"to Bluff or not to Bluff" That is the Question! Article by Cmax

Have you thought of 'bluffing the bluffer' in poker and casino rooms online? well the trick is (that's if you can afford it at the time) to watch for receding bets from a potential bluffer from the flop to the turn. He or she may open the play with a raise and commit themselves to the round. It's best to call them for this bluff if the player is either first or second to call.

To call from this early position is usually a call of confidence something done with top end cards or pocket pairs. Most of the time though the call is based on top end cards as there are more combination's of these (10-J-Q-K-A) x four suites and these are the types of hands pre-raised in poker the most.

Granted the player could hold these top end cards that player may open with a large bet on the flop even if the cards flopped are small,(their futile attempt to scare you off your hand!)note through for this type of play it's handy to hold mid connectors and suited if possible, I play 5-6, 6-7 and 7-8 suited connectors when attempting this style of bluffing.

The pattern becomes apparent on the turn when the bluffer drops the bet (their way to protect their money.) This is where you pounce, with say four cards down none of which are paint(J-Q-K-A) and you pounce hard. (If you played the cards I suggested you probably have a pair or even two pair!) If you don't you can still play as If you did after all we are bluffing right?

When you pounce hard at the turn this shows the bluffer that you truly represent and that you are confident to win the round. I can safely estimate that with this style of bluffing about 80 to 90 percent of the play ends here without a river as the other player is said to be 'high and dry' that is holding high cards and with no pairs.

I do this quite often and it is the corner stone in my play. This style of 'bluffing the bluffer' is in fact my most successful method of bluffing and earns me a lot of bulk wins in online poker. Also remember that it is when the player is in every hand or has just won a large sum from an earlier 'all in' call that this play can be most effective.

There is a saying in poker, "Never bluff an idiot because an idiot never knows when you are bluffing" Hard words but all to true. It's always important to profile a players style of poker before engaging into battle with them. The two types to avoid bluffing are the 'chasers' and 'compulsive callers'. The chasers make it a habit to chase anything from an ace to a straight flush.

The compulsive callers on the other hand will call to see if their ace high is any good. I try to avoid these types when bluffing because they are most likely to catch something on the river plus it's not always easy to get a read from them due to their betting habits. Fortunately from experience these types of players don't hang around to long as they normally fall victims to someone else's trap play.

Just be patient as opportunities always come knocking with the right players and at the right time.And that's it! simple yet effective. I wish you well in your future play and hope you develop your poker skills to their max!