Rivered - Bluffing is not a foul language in poker

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Bluffing is not a foul language

Bluffing is one of the main elements in poker and that what makes it a unique & interesting game.

Imagine yourself for a moment that if in every poker game, every single player could have seen his opponent's cards. The best hand would always win… sounds great but boring. The truth is that poker is not absolute and segments of information does make it possible to win the big pot just by convince that you have the best cards in your hand -- and to make the other poker players believe in it. That's the essence of bluffing in a poker game.

In simple words to bluff means to bet or raise with an inferior or weak hand. Bluffing is a crucial skill under headline of "must" for an advanced poker player and it’s only a matter of the best timing & how to plan your move to bluff if you want to be a winner.

Of course, It's easier to win when you're improving or when you're already a good poker player, but the odds are against you. In order to be a money maker, you’ll need to be able to win even with lower cards. Then again, if you bluff too much and in the wrong positions, you’ll become a "donkey" or a "fish". It's only a question of right balance.

After we have review the theoretical part now we'll get to the practical side of bluffing.

There are two basic types of bluffs:

Pure bluff - When a player makes a pure bluff, he bets or raises with a bad hand that has barley room for improving. For instance, if in a player has 7 2 off suit and raises, hoping everyone will fold.

Semi-bluff - When a player bets on a hand that is probably not the best hand at that second, but has an option of improving later in the hand, it is called a semi-bluff. For example, if a player has 4 cards to a straight or flush in Texas Hold’em on the flop and bets, that’s a semi-bluff.

Bluffing- it's a question of timing!

Many players adopt a misconception that bluffing means that every X number of hands, you must pretend you have a big hand, no matter what he or she has or what other players appear to have. That theoretically perhaps is bluffing, because that player is trying to represent a bigger hand than they have -- but if you don’t take notice to the other players and select your spots, bluffing can "cost" you dearly. Keep in mind: While bluffing is an important skill to learn, it is not a firm rule of poker game. Poker does not mind how much or how often you bet. You will not be measured by how often you bluff, but by how often it works for you.

The most perfect timing to bluff is when you encounter with one of the text cases:

When you are in late position and no one before you is representing a strong hand.
The board cards or cards you have showing make it potential for you to represent a strong hand.
You have a table image of a rock
When you have an understanding of the player's nature and thoughts or their Futuristic moves & sense they are weak and will fold to a bet or raise
You are facing only one opponent

The Worst Time to bluff is when you encounter with one of the text cases:

When you recognize the kind of player who will never folds.
When you play against a player, who has a respected mount of money in his pocket that your raise or bet wouldn't considered as an actual threat to the point of forcing him to fold.
There are still many players in the hand

Article written by Walker Poker.

Download Walker Poker here.