4 situations when you should bluff in Texas Holdem

Elvis Elvis

Ah, bluffs. The “art” of poker. Bluffs are nothing more than faking out the other players, making them believe you have a stronger hand than you actually hold.

If your bluff succeeds, you will win a pot because you bluffed a player with a stronger hand into folding.

You cannot successfully bluff until you are familiar with the betting styles of your opponents. It’s veery important when you first sid down at a table to play a few hands with small bets, just to get the “feel” of a table. (Don’t forget, the other players are also checking out your style of play . . . be inconsistent in your playing and bluffing patterns. Don’t give away any “tells.”)

Times to bluff:

4 situations when you should bluff in Texas Holdem

1. When the flop has nothing to offer, small unsuited cards, no possible straight. Many conservative players will fold after a very poor flop. This is when your weak hand might prevail, if you bluff in with a good raise of the pot.

2. The smaller the table, the more likely you are to have picked up the “tells” of the other players, and so its more likely your bluff will succeed. Additionally, at a small table, there are fewer cards in play, making for fewer monster hands out there.

3. If you are in a late position to bet. Either you have the dealer button, or are just to the right of the dealer, and all the other players have checked. It’s likely in this situation that the other players have very weak hands and are just looking to see what comes on the flop. A serious raise at this point will often scare the other players into folding.

4. If you have won a few pots, the other players will consideer you a good or lucky player. Once it appears you are on a roll, your bluffing has more of a chance of success. Just be sure you play the bluff hand exactly as you did the previous winning hands.