Art of the Bluff

A couple of decades ago, billionaire entrepreneur Donald Trump wrote a book called “The Art Of The Deal.” In it, he detailed out how he went about creating, executing, and finishing many of the major real estate transactions that made him who he is today. The same idea can be applied to one of the most difficult tasks in poker, bluffing.

For the most part, the bluff is overused when it comes to online poker. Because of the lack of human contact – the ability to physically look at your opponent and make determinations of their intentions – bluffing is more prevalent and doesn’t work, in most cases. Even in the live game, the bluff can be easily picked off if three basic tenets aren’t observed.

Telling the Story

Bluffing is, in part, telling a story to your opponent. The art of the bluff is in telling a convincing story that will make him think that his hand isn’t going to beat you. But you have to be able to convince your opponent that the story is true, otherwise he is going to read it for the fictional tale that it is.

Say, for example, that the flop has delivered two cards of the same suit. Your opponent has a high pocket pair, leads out post-flop, and the decision is in your hands. If you are holding air, most of the time you’ll want to let it go. However, if you have been able to build a decent reputation at the table, you can re-raise and put the decision back on him. The power here is in that you have been able to state, “I’m four-fifths of the way to the flush; you should just let it go here.”

Even if you are called, you have to continue to tell the story. The turn card comes off and doesn’t complete the flush draw. If your opponent checks, then you have to be willing to put another bet into the pot and continue to tell the story. By checking behind him, you are essentially saying that you aren’t on the flush draw and just want to see the next card for free. The bluff bet on the turn continues the story and could very well win the hand.

If the river brings you the final card for the flush, then you should win easily with another bet. This also works well if you actually are on the flush draw and hit it because your opponent may come back with a bluff of his own on the river, making more money for you. If the river blanks, then you have to end your tale of bluffing and release your hand, as you probably don’t have enough to win.

The board will more than likely provide you with enough information to determine if you should take a shot at a bluff. A coordinated board, with three of a suit or sometimes even paired cards, is much easier to concoct a story to than one that has no symmetry to it. Thus, you have to judge for yourself if the story behind your bluff is believable.

When telling the story, you also have to be convincing with your bets. A minimum bet in No Limit Hold’em is only going to give your opponent pot odds to follow you to the river. This is especially true in the case of Limit Hold’em, where there are the pot odds in most occasions to justify a showdown.

Building Your Credibility

Much like in his book, Trump would bank on his reputation and credibility when he was pushing a deal. The same is true at the poker table in that you need to have a solid table image to be able to push your bluff through.

If you have been splashing around in pretty much every pot that has been contested at the tables, then the likelihood of pushing a bluff by someone is greatly reduced. Even if you have been showing down strong hands and winning, the general nature of people is that they want to get back at you. Thus, you have a larger difficulty in bluffing if you have been providing a great deal of action.

If, however, you have been playing at or around a respectable number of hands, between 15% and 22%, the likelihood of a bluff working improves tremendously. Because you haven’t shown a willingness to gamble it up and instead have been showing strong hands, players are more likely to give you credit for the story you are telling.

Where are You?

Bluffing more often than not works from a position of strength. Trump didn’t build an empire because he wasn’t working from such a position. With bluffing, the same thing is true in that you have to be able to have the final say in the action at the table.

The power in poker, in general, is from the later positions and the same is true for bluffing. If you are first to act in a pot, it isn’t the time to be pushing with air, as you do not have the final say in what is going on at the tables. Even if you are in the middle of multi-way action, your bluffing power is reduced because there are players yet to act.

The art of the bluff works the best if you are the last player to act in heads-up action and sometimes if you are last to act in a multi-player pot. Once again, the story has to be in connection with what the board says and must be convincing. If you aren’t in a position of strength, then it is best not to be involved in the hand, let alone bluff.

Summary

Bluffing should be a staple of your poker toolbox. When you do decide to take it out, however, you have to be conscious of many factors at the table and in the cards on the board. Only by using a position of strength, telling a complete story, and building credibility can the art of the bluff work for you.