The Art of Poker Bluffing

An important element of live poker strategy is poker bluffing. Bluffing is carried out for the purpose of deceiving your opponents in the hope that they will either retire from the game or raise the bet and the contents of the pot. How well you bluff and how often can make a large difference to your poker game for the following reasons.

Poker bluffing is very tempting to misuse. When practised too often, it can cause other players to believe that one player is continuously bluffing. This will encourage them to call him and can cost him money. Therefore it is important to know when bluffing is appropriate and when you should rely on other forms of poker strategy instead.

Many people like to bluff more often when they are playing against a smaller number of opponents. Others prefer to use poker bluffing to its fullest against new or inexperienced players that will be tempted to fold more easily than regular poker players. Another useful time to bluff is after the river. At this stage of the poker game many players who haven't achieved a strong hand will fold. If you have a low pair or even a high card, you can sometimes get away with making it to final showdown unchallenged if you are successful at convincing your opponents that you have a good hand.

Many players that have developed a reputation as the one to fear in a game will use poker bluffing to their advantage. Most players do not like to lose money to the same opponent twice, so bear this in mind if you're on a winning streak.