Even people who don't really know anything about online poker often know how to tell you that there is a need to bluff. Bluffing is associated with poker almost earlier than the cards themselves. Bluffing is certainly part of online poker. But in practice bluffing is less of a part of the game than many poker laymen seem to think.
In this blog you can read everything about bluffing. What it is, which bluffs work and especially when it might be smarter not to bluff.
Poker face-
There are many different variations of the game of online poker, but Texas Holdem is still the most commonly played form, so we will mainly talk about this form of poker. But with almost all poker variants you play with x number of cards that the rest of the players at the table cannot see. This can be two cards, such as in Texas Holdem or, for example, five cards in Draw poker.
Not knowing which hand the other has and anticipating that is the crux of each poker variant. By placing a bet or raise, you can pretend you have a good hand when you really only have a low hand or maybe you didn't hit anything at all. In that case, you are bluffing.
With a good bluff, your opponents believe you do indeed have a good hand and they will fold and the pot is yours. It is of course important to come across to your fellow players as if you indeed have that fantastic hand and not the mess that you actually have. It is therefore important that you can keep a straight face during a bluff. This soon came to be known as a poker face and this term is now widely used outside of poker.
Bluffing isn't easy
Putting down a successful bluff isn't easy. It depends on several factors, of which your cards play the least role. After all, the height of your cards is not important in a bluff. Much more important is that you have insight into the stack of your opponents, have an idea of their playing style and possibly even insight into which hand they might have. All this to estimate how successful your chances will be if you make a bluff.
If your opponent plays very tight, so folds a lot of hands and raises little , then the chance that this player will fold on a bet is greater than if a player seems to be calling everything all the time. The same actually goes for the stack. A player with a short stack will be less likely to call you than a player who is still big in chips. You will have to consider all these factors and more if you want to make a good bluff.
Three kinds of bluff
Not every bluff you do is the same. For example, sometimes you may have hit something, a low pair or something, but in other cases you just hit 7-2 without hitting anything and decide to try and pick up that pot with a little bluff. Basically you could distinguish three different types of bluffs:
Small bluffs
Semi bluffs
Stone cold bluffs
Small bluffs
The minor bluff is actually the most common bluff in Texas Holdem and most other forms of online poker as well. This bluff is often done when you are in a pot, preferably on the button, and the players in front of you check for you. Even if you didn't hit anything at all, you could make a small bet to see what the other players are doing. Since they didn't show any action when they had the chance, chances are they didn't hit anything and will fold. You can then pick up a pot with a small amount of money. If you lose, you only lose that small bet. It's just about impossible to win an online poker tournament without doing a well-placed little bluff every now and then.
Semi bluff
The semi-bluff is perhaps the most important and most used move in online poker. Especially when it comes to Texas Holdem. As the name implies, a semi-bluff is a kind of half bluff where you have hit something small or have a chance to hit something, but you certainly don't have the strongest possible hand. Think for example of a bet on a flush or straight draw or a bottom pair with a reasonable kicker.
These types of bets actually serve two purposes, especially in the case of a straight or flush draw. On the one hand, with your bluff you try to just pick up that pot with your semi-bluff. On the other hand, a semi-bluff is also a good way to pick up a good pot if you do hit that straight or flush on the turn or river.
That is also the power of a semi-bluff. When you place the bet, you haven't really hit yet. But if you do hit, you probably also have the best hand right away and you have therefore nicely filled the pot with your bet.
Stone cold bluff
The stone cold bluff is actually the bluff you often see in poker movies. In practice, a stone cold bluff does not occur very often. In recent years, their use has even fallen sharply. In many cases, a stone cold bluff is also a kind of last resort rather than a sign of great play. At the same time, a player can be a real hero if a stone cold bluff works out at the right time.
With these types of bluffs you as a player have nothing in your hands and no chance at all to improve your hand. You know that you most likely have the worst hand and that your opponents have beaten you. But instead of folding, you decide to make a big bet, maybe even go all in, hoping to win the pot after all.
There is a reason why these types of bluffs are becoming less common in recent years. Successfully doing these bluffs is really only for the very best players and even they often can't get away with it. Why would you risk much of your stack or even your entire stack for a hand that probably wasn't worth much at first?
Whether or not to bluff
To get back to what we wrote at the beginning: yes bluffing is an inseparable part of online poker, but at the same time, it is smart to have to do this as little as possible. If you are inclined to do a stone-cold bluff every now and then, it is advisable to stop doing this as soon as possible. These bluffs have too great a risk and often only a limited payout.
The semi-bluff and the minor bluff are two types of bluffs that you should learn while playing poker online for real money. As mentioned before, if you never place a small or semi-bluff, you will never win a tournament. But here too it is smart to use them as little as possible and to be very aware of them every time you place a bluff. Make sure you don't get too emotionally involved with the pot and keep raising when you get a raise. A bluff is and remains a bluff and will never become a strong hand just by putting more money into the pot.
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