How do I master the bluff?

Bluffing is one of the most frequently talked about topics in poker. Novice players believe that they have to bluff regularly, while some experienced players don’t bluff at all. We ask Victor Roberts, casino manager at Cinema Casino, for some poker tips on mastering the art of bluffing.

Bluffing at poker essentially means that you deceive your opponent into thinking that you have a stronger hand than you actually have. It’s a frequently misused and misunderstood aspect of poker but it does make the game harder to master and more interesting to play. There are two types of bluff – the stone-cold bluff and the semi-bluff. When you’re trying to win a hand and you don’t hold any good cards then this is referred to as a stone-cold bluff but if you have some respectable cards and there’s a possibility of a winning hand then you can make a semi-bluff. The most important thing about bluffing is realising that there is a right and a wrong time to bluff.

–          You have more chance of succeeding if you bluff against only one or two other players as it’s harder to fool an entire table.

–          Learn your opponents’ playing styles and then bluff against the tight players as they’re more likely to fold and your bluff will be successful.

–           Inexperienced and weaker players are harder to bluff because they’re often unpredictable and will frequently play loose.

–          When you can, bluff from a late position as you’ll know how people are betting and you’ll have a sense of what their cards are like.

–          The more you bluff the greater the chance that you’ll be caught out so choose your bluff moments carefully.

–          Master your tellsso that when you bluff you don’t give away your tactic because you can’t control your smirk.