Call My Bluff (Or Don’t…)

Poker bluffs are central to almost every game of poker.

Even if you’ve never played poker before, we’re sure you’ve heard the phrase. It’s bandied about poker movies like nobody’s business. Plus it’s used for some poker-based casino games too, like 3-card brag. And people use it in non-poker contexts all the time too.

How do you define poker bluffs?

Typically, poker bluffs are when you try to mislead your opponents into thinking you have a stronger hand than you do in order to get them to fold their hands so you can rob the pot.

What types of players bluff most often?

Aggressive players are usually the types of players who use poker bluffs most often during a game. Aggressive players usually want to get players to fold with big raises. And particularly if they’re loose aggressive (therefore play a lot of hands), you can bet your bottom dollar that those are the types of players who bluff a lot.

How can you work out if a player is bluffing?

For live event play, people often rely on physical tells. Examining body language and behaviour can be a big indicator on who’s bluffing and who isn’t.

However, the way someone plays can also be a big giveaway. And that’s true for both online and offline play. Pay attention to how someone plays over the course of a few hands. If they’re using aggressive raises and re-raises frequently, regardless of what comes up on the flop, turn or river, this is a tell-tale sign.

Want our advice? If you’ve got a half decent hand and a bit of bravery, call their bluff. See if you’re right. Force them into a showdown and soon you’ll see if your intuition was right or not. Whether you lose or win, you’ll find something valuable out.

Is it easy to try poker bluffs online?

Some think bluffing online has got to be easy, but as we just talked about, bluffing is as much to do with your playing strategy as anything else.

So online is the ideal place to try out your poker bluffs skills. Particularly if you’re thinking about playing poker on holidays any time soon.

So when you’re in a poker room like bet365 (bonus code here for new players), it pays to use poker bluffs strategically.

How do you bluff strategically?

Here are our rules of thumb for poker bluffs for newbies:

1. Position: Late position bluffs are easier to manage as you can see what the other players do before you react. A great place to bluff is on the button
2. Pot odds: Whether or not it makes sense to bluff and how much you should risk doing it depends on your pot odds
3. Plan ahead: Make a decision about your poker bluff early on. Bet consistently. React to what cards are revealed on the flop. Your betting patterns must make sense for other players to fold
4. Bet big: Bluffing doesn’t work if you limp or min raise. Go big (but not ridiculously big)
5. Fold if you need to: Your ultimate goal when you’re bluffing is to not get found out or forced into a showdown. Sure, you definitely lose chips if you fold, but it’s better than giving your opponents information on your strategy. If there’s no showdown, they might always be left guessing about what you had