Top 4 rules of pure bluffing

Rule #1: Act

This is not about smiling or making facial expressions while placing a bet in order to create a strong combination. On the contrary, this will only make your opponents suspicious and provoke an equalization of the bet. We’re talking about a slightly different.

Remember how we told you about analyzing your opponents’ hands? Well, the other players are also constantly making assumptions about your hand. So why not take advantage of that?

For example:

• If you bet on the flop with a small pair, you get called, and on the turn you get the third single card. In this situation, you might try to flush. 

Why? 

• Your opponents see that you bet on the flop with a “possible” flush. 
• You get a card that’s completely useless, but it gives you a good chance to play for an audience. 
• If none of your opponents have a strong combination, they’ll fold, otherwise you’d better forget about the pot.

Rule #2: Don’t threaten the crowd

This rule works equally well in real life as it does in poker. The bottom line is that it’s a lot easier to drive 1-2 opponents out of the fight than the whole table. So don’t try to bluff against a large number of opponents, because it is very likely that one of them will still call. This is one of the most important rules of bluffing, and if you don’t want to be exposed, remember it always.

Rule #3: Stealing lots of money is harder

The more cash you have in your sweat, the harder it is to part with it. With a big pot, your opponents are unlikely to fold, even with medium strength hands. Conversely, giving up a small pot to an opponent with a supposedly strong hand won’t be difficult. In any case, it is better to bluff when the pot is small. Besides, if you don’t have much money in your sweat, you won’t even need to make a big bet to make it a dubious move for your opponents.

However, there is a flip side to the coin. Many experienced players are aware that if someone bets a big pot, they probably have a nats hand. Against such experienced poker players, it is possible to use bluffs in a big pot situation. However, this is quite risky. Try to remember this rule, and don’t try to make a big score by cheating.

Rule #4: Don’t Flaunt It Before the Pigs

A lot of weak players call all-in and don’t even think about what you’re holding. These players are extremely profitable, but it is a big mistake to bluff against them. Bluffing is designed for thinking opponents who can build a false idea of your hand. Fish aren’t capable of making assumptions, and therefore are unlikely to please you by folding cards. Moreover, they will always be naively opting to call their bluffs as the basis of their play, so it’s a good idea to play them in null hands.

Conclusion

In this article we have discussed the main aspects regarding pure bluffing. Now you have a basic understanding of the bluffing maneuver and you know the basic rules. However, you should not overuse the clean bluff, because the more you bluff, the more often your bet will be called. In the next article, you’ll learn about another type of bluff that will make you a lot more money than a pure bluff.