Better Players can be Bluffed

The one rule of poker that new players have a difficult time learning is that it is not a sin to lay down the winning hand after the river card is dealt.  Players who never do this are not yet as good a player as they can be or should be. Good players can be bluffed out of pots and made to lay down a winning hand.  In fact sometimes it is easier to bluff a very good player than it is to bluff the table calling station that never folds a hand.  Good players will replay the betting in their mind and come to a conclusion of whether they think they have the winning hand or not.  If the bluff was carried out right, the good player may well fold a hand that would win.

No less a player than Daniel Negreanu has stated this fact.  His idea is do not do it too often, but never become a calling station all the time.  If this becomes a tendency it will make it harder to book winning sessions.  Players that compute pot odds all the time are given a slight edge in this situation as the odds enter into their calculations about the hand they hold.

Setting up a bluff is an art form and is not for the weak of heart to pull off.  Players also are guilty of becoming too predictable in their play and need to shake it up some to keep the other players guessing.  There is nothing wrong with getting a reputation as a tight player as other players will give you the respect and acknowledge that you have the goods most of the time when called.  This will help when a bluff is in play.  On the other hand a player like Gus Hansen or Sam Farha are likely to play any kind of a hand and they are less likely to get away with a bluff.  Their reputations have become part of the current poker scene.

The living poker legend, Doyle Brunson, is likely to have a hand when he bets, but he has been known to try a little thievery too.  Part of knowing when to try bluff or not is a feeling for the way the game is being played by the other players.  In a very tight game it may be just the play to pull off, but in a loose game it may never work, as the players are a little crazy.  The temperament of the game will dictate how the hands should be played.

Tagsbluff, losing session, online poker, players, players tactic, poker players, winning session

See also

• Small Pairs Win Too
  Many poker tournament winners got there playing small pairs and betting then right.  Pairs of threes, fives and sixes are seen winning many pots in TV tournaments.  Early in the tournament when the blinds are small, this type hand can win some big pots.  This can happen when the flop is set and the pair [...]
• How to get out of a losing session
  The only way to get out of losing poker session is to start winning.  This is a simple answer to a serious problem that every poker player faces.  When you are coming in second best in every big pot, this situation can become very disturbing and with some players make them go on tilt.  A [...]