BLUFFING in Poker
Created | Updated Jul 5, 2002
Learning how to play poker is easy enough. Even learning all the variations, and how to bet are pretty straight-forward.
The hard part is WINNING.
As with (almost) all card games, there is definitely an element of luck. If someone has a great hand, they will probably win. If you have a rubbish hand, you will probably lose.
Probably.
The technique (or 'artform' as some would call it) you must learn to turn the odds to your favour is BLUFFING. Bluffing means, in case you do not know, tricking, fooling, conning, or, if your prefer, lying. If you're bad at bluffing (or you do not apply it) often people can tell what you have, especially if you are playing with good players.
Bluffing is part of the two steps you need follow to win (or, at least, become a better player, which is not necessarily the same thing). The other is trying to discover what others have.
NB: Before learning to bluff, you need to fully understand how to play poker. For a useful and thorough guide go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A604423
STARTING OFF:
Okay, you've sat down, put on your mysterious sunglasses and stuck a huge cigar in your mouth. You've got your vodka martini at hand and a beautiful, bikini-clad woman looming over your chair. Now what?
Well you get your cards. You look at them quickly then either keep them in your hand or put them face down on the table (though keep them close at hand or the dealer may think you are folding). Now take a good, hard look at the other players.
Unless you're some kind of genius, you will not know right away what hands the others have. But you can get an idea - especially if you are playing with regulars. This is due to something called:
RHYTHMIC BEHAVIOUR:
This is where you get into a pattern in the way you play, and means that other players can figure out what you have.
Think about what kind of hands people bet with, and how much they bet, as well as whether or not they raise. If you play with the same group of players a lot you can develop this skill slowly to put you at an advantage. If you are playing someone you have never played before Don't Panic - you don't know their behaviour any more than they know yours. You just have to pick up on it as quick as you can.
Rhythmic behaviour is not limited to the amount of money you are willing to bet. There are more giveaways. For example, if you see someone who rubs his brow / removes her glasses / sips a drink / quickly slams her cards facedown (this is a common one - people feel someone may see their hand) everytime he or she has a good hand, you know to pull. You can of course, use this to your advantage, slamming your cards down and looking around when you have a weak hand and make people think it is good, so they pull and you win, but we will get to that later. Another common one is in the handling of chips/money. Sometimes people split their money into piles, seperating what they are going to bet with the rest. Do NOT let people know how much you will bet/raise before your turn.
Since we are talking about BLUFFING, you must remember to think about your own rhythmic behaviour, and here is what to do about it:
Avoid it. This can be quite difficult, but you have to think about how much you bet, when you call, when you pull etc. If you find you are betting 30 pounds every time you have two pairs, stop it. If you find you bet 100 pounds when you have four of a kind, why not bet the same amount when you have an ace high, thus scaring people off, which leads to the core of...
BLUFFING:
Bluffing consists of scaring people away, or attracting people to bet. If you have a brilliant hand, you have to make people think you have a poor one. They will bet high and you win an optimum amount of money (what's the point in getting a Royal Flush if you're going to scare everybody off and only pick up the antes?). If you have a poor hand you have to make people think you have a brilliant one, thus scaring them off and pulling. At the end of the day, you want that pile of money in the middle of the table.
If you do have a rubbish hand and you think someone has a great hand (using your new found super perception), pull. Don't risk too much money when the odds are against you.
Some people like to play consecutively, ie. bet according to your hand - pull with a poor one and bet with a good one, depending on how good the hand is. My only advice is this: DON'T. What you can do, to confuse people, is lure them into thinking you are a consecutive player then bet high with a rubbish hand, scaring everyone off. If you win due to everyone else pulling or you pull, you do not need to show anyone your hand; in fact it is often considered bad ettiquette to do so. Since no one sees the hand you can repeat the bluff. An elaborate bluff like this does require one thing though (other than bravery):
PRACTICE:
Practice makes perfect, in all games that require skill. So don't start off playing high rollers in Vegas - start small, and work up. You can only get better.
And that's about it. Play a lot, practice a lot, and you'll get there. Happy bluffing.
Oh, and a couple of definitions:
SEMI-BLUFFING: This is where you have an okay hand (say, two pairs) which COULD win, but you make it look like your hand is better. This is safer than outright bluffing, ie. betting high with a terrible hand.
DOUBLE BLUFFING: This is an elaborate way of bluffing where you make people think you are bluffing when in fact you are not - which paradoxically means you ARE bluffing (eg. you bet high, wanting others to think you are pretending you have a good hand when you DO in fact have a good hand). The idea is to stay one step ahead of your opponents.
