Pacific
Poker's Poker School Lessons
Lesson 4 - The Do's and Dont's of Bluff
”You can fool some
of the people all of the time and all of the people
some of the time. But you can’t fool all of the
people all of the time.” So said President Abraham
Lincoln. Maybe he liked to play poker!
The reason we’re
reminding you of that famous quote is because this
month we’re looking again at the one of the things
that makes poker so unique. The Great Art of Bluffing.
We touched on Bluffing
briefly in our previous lesson but now we are ready to
step it up a little with a few ‘dos and don’ts’.
Some players consider
Bluffing to be more important in poker than the actual
deal and there is a lot of truth in this. Look at some
of the legends who have famously won with hands that
look more like feet and you’ll see how important it
is.
First, some ‘dos’:
DO bluff when the pot
is big. You don’t need as big a chance of winning as
when the pot is smaller.
DO bluff against good
players. They will appreciate the opportunity to joust
whereas bad players will simply call you because it’s
in their mentality to be impatient and want to see the
next card.
DO bluff when an
opponent is not bluffing. This happens when the pot is
huge and the other player knows it will take only one
card to beat him. He’s unlikely to be bluffing if he’s
been first to bet in a game with five or more players
and expects to be called.
Now, some ‘don’ts’:
DON’T bluff when
there is only one opponent and a small pot. If you
check and he then bets, there is a greater than
average chance that he’s bluffing himself.
DON’T bluff when you’ve
recently been caught bluffing. You've been labeled as
a poor bluffer already. Let them forget that hand and
start rebuilding a reputation as a straight player –
you’ll get another chance soon!
DON’T bluff against
lots of players. Chances are that someone has
something that they'll stick with. From an odds
perspective, this is never worth it.
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