The Art of the Bluff
A bluff is when you act like you have better cards than you actually do in order to get your opponents to fold their cards. If your opponent folds a winning hand, then you have made a successful bluff.
When playing low stakes against bad and inexperienced players, you rarely, if ever need to bluff in order to win money. However, against players who know what they are doing, you will not be able to win much if you only play the best hands. Bluffing is not only a thrilling part of the game of poker, but a necessary weapon in your arsenal if you are going to win at poker over the long term.
The bluffing advice in this article is best used when coupled with the other strategies and advice mentioned in different articles here, such as the TAG Approach and Odds and Outs.
Bluffing Targets
The very first rule of bluffing is that you can't bluff everyone. Some players, especially in the lower ranks, simply do not fold, no matter what. In this case, while you might want to bluff, you will actually make far more money off of these players by simply being patient and waiting for strong cards.
Bad players, fish, casual players, and calling stations are never good bluffing targets, despite the fact that they all play a very loose style. In theory, good loose-aggressive players (LAG) are the very best targets for a bluff, as they play a wide range and will fold many different hands when you portray having a stronger range. Unfortunately, these days you won't find too many LAG players who play that way on purpose as a good strategy, most are just fish or players who don't know what they are doing.
In reality, you should look for players who seems to be competently playing the TAG Approach or tight players who seems to know what they are doing (Nits are included in this category). However, tight players who resist your bluff probably have something strong, so back off if you face resistance.
The Right Time to Bluff
You've identified one of your opponents as a good target for a bluff, as they are willing to make good folds and lay down cards when the odds seems to be against them. Now you need to figure what the best situations are for bluffing against this player.
Bluff Against Weak Ranges
What is the range of hands our opponent might have? If it is a strong range of very good cards, then you want to avoid bluffing, as they probably can't be induced to fold by bets small enough to make bluffing profitable. When you put them on a weak range, that is the time to bluff them.
Bluff When You Don't Hit Anything
Remember the two reasons why we bet. We bet for value when we have the better hard and want calls, or we bet as a bluff with a worse hand and want folds. Don't confuse the two and try to bluff when there is a good chance that you might have a winning hand as you are losing out on long-term profits. Bluff when you are reasonably certain that if you got to showdown, you would lose.
There is little point in turning a straight draw into a bluff on the river if you accidentally caught a runner-runner set. Only bluff when you haven't made a hand (but it's possible that you could have). Before the river, bluffing is a good idea if you have good equity and a lot of outs, such as a straight draw and flush draw. You don't have anything now, and a bluff could end the hand right now and give you some profit. On the other hand, if your bluff is called, you still have a chance to make a hand on the next street and win the pot. This is a semi-bluff.
Bluff When You're Representing Strength
If you decide to bluff at lower stakes or against bad players, you don't usually need to think about what they think you have, as most of them never get that far. For these players, their range and their willingness to fold are all that matters. Better players actually put you on a range, and think about what you are holding in your hand. In that case, you need to consider the range that you are representing with your bets.
In your head, reverse the roles. If you were the opponent, what range would you put yourself on based on the hand so far? If you would put yourself on a strong range, then you should go ahead and bluff. The size of your bet also comes into play here, as a big bet on a weak range looks odd, and will often signal a bad attempt at a bluff.
An Example of a Bluff
As usual, everyone at the table is equal with around 100bb stacks. Luke is currently BU, and is this example, CO will become Vader.
Luke has 5s6s on BU. Vader in CO makes the first raise of 3bb, Luke calls and everyone else around the table folds.
The flop comes Ks7h2c. Vader checks, and Luke bets two thirds the pot which Vader calls.
The turn is a 4c and Vader checks again. Luke once again bets about two thirds the pot and Vader folds.
Why was Luke's bluff successful?
Luke chose a great time to bluff as Vader was representing a weak range. Luke knows this because Vader chose not to Cbet after his pre-flop raise, which means that there is little chance that he has a King and made top pair. He might have something weak like 99, or A7, but the fact that he checked after the flop may mean that he missed completely and is giving up on the hand. There is an outside shot he is slow-playing a pair of Kings, but for the most part he has a weak range of possible hands. Luke currently has nothing (a six high) so bluffing is a good idea.
Since Vader calls the bluff bet on the flop, Luke now knows that Vader didn't miss entirely and is not giving up on the hand. Vader probably has made a weaker hand (if he had trips or Kings he would have bet openly or check-raised) such as a middle pair. Luke could give up, since Vader almost certainly has him beat, but as Vader still has a weak range, Luke decides to continue his bluff. The turn of a 4c is a great card for Luke as it doesn't do much to improve Vader, and although it doesn't give Luke a hand, it does give him some outs if he is called again and sees the river card.
Bluffing Smart
If you were to ask people what they think when they hear the term "poker bluff" they probably would imagine a scenario similar to the year where Chris Moneymaker won the final table of the World Series of Poker after taking a huge risk on an all-in bluff. The stakes were enormous, the tension incredible, and the entire play thrilling and nerve-wracking to all those watching, as well as involved.
The reality is that this situation will probably never happen to you. Most bluffs are small and unseen, with the huge bluffs for big stakes something for the TV cameras. A modern bluff is as simple as a Cbet or a pre-flop reraise and rarely leads to a river all-in, as those are rarely profitable.
However, if you arrive at the river and think that an all-in bluff will work, you should not hesitate in going for it. Bluff smart, and never be afraid of bluffing if you are confident that it will work, even if an unlikely call will cost you all of your chips. If you are worried about bluffing because you can't afford to lose, you should not be playing that high of a level. Every time you sit down at a poker table, you should be confident that even if you lose every single chip, your bankroll will be safe.
