Poker Tips

Introduction

Is she trying to poker bluff me?

 When at a ‘bricks and mortar’ poker table there’s much more to playing a bluff in poker than having some wide-eyed expression of disbelief at your luck with the cards, or seeming to dither about for ages over whether to place a bet or not. However, at an online poker table you really do need to have a completely different approach to poker bluffing, as no one can see your physical body language. Only someone who is an absolute novice at poker, and who’s probably led some incredibly sheltered life; would fall for any such physical histrionic style antics anyway, that would make even the most ‘ham’ actor blush. Instead, to play a successful bluff at the poker table you need to employ guile and cunning, to the extent that your fellow poker players think they can discern no significant difference in your play or character. Whilst adopting such an attitude is best for a bluff, to play a semi-bluff properly online – it is absolutely essential.

The beginnings of bluffing

Not much to hide a bluff behind here!

 Back in the 1800s bluffing wasn’t originally part of the game, being seen as ‘un-gentlemanly in the extreme’ and not far away from actually cheating. Of course, over time and as the game spread players would introduce bluffs to their play. However, these were quite succinct bluffs invariably based on betting on a hand in the hope that opponents would fold, regardless of what they might hold. The idea of a cheeky grin or sad and downcast eyes etc being used as a bluff only really arose when the cinema started portraying poker scenes in the movies. By the 1950s poker was regularly being portrayed in TV series too and by the time professional and celebrity poker games themselves were being shown on TV; one or two players took it upon themselves to add theatrical mannerisms and flourishes to their play, especially when bluffing and the art of bluffing was truly born. However, how can that art be applied in online poker games?

The art of online bluffing

You need to know when somone's bluffing or not!

 At the ‘bricks and mortar’ poker table actually being able to observe opponents does give a player a tremendous advantage in spotting when someone else is bluffing, or even semi-bluffing. After all we are all human and no matter how restrained we want to be, we cannot help giving away tell-tale signs of pleasure or annoyance at certain times. Indeed one of the arts of bluffing in poker is to know when someone else is bluffing or not. Also, whether consciously or not any player wanting to make some progress in a poker game will need to bluff top some extent. Imagine a player who always folds as soon as they think there’s no chance of winning, regardless of whether they might hold an ace or have any sort of ‘reasonable’ hand, only betting on their very best hands. Everyone is going to quickly pick up on that and their chances of winning a decent pot will be virtually zero. The result is that occasionally they’re going to have to bet, even on their not so good hands, to keep everyone guessing. Is this a bluff, or just good strategy -you can decide for yourselves? That last example is really where you are in terms of bluffing in online poker games. Leaving aside the professional online poker players, there are many really good poker players at the online poker tables these days. Part of their ‘edge’ at the online tables is that they know, or can quickly determine, the likely statistics for making a given play; to which they then use their judgments whether to play, bluff or simply fold. In an online game trying to bluff without understanding the statistics and possible computations in a poker game can be disastrous and is frequently why so many rookie online players can lose badly. One very basic computation to always make with a bluff is; in terms of the cost of the bluff – is the pot worth it?

To bluff, or not to bluff, that is the question?

Some folk just can't get the idea of bluffing out of their hair!

 In an online game, quite simply, the best time to bluff is when the probability that you will be called by an opponent decreases. An example of this would be if an opponent sees lower pot odds making it unlikely they’ll call you, especially if other players are folding. Pot odds, is one of the computations you need to make; and it is the ratio of the current pot size to the cost of a call. So, for a $100 pot a call of $10 gives pot odds of 10:1. So for the given example pot odds of 10:1 might be good, but 20:1 might be not so good. Effecting this, or indeed any bluff, is quite simply a matter of drawing your opponent into what they consider to be a hand that you’re not bluffing on, by giving them the impression that you’re desperately trying to battle against them personally, rather than the rest of the table. Playing a pot bluff can be quite tricky at an online table. A pot bluff is based on the probability that all the other players will fold, leaving you with the pot. Whilst this may well seem the cleverest bluff to play, it is again dependant on the probability of being called by someone else. Again the probability of being called by an opponent needs to be lower than the pot odds, which in this instance is also sometimes called the pot-bluff ratio. Of course the risk of you being called can also decrease the fewer players there are left in a hand; so bluffing at a full, or even semi-full, table is rarely a good idea.

The semi-bluff

Is it possible to get caught between two semi-bluffs?

 The semi-bluff is simply a variation on a straight bluff. By playing a semi-bluff you are trying to instill in your opponents the belief that you will play a certain type of hand one way – every time you get it. Or, in other words, you’re luring them down a blind alley – only to turn on them later. As a strategy this can be quite productive in online poker games. Setting up a pattern of apparent disinterest if, for example, you only see certain cards at the flop. Semi-bluffs can then give you a win in two ways, first when you do start some serious betting the others will fold even if you’re holding a hand that’s not to brilliant yourself. Or, by deliberately letting other players win hands giving the impression you’re playing tight. You can also play a semi-bluff by countering another bluff. This is especially useful as an online semi-bluff, by spotting when another player is clearly trying to bluff you but not making the play they’re desperately trying to draw you into.