Bluffing

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Bluffing is as important as any other aspect in no limit Texas holdem tournaments. There are a few points I want to highlight that you should be paying attention to when applying your poker bluffs. In this post I will go over:

1. Reading your opponents
2. Avoid over/under betting
3. C-betting
4. Semi-bluffing
5. Table image
6. Calling stations

Reading Your Opponents

Since it is impossible to know exactly what your opponent has at all times, you have to be able to read them and judge how strong they are in the hand. Often times, it is crucial to bluff if your opponent shows weakness. Usually when your opponent just calls your raise and then checks, this should light of fireworks in your head and automatically make you think they are weak. Being able to read your opponents weakness is extremely important. Sometimes you can win a hand by betting as if you have your opponent beat even if they are the one who had the best hand. The trick is to make your opponent think you have a better hand than them. Bluffing is an important aspect of any successful poker player’s game. Neither you nor your opponent will flop the “nuts” every hand. You will need to take chances and try to win pots even when you know your beat.

Avoid Over/Under Betting

If you are unsure of how to size your bets, using the PokerBetter poker tournament software will ensure you bet the correct sized bet every time. If your goal is to get your opponent to fold then you have to make sure you don’t bet too low. Doing so may give your opponent odds to call based on the fact that you are giving them odds to call and try to see a cheap river to increase the strength of their hand. If you bet too many chips it may look like you are trying to buy the pot by over betting and your opponent might sense something is up (weakness). When deciding to bluff you can raise with almost anything and bet it out like you hit the flop if you get called. This is known as continuation betting the flop. This is a good way to steal blinds late in the tournament. Sometimes it will backfire and you will lose chips when your opponent actually has a hand. But most of the time you will both miss the flop and the first person to bet will take it.

If you flop a draw or something like bottom pair you can semi-bluff. A semi-bluff is also a good way to build a pot with a drawing hand such as a flush or straight draw. If you bet the draws instead of check-calling them, you may be able to take the pot down on the river with a nice sized bluff regardless of if you hit your draw or not.

Table Image

Don’t get frustrated if you get caught bluffing. Every poker player gets caught bluffing and if you don’t then you aren’t bluffing enough. After getting caught in bluff, go back to playing solid hands unless you want to appear reckless at the table. If you keep trying to bluff opponents will eventually pick up on it and you will get called more often. Try to pay attention to “calling stations” at the table. These “calling stations” are the players at the table who never fold no matter how much you bet. Do not try to bluff them if you notice they are calling a lot of other bets from your opponents.

Calling Stations

If I havent put enough empasis on how important it is to get reads on the table, I will say it again. Getting reads on your table will open up the opportunity to completley take over your table. If you are good enough to see whose a solid player and who is a calling station, you can really punish the weak players and increase your stack. The thing to do when you realize a player is a calling station is to play ABC poker with them. What that means is you want to bet when you have it and check fold when you miss. Since a bluff wont scare them away, preserve your chips and target weak tight players who mostly fold postflop.