At face value, poker is a game of probabilities. It’s about the odds of receiving the cards you need to have a better hand than your opponents.
When you look at it that way, all that separates good players from poor ones is luck and mathematical ability. This is how many people approach and enjoy poker, which is fine, but it’s not what makes the game great.
Winning when you’re given the cards you need is easy. Increasing your chances by recognising the probabilities of your hand improving is the most basic skill.
But great players find a way to win even when the odds are against them. How is this possible in a game of chance?
Raising the Game
The answer is ‘bluffing’, the art of playing your opponents, not your cards. When bluffing is used, the hand you’re believed to have becomes as important as the hand you actually have.
From organised tournaments to kitchen games among friends, poker’s history is built on finding ways to gain a psychological advantage. If you can predict, or affect, how your opponents behave, then you have the upper hand, regardless of your cards.
By the same token, a successful bluffer must keep their own secrets and patterns hidden. Reading the room is one part of bluffing, but preventing the room from reading you is just as important.
Traditionally, bluffing in poker is built on physical tells, looking into an opponents’ eyes or reading their body language. Playing online poker removes this from the game, so does that mean the age of bluffing is over?
As any regular player on sites like 888poker will tell you, bluffing is alive and well in the digital age. Let’s have a look at some of the best methods and techniques for successful bluffing when playing online.
Basic Considerations
- Assess Your Opponents
The key thing to determine about other players in your game is are they ‘tight’, or are they ‘loose’. Do they play safe and fold often, or do they take chances and stay in, even with weak hands?
Tighter or more conservative players are often easier to bluff than those who are looser and less predictable. Be careful, though, expert players will switch between these styles, something you should also consider as a defence against bluffing.
- Recognise the Landscape
Every poker game is unique, with behaviours and interactions between players constantly changing. Watch how bluffing, by yourself or others, affects the way the game is played, and be prepared to adjust tactics.
Bluffing Moves
- Steal the blinds
One of the most brazen and basic bluffs happens when you take advantage of tight opponents before the flop. ‘Stealing the blinds’ means raising straight after the blinds have been posted, before the first community cards have been dealt.
This signals you believe the private cards in your hand are strong and may intimidate weaker players. If it works, you’ll only win a small pot, but lots of small wins can add up to big ones.
- Continuation-bet
The next step after attempting to steal the blinds is continuation, or C betting, which is essentially doubling down on your confidence. Raise pre-flop and, if your opponents don’t fold, bet again after the community cards are revealed.
The implication is that you had good private cards, and your hand remains strong after more are revealed. Your opponents must decide if they are prepared to take a risk on that being true, or concede and fold.
- 3-bet or 4-bet light
A 3-bet is when you follow an opponent’s raise with a re-raise, a 4-bet is when you re-raise a re-raise. By entering this arms race, you show you have enough faith in your hand to keep risking higher stakes.
Employing this tactic when you’re ‘light’ means you’re doing it when your hand isn’t actually that strong. It may pay off immediately, by forcing your opponents to call, or for the long game, by demonstrating your unpredictability.
- Double-barrel scare cards
If the hand progresses to its later stages, and players are still in after the flop, you could get aggressive. Watch for a ‘scare’ card being dealt, like an ace or a picture card, and bet confidently to intimidate opponents.
If an ace appears on the flop, raise, then raise again after the turn, suggesting the ace makes your hand. Would you play on if it looked like your opponent had a pair of aces, or something even better?
Stay in Control
All these bluffs have the same intention: to intimidate your opponents by pretending your hand is stronger than it is. The skill comes in knowing when to bluff and when to play more conservatively for the best result.
Success comes when you learn to understand your opponents and read the room. The best players remain in control and bluff as part of a strategy, not in panic after a weak deal.
Now you have the basics, all that’s left to do is practice. And with exceptional platforms like 888poker, your next opportunity is only a few clicks away.