Introduction
You hear pros talk about how people under bluff at low stakes which is true for the most part, however it is specific spots that are under bluffed. For example at low stakes the population is not 4 bet bluffing near enough preflop. Another spot that is under bluffed is rivers. That said I see a ton of beginning players who are actively trying to improve do the polar opposite and bluff far too much. That’s okay, it is part of the natural progression of a poker player. If you have identified that you are over bluffing start making adjustments and slowly start bluffing less until you reach that sweet spot.
Understanding the Basics of Bluffing
Bluffing is an essential part of becoming a winning poker player. Bluffing simply put is when you believe that you have a worse hand then your opponent you decide to put money into the pot (bet) with the objective of getting your opponent to fold his better hand thus giving you the pot without having to go to show down.
Bluffing is essential for a few reasons.
- The blinds. If there were no blinds/nothing forcing you to put money in the pot, the best strategy would then be to play AA and ONLY AA. That said there are blinds so we are forced to put money in the pot every single orbit. At the core we are fighting for the blinds in poker. Now how does bluffing play into that? Well, because players are not playing ONLY AA when you raise them they have to decide if they believe you have a better hand than them. If they believe this their best course of action is to then fold. This opens the door for you to represent a better hand than them REGARDLESS of what you whole cards actually are.
- Bluffing balances your poker strategy. If you are only putting money into the pot when you have very strong hands it becomes very easy for the other players to just fold meaning you make no money. How do we combat that we have to balance our strong hands with weaker ones.
- Bluffing allows you to dictate the flow of the game. By being aggressive with bluffs, you can make your opponents more passive, causing them to fold more often and give up on hands they might have won.
With those benefits of bluffing let’s look at some of the pitfalls to bluffing. If you bluff too much you will weaken your credibility. Experienced players will adjust to this and call you wider making your bluffs less effective/profitable.
Signs You Might Be Bluffing Too Much
One of the biggest signs you are bluffing too much is if you find yourself bluffing into multiple players/in multiway pots. When playing multiway post flop your bluffing frequency should drop drastically. This is because the more players there are in a pot the higher the probability that one of your opponents has a strong hand that they will not fold to your bluff.
Another sign that you bluff too much is if you cannot clearly define WHY you are bluffing in that spot. Do you have the correct blockers? Does your line make sense? Do you have a range and/or equity advantage? If you cannot answer those questions concisely then that is a spot you should not be bluffing. If you are just bluffing because you have a “feeling” that is a dead give away that you are bluffing too much.
If you are bluffing into players that are clearly calling stations that is also a dead give away that you bluff too much. If you cannot control yourself from bluffing a calling station it is virtually guaranteed that you are over bluffing in all spots against all opponents.
When Bluffing is Most Effective
Bluffing is most effective when you are bluffing in the correct spots aka you can answer these questions correctly Do you have the correct blockers? Does your line make sense? Do you have a range and/or equity advantage?
Bluffing is also most effective when you use the correct sizing. For example, is this a spot to be thinking about bluffing efficiency (making the smallest size possible so that your bluff needs to work less often) or is it a spot that you need to be over betting the pot? If it is a spot you need to overbet and opt for a small sizing then my friend it will not be a good bluff. Sizing is a massive part of making bluffs effective.
Lastly bluffs are most effective when you time them correctly using your position, stack sizes, tendency of other players etc.
Practical Tips for Improvement
Firstly track your hands. Review your sessions to find spots where you over bluffed so that the next time that spot comes up you can adjust correctly
Actively take notes on players that you play with often and their tendencies; adjust accordingly.
Work on your table image aka balance your ranges correctly.
Conclusion
Bluffing is an essential part of becoming a winning or crushing poker player however over bluffing will have you bleeding money and will prevent you from ever becoming a winning player. Remember to review your sessions and continue to work on finding the correct balance of bluffing to value betting. Good luck out there, GO CRUSH!