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Bluffing
Bluffing separates the men from the boys, the women from the girls. Bluffing is the component that has helped propel poker into a big hit on TV. You have to have guts to hold weak cards and play them so strongly that your opponents fold their winning hands. Two important keys to bluffing are your table position and being able to read your opponents.
You can also keep the following bluffing pointers in mind to elevate your game to the next level:
Don’t overbluff. If you’ve played only good hands all day, other players are much more likely to believe you if you raise on the river. On the other hand, if you’ve been caught bluffing more than once already, expect them to call with anything. Bluffing loses effectiveness the more you attempt it.
Don’t fidget. If you start tapping your fingers on the table, rubbing your eyes, nose, and face, and acting like you just drank a 32-ounce double espresso, the other players are going to know you’re hiding something. Other players can read your body language, so relax. Stay calm, cool, and collected.
Wear shades. The future may be bright (and even the overhead lights), but you aren’t wearing sunglasses as a fashion statement. Buy a pair of dark shades to hide your eye movements. Other players can watch your eyes and if you start blinking a lot or your eyes start popping out of your head, they may suspect you’re bluffing.
Bluffing has residual benefits. Even when you get caught bluffing and lose, you may change your table image (how your opponents view you) in a way that’s advantageous to you. For the rest of the tournament, for example, other players are more likely to call you when you raise on your good hands because they remember your foolish failed bluff. So even if your bluff back¬fires in one game, it can still pay profitable dividends later.
Don’t think that the free poker rooms totally different from the poker lunges where you play for money. Use the same rules.
