Yesterday we talked about deceiving your opponents to think you are weak when you are actually strong. It can work the other way as well and this is where the bluff comes into play. Often thought of as the sexy play you can make at a table, the bluff is often over emphasized in movies and on television. A bluff is a very effective play and a winning player needs to know how to do it well, but not as often as you might think.

When you bluff, you raise the pot with nothing or close to nothing in an attempt to make others think you’re strong, inducing them to fold and give you the pot without having to show your cards. A few words to the wise on bluffing: In limit hold’em you will rarely bluff, not nearly as often as you would in no-limit hold’em because it’s too hard to make people fold for one bet. Pay attention to the size of the pot, people are more likely to call you if the pot is large and fold if the pot is small. You usually want to be head’s-up when you bluff and never try to bluff more than two opponents out of a pot.

The most important thing for you to know when bluffing is to know your opponent (a recurring theme). Watch them throughout the game and you’ll know when they’re on the come and then you can possibly bluff them out of the pot. Also, if you are in a pot with a bad player, don’t bluff. They will usually call anyway and you will have to show down the best hand to win. As you play more poker you’ll notice the correct situations to bluff in will find you more as you recognize them. Develop your observation skills and you will able to blend all the information given to you by opponents, pot size and game texture to decide when to bluff. Integrate bluffing into your game and you can skillfully pick up pots when you’re not dealt the winning hand.

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