How to Make the Perfect Bluff in Poker Tournament

By Nick Pateman

How do you know you're no being taken for a ride? Bluffing is a great way to occasionally build your stack. You really should never go into a hand with the idea that you are going to bluff because a lot of what makes a good bluff is entirely circumstantial.

Know who you're against

This is pretty obvious. Don't go straight onto a table and bluff the first or second hand, if your AK misses or there are over on your QQ, don't go stacking off trying to make a hero-bluff. You must know your table. A loose and aggressive table is obviously not one that should be bluffed at.

Stack Sizes

If you're playing a short stack be very careful. If you make a raise pre-flop and they flat call they might begin to commit themselves to the pot. Don't bluff someone who is committed, and watch out for reshoves from short stacks pre-flop. The only time when it is good to put pressure on short stacks is around the bubble as long as you have noticed that they have tightened up.

Know When You're Beat

Bluffs can be very profitable and very costly. If you make a bluff on the flop by betting 75% of the pot and you get flat called, don't come out betting UTG again. Unless you put them on a draw or unless a scare card comes on the turn, they are likely to call your bluff again.

Don't Bluff Blind

What I mean by this is don't bluff any hand just because you're desperate for chips. I.e. if a flop brings 3 flush cards and you don't have one of the draws then bluffing this at low/mid stakes is usually a bad idea as they will call you with a top pair or a high flush draw. If the board comes blank and there were raises pre-flop then it's worth taking a stab at, watch out for high card flops as a bluff there after a pre-flop raise might run you into a monster. However, it's definitely worth representing a big hand by raising pre-flop and then raising an A high flop strong.

Know How Much To Bet

A lot of players especially beginners think that bluffing works if you bet ridiculously big. Big bets are often seen as weak bets. If you have a good hand, why would you be pot betting or over betting? Play the hand as if you had what you are trying to represent, going all in is usually a sure sign that you have trash unless your all in is quite obviously a realistic move with the pot being larger than your stack etc.

Don't commit

If you get too carried away with trying to steal a pot, you can end up putting in far more of your stack than you should and find yourself getting odds to stack off with 7 high. Take a note of how many chips you have and bluff accordingly. Making money out of bluffing is only good when you know how to get away from them.

Take into account these rules and you should be able to bluff a lot more successfully!

Happy Bluffing

I hope to break even this week. I need the money."