Art of Bluffing

Art of Bluffing is the act of betting on the last round when you are
quite sure that you do not have the best hand, or on an earlier round
when you have little chance of making the best hand. When you
bluff, you are hoping that your opponent will fold.Typically, you
should bluff when you think the size of the pot, compared to the
estimated probability that your opponent will fold, is large enough
to make this play profitable (in terms of long-run expectation). For
example, if there is $50 in the pot and the bet is $10, you are
getting 5-to- 1 odds on your bluff. In this situation, if you think your
opponent will fold more than one time in six, blufiing would be
correct.
Sometimes you should bluff even if the pot odds do not justify
it, as this makes it more difficult for your opponent to read your
hands in the future. (While this is an excellent play against a
merely good player, realize that an expert player will probably be
perceptive enough to understand what you are doing.)
Here is an example of a good fifth-street bluff: Suppose that
you have only one opponent remaining, you are trying for a
straight, and a third suited card appears on board. Against a player
who is capable of folding, you may want to attempt a bluff.
Specifically, suppose you started with

8h   7h

and on fifth street, the board is

Qs     6h     5s    2h     Ks

Whether you have been betting or calling up to this point, you
should now consider betting if you are against a player who is
capable of folding.
Sometimes the situation arises when you have very little, but
still may have the best hand. Rather than check, it may be more
beneficial to bet, just in case your bet makes an opponent fold a
better hand. Occasionally this play works even more to your
advantage when someone holding a worse hand calls. In a
multiway pot, you may accomplish both objectives, which is the
best result of all. As an example, suppose you are in an early
position against a small number ofplayers. Everyone checks on the
flop and on fourth street. The board now pairs on fifth street, and
you have a small pair or a hand like:

Ah       Ks

In this situation it is unlikely that the fifth-street card helped
anyone. So if you bet and are called, you still may win the pot.
Meanwhile, you may have forced someone else to fold a better
hand.
An obvious example of a fourth-street bluff occurs when you
are in a late position and everyone has checked on both the flop and
fourth street. Now there is a good chance that a bet will win the pot
right there, no matter what you have.

Art of bluffing: Strategic Concepts

Another fourth street bluff occurs when you had bet the flop
with either a draw or very little, and the top card on board pairs. If
you weren’t raised on the flop, this is a good spot to bet again.
A good bluffing opportunity also arises on the flop in a shorthanded
pot when no one has shown any strength before the flop.
Suppose that you are in an early position – perhaps you were
given a free play in the big blind – and the flop comes either ace
high or king high with no flush or straight draws. A bet here should
steal the pot often enough to make it profitable. This is especially
true if, as already mentioned, you are in a game where most players
tend to raise with better hands containing an ace or a king, and to
throw away the other ace and king hands. ..
Specifically, flops like

Kh     8h       3s

are excellent candidates for this type ofbluff. Remember, you want
to be in early position, and you want the pot to be small.
Finally, a word must be said regarding when you should call
an opponent who might be bluffing. If all the cards are out and your
hand can beat only a bluff, your decision simply depends on your
pot odds and on your judgment concerning the chance that your
opponent is bluffing. If your hand can beat some of the hands he
would bet for value as well as his bluffs you obviously do not need
as great a “price” from the pot to make a call the right play.

Art of Bluffing and the threat of bluffing go hand in hand. A bluff can enable a player to win a pot she figured to lose if the hands were shown down. The threat of a bluff enables a player with a good hand to win even more money than she would if her opponent knew she never bluffed.