It’s fair to say there is no better feeling at a poker table than pulling off a stone-cold bluff. Yet so many players seem to consider bluffing to be the core of their game rather than the rare move they try only when the right situation arises.
Chris Moneymaker pulled off an outrageous bluff on the final table of the 2003 WSOP
Like anything in poker, a bluff isn’t a tool to be messed with without specific rhyme or reason. The best players bluff rarely and when they do so it’s because they recognize the opportunity before them, not through some sudden desire to pull the wool over the eyes of their opponents.
When you are making an audacious bluff, you should be asking yourself: “What am I trying to achieve? What am I trying to represent? Is the story I am trying to tell my opponent feasible?” And most importantly, “What am I going to do on future streets if called?”
It’s all about a plan. If you can put your opponent on an accurate range, what are your chances of making him fold the better hand? Can you fire that third barrel; and can you fold when it’s clear your play isn’t going to work?
Picking the right times to bluff can often mean the difference between a winning and a losing session at the tables. Pay attention to the three “Ws” – who, when and why – and you can start to avoid throwing money into the breeze.