My AIM Screename: charteredstreets
The hard part is WINNING.
As with (almost) all card games, there is definitely an element of luck. If someone has a great hand, they will probably win. If you have a rubbish hand, you will probably lose.
Probably.
The technique (or 'artform' as some would call it) you must learn to turn the odds to your favour is BLUFFING. Bluffing means, in case you do not know, tricking, fooling, conning, or, if your prefer, lying. If you're bad at bluffing (or you do not apply it) often people can tell what you have, especially if you are playing with good players.
Bluffing is part of the two steps you need follow to win (or, at least, become a better player, which is not necessarily the same thing). The other is trying to discover what others have.
NB: Before learning to bluff, you need to fully understand how to play poker. For a useful and thorough guide go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A604423
STARTING OFF:
Okay, you've sat down, put on your mysterious sunglasses and stuck a huge cigar in your mouth. You've got your vodka martini at hand and a beautiful, bikini-clad woman looming over your chair. Now what?
Well you get your cards. You look at them quickly then either keep them in your hand or put them face down on the table (though keep them close at hand or the dealer may think you are folding). Now take a good, hard look at the other players.
Unless you're some kind of genius, you will not know right away what hands the others have. But you can get an idea - especially if you are playing with regulars. This is due to something called:
RHYTHMIC BEHAVIOUR:
This is where you get into a pattern in the way you play, and means that other players can figure out what you have.
Think about what kind of hands people bet with, and how much they bet, as well as whether or not they raise. If you play with the same group of players a lot you can develop this skill slowly to put you at an advantage. If you are playing someone you have never played before Don't Panic - you don't know their behaviour any more than they know yours. You just have to pick up on it as quick as you can.
Rhythmic behaviour is not limited to the amount of money you are willing to bet. There are more giveaways. For example, if you see someone who rubs his brow / removes her glasses / sips a drink / quickly slams her cards facedown (this is a common one - people feel someone may see their hand) everytime he or she has a good hand, you know to pull. You can of course, use this to your advantage, slamming your cards down and looking around when you have a weak hand and make people think it is good, so they pull and you win, but we will get to that later. Another common one is in the handling of chips/money. Sometimes people split their money into piles, seperating what they are going to bet with the rest. Do NOT let people know how much you will bet/raise before your turn.
Since we are talking about BLUFFING, you must remember to think about your own rhythmic behaviour, and here is what to do about it:
Avoid it. This can be quite difficult, but you have to think about how much you bet, when you call, when you pull etc. If you find you are betting 30 pounds every time you have two pairs, stop it. If you find you bet 100 pounds when you have four of a kind, why not bet the same amount when you have an ace high, thus scaring people off, which leads to the core of...
BLUFFING:
Bluffing consists of scaring people away, or attracting people to bet. If you have a brilliant hand, you have to make people think you have a poor one. They will bet high and you win an optimum amount of money (what's the point in getting a Royal Flush if you're going to scare everybody off and only pick up the antes?). If you have a poor hand you have to make people think you have a brilliant one, thus scaring them off and pulling. At the end of the day, you want that pile of money in the middle of the table.
If you do have a rubbish hand and you think someone has a great hand (using your new found super perception), pull. Don't risk too much money when the odds are against you.
Some people like to play consecutively, ie. bet according to your hand - pull with a poor one and bet with a good one, depending on how good the hand is. My only advice is this: DON'T. What you can do, to confuse people, is lure them into thinking you are a consecutive player then bet high with a rubbish hand, scaring everyone off. If you win due to everyone else pulling or you pull, you do not need to show anyone your hand; in fact it is often considered bad ettiquette to do so. Since no one sees the hand you can repeat the bluff. An elaborate bluff like this does require one thing though (other than bravery):
PRACTICE:
Practice makes perfect, in all games that require skill. So don't start off playing high rollers in Vegas - start small, and work up. You can only get better.
And that's about it. Play a lot, practice a lot, and you'll get there. Happy bluffing.
Oh, and a couple of definitions:
SEMI-BLUFFING: This is where you have an okay hand (say, two pairs) which COULD win, but you make it look like your hand is better. This is safer than outright bluffing, ie. betting high with a terrible hand.
DOUBLE BLUFFING: This is an elaborate way of bluffing where you make people think you are bluffing when in fact you are not - which paradoxically means you ARE bluffing (eg. you bet high, wanting others to think you are pretending you have a good hand when you DO in fact have a good hand). The idea is to stay one step ahead of your opponents.
My AIM Screename: charteredstreets
