Bluffing is betting or raising when you have a hand that isn't the best one. You hope is that all the players involved fold their hands and you will win the pot by default.
Bluffing is a critical skill, why? Simple
If you never bluff then the opponents that are skilled will fold when you bet unless they have a monster or a good draw. Meaning that you will lose when called and if not you will just win pennies from the skilled ones, ergo you won't ever being able to beat the skilled ones if you don't know how to bluff.
- This doesn't mean tha tyou should bluff indiscriminately, you should only bluff when it is profitable to do so.
PRINCIPLE: Only bluff when you have a reasonable chanfe of succeding. In other words, you need to mentally analize your bluffing equitity on that certain hand, if it's good you just go for it, once you understand this concept you will have learned how to bluff.
How to recognize when is a good spot to make a bluff? The question of the million bucks!
All of this scenes are good to make a bluff strategy
- You are in a late position and noone have raised yet.
- You are heads up and with the button, your opponent limps (just calls)
- You are in early positions on a short handed table and your opponents are TOO TIGHT.
- Your remaining opponent seems not interested on the hand.
- The table is super tight and everyone checks to you (on any stage, flop/turn/river)
- You have low stack on a tourney and you are at late.
- Your image on the table is a very tight player.
As you can see there's tons of situation where you can bluff with a lot of chance of succeding, even far more than what I've listed there, you'll be able to notice by your own once you get experienced. Just remember the more bluff equity the better chance to succed bluffing.
The bluff equity is modified by your position, your image on the table, your opponent stack size (the biggest stack they have the better chance of succed bluffing), the stage of the tourney, scary cards on the table, and of course the draws, you can always semi-bluff with a good draw.
I hope this holdem poker bluff strategy help you get better with poker! Enjoy and learn, practise is the key!
