, you’ll need the table image of being ‘tight and conservative’….’a rock’.

For the most part, this image has created a mind-set that is a common thought amongst your ‘decent’ competitors.

And, just about all of them will unilaterally respect that image. They know your game, it’s solid, it makes you a winner, and they’re generally fearful of being up against you in a hand when you’re betting.

Therefore, the table image of being ‘a rock’….of being ‘tight and conservative’ is almost always required; it’s existence becomes the foundation on which a successful bluff strategy can be implemented.

As an example, let’s combine ’being a rock’ with ‘You’re in late position and no one before you is representing a strong hand’. The sample hand follows:

• You’re in late position
• You hold A/Q suited
• You raised to 3 times the Big Blind pre-flop
• 1 player called the pre-flop raise
• The flop showed J/7/2 rainbow
• Your 1 opponent checked post-flop
• The pot holds $650, and the action now falls on you.
• Hmmmmm! It’s close to being a ‘no-brainer’.
• Sure, the player who checked could have flopped a set; although the odds of that being true are, at best 8 to 1…..more likely they’re nearer 133 to 1.
• Again, pretty much a ‘no-brainer’; remember, you’re ‘a rock’, and he’s fearful of you and your bets.

And, as we all learned some time ago, our bets are routinely the amount of the pot; thereby creating uninviting pot odds for competitors who posses a hand that might merit a draw.

So, a pot size bet should be the action we take. And, doing so is a must….hence, out goes $650 of our stack. As a result we’re giving our opponent 2 to 1 on his money should he decide to call.

Could he call?

• We have a board showing J/7/2 rainbow. If he’s holding 8/9….well he’s got 4 outs; not likely that he’ll be calling.
• If he’s holding a 3 card flush….well he’s got 9 outs, but needs runner-runner; not likely that he’ll be calling.
• If he’s holding a pair of sevens or a pair of twos….well he’s got 5 outs (to make trips or 2 pairs); not likely that he’ll be calling.
• If he’s holding 2 over cards….well he’s got 6 outs, plus a runner-runner (8 outs) to a straight; not likely that he’ll be calling.

Why won’t he be calling?

• First, he’s a ’decent’ player.
• Second, he’s not getting equitable pot odds.
• Third, he recognizes your play as ‘tight and conservative’.
• Fourth, he knows that you’re a winning player.
• And, fifth, he can’t shake himself away from the ‘fear’ he has of your overall and long-term quality game play.
• Hey! You just took down a $650 pot with a bluff; and, it was relatively easy.

Now, I could go on and give an example using each of the ‘best times to bluff’ conditions, but, importantly, the readership of this Article can not be categorized as a group of novice players.

Quite the opposite is true. Y’all are vastly experienced poker players….and, I’ve no doubt that each of you are completely capable of putting the examples together on your own.

Give it a try! You’ll end up with an array of opportunistic, profitable, and strategic ‘bluff’ situations….use them; you’ll be ‘Expanding Your Bankroll’.

Best of luck at the tables,

D. Michael

A bit heavy going? If this was too much for you then you may need to learn how to play poker at a basic and intermediate level on free poker NoPayPOKER before you can get into this material. If you don’t then quite frankly this material won’t mean much to you. Start at the beginning! Read the ‘An Introduction to the Game‘ (Intro) and the ‘Building a Bankroll‘ (BAB) series of Articles.