CasinoGaming.com


	Sundays: Inside Gaming Tuesdays: Video Poker Wednesdays: Off the Shelf Fridays: Richard Eng, Player's Edge Saturdays: Pocket Aces

POCKET ACES

Columns

• Back to Maryann's index

• Back to columnists' index

Maryann Guberman has been a writer and editor with many gaming publications, including Sports Form, Card Player, Poker World, Player's Panorama and Systems and Methods. She also has written and edited numerous books on gambling.

March 29, 2008

The Anywhere Bluff

Players today tend to believe the bluff has become overrated and therefore ineffective. My thought is the people who think the bluff can't work are the same people who don't know how to work it.

While there are no hard and fast rules about bluffing (how could there be?), certain circumstances allow you to perpetrate your legal lie so you can achieve a high rate of success.

One important step to making any bluff work is to pay attention.

Is there a person in the game who never raises but often calls? If so, you are looking at someone who is likely a timid player, perhaps afraid to lose money, or so new to the game that his inexperience causes him to get out of your way. Go for the bluff against this player. If he has called one bet and you are certain other's won't raise, go ahead and raise the bet. The original bettor might call but the timid one will probably fold. If he doesn't, he'll just be more cautious.

Watch for the bully who raises nearly every wager. You might never know why he's raising because his intention is to get you to give up without a fight. He can't have a great hand every deal!

On the subject of the other player, you want that player to be rather solid, someone who might have bet to protect a blind, to indicate a drawing hand or to see how the rest of the table reacts. If he's a loose cannon, forget the bluff entirely unless you have an excellent drawing hand because you can never predict what this kind of player really has.

Equally important as paying attention is getting a grip your game type. If you're in a low-limit situation, forget bluffing except in the most extreme cases (to create an image, for example). My experience shows that people who are playing the low limits have little respect for their money and are very willing to stick around in any pot that they've contributed to -- no matter how little that contribution might be.

Also note that you have a better chance of bluffing successfully in no-limit poker than in limit. Most players don't want to commit to an all-in wager if they are drawing to a hand or if they think you have a better hand (or draw).

Another step is to limit your bluffing to one player at a time. Trying to take on more than one player -- even when you have a good drawing hand -- will get you into trouble. Let's say you are in a pot with four people and you know at least one will fold to a raise. That means three others still have to decide if they want to see another card. With so many different personalities at the table, one or even two of them might want to go to the river with you. While you might have been aiming for one player and you might succeed in getting him to fold, at least one more player could stick around.

Your next step might be to fake a bluff. Early in the game, especially if you don't have to contribute a lot to the pot, you might have a medium drawing hand or a hand you can make an excuse for if it doesn't materialize at the river. Perhaps it's a low-card flush draw or an inside straight that doesn't materialize. Stick around by either calling or raising. Show your cards at showdown and announce that you were sure you were going to fill that color or that gap. Others will remember that foolish move and think less of your expertise. The fake bluff at that point will pay off when they think you are doing it again. Only the next time, you'll have the nuts.

In truth, too many people try to bluff too often. These are the kind of people you can earn a living from because they think the bluff is just another word for poker. If you suspect someone is out to steal the blinds at every opportunity or is raising too often, commit to the pot yourself. This borders on the danger zone but it's often worth it to nail the fellow who has bullied everyone just by nature of his raise.

These simple rules are good for both online and land-based poker. Just don't go crazy with them. Play your players and your cards and you'll know when you can bluff.