How to Bluff?

[Tikalz]

During live play...How often do you bluff?...

Does it ever work out for you?
Do you have any successful strategies?

...I only ask because I always get called, I've tried to mix things up (Smiles, frowns, grunts, eyes, no eyes...) - but they always catch me, everytime. Is there an actually strategy to it...or is it rather something that cannot be taught/learned?

[Stacks]

You bluff when villain folds a large enough portion of thier range so that the bluff is profitable. You can figure out how often villain needs to fold by calculating pot odds, equity, etc. For instance, if you bet $50 into a $100 pot, then need to fold 33% of the time (50/150), given you have 0% equity when called. If you have equity, then you can figure out how often they need to fold (for instance if when they call you have 4 outs or 8% equity, then they only need to fold like 23% of the time). You use this math to compare to their range, and determine how often they do fold/continue.

As far as "faking" tells, etc. I have no idea. Sometimes, I like to cover my mouth when looking at the computer screen just in case. And I of course never take off my sunglasses. The computer glare is too much when I do.

[bigspenda73]

{from BC}

[Fnord]

What structure/stakes are you playing?

I almost never try to push someone off a hand. Usually when I bluff it's because I think my opponent is weak.

[Jason]

It sounds like you need to get better reads on your opponents and the specific lines taken in hands. A big key to bluffing, as Stacksx has outlined, is understanding your fold equity and pot equity. But, to understand how often a villain will fold to a bluff requires a good understanding of your villain in terms of how they play, how they perceive you, and how the actual hand in question has played out.

In my live home games, most all of the players are notorious for playing any two cards, chasing draws, perceiving other players as not trustworthy, and just generally behaving as calling stations. Needless to say, I don't bluff much in these games. I get a good hand and value bet them into oblivion. On nights I can catch a few hands that actually develop and hold, it's usually a nice pay day and quite fun. On nights I can't catch a cold, it's frustrating to see my stack dwindle and to see players I perceive as very bad players prosper, but that's poker.

Remember that to successfully bluff an opponent, you have to have an opponent who is capable of folding. If they are capable of folding, it's just a matter of understanding their hand strength and thresholds to fold. Generally speaking, you want to bet the minimum amount to get a player to fold, so you have to figure an amount that's large enough to carry some weight, but not too large that you're risking more than is needed to get the job done. And obviously, the better their hand, the less likely they are to fold, so hand reading is important.

Good luck.

[Luco]

When I bluff it usually involves making a bet so it appears I have a holding, when actually I don't.

Glad I could help.

Also, try not doing anything. Practice picking up your chips and placing them in the pot the exact same way with every single bet and call. Make all your bets, bluffs, calls and raises the same way every time. Turn into a robot and then terminate them. Then become governor of California.

[LawDude]

What stacks, fnord, and Jason said.

Personally, I rarely bluff, because the tables I play are usually full of calling stations.

I do bluff every once in awhile in the hope of getting called. What do I mean by this? Well, in a small pot where I am not likely to be raised, I might put out a bet with nothing in the hope of getting called. Then I make sure to show my hand. I have found that this is good for my table image. As long as it doesn't cost you a lot of money, this sort of thing will pay for itself.

But the various types of bluffing, such as c-betting missed flops and representing that you hit your draw or hit your ace are things you can only do when you have enough fold equity, as stacks points out. And that's based totally on your reads. Do you believe that the players you are up against are weak and may fold to aggression? Is this a circumstance where they are not likely to have a hand that is too strong to fold?

I would recommend beginners stay away from bluffing for the most part, both because low stakes games feature lots of calling stations and because it takes sophisticated reads to pull off positive EV bluffs. But this thread sets out most of the relevant considerations.