Posted by Hulk Hawking | Posted in Travel & Leisure | Posted on 05-01-2011
Tags: casino, gambling, leisure, poker, poker beginner, poker mentality, poker psychology, poker strategy, strategy, texas hold'em poker strategy, texas hold'em strategy, Travel & Leisure
As a starter, you should know that it is more profitable and infinitely better to just avoid bluffing. Most beginners lose money because they tend to be fancy and make plays they shouldn’t be making. The best strategy for a beginner is to stick to playing ABC poker and play tight and aggressive. However, if you want to improve then you will have to learn how to bluff someday. This is a short guide of when and how to do it.
In the game of poker, the best hand doesn’t always get dealt to you, unless you’re cheating of course, in which case you won’t be reading this. This is mainly the reason why you have to learn how to win with weak and marginal hands. This means that you have to learn how to bluff. It is simply when you raise a hand even though you know you have minimal, if ever, chance of winning.
When you bluff, you want your opponents to fold. You are basically telling them that you have a strong hand even if that’s not the case. You are representing a strong hand and are hoping that your opponents will be too scared of their hand strength to call.
Good Times To Bluff:
When you have a reputation of a player who never or almost never bluffs.
You are up against somebody heads-up.
When you are in late position and the players who acted prior to you have shown weakness in their hands.
When your reads and observations tell you that a raise will likely get the remaining players to fold.
When you want to be aggressive by making a c-bet.
Bad Times To Bluff:
When you believe that one or more players will not let his or their hand go easily.
When you are playing in a multi-way pot.
When you are sitting in a bad position.
When the other people sitting in the table have invested so much in the pot that they become pot dedicated and will likely go to showdown.
When you sense one of your opponents has a strong hand.
You have little or no outs.
In general though, bluffing should just be left to the pros. You should only do this when you sense you have a chance to succeed or if you want to extend your poker game. Bluffing is part of the game, but it is best left untouched until you gain some experience.
To really improve in poker, hire a good poker coach and start your poker game today!
