ThePokerSource-LESSON 4 - THE DOS AND DONT'S OF BLUFFG

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.

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.

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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