How to Work Out When Someone is Bluffing in Poker
- Date
- 6 Dec 2007, 4:51 PM
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- Gambling.com
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Bluffing is one of the key ways you can make a lot of money quite quickly while playing poker. Yet it is not a skill that everyone is naturally born with. Increase the odds in your favor and learn how to tell when someone is bluffing, after all calling someone on their bluff can mean the difference between walking away from the table a winner or walking away from the table empty handed.
Your first hint that someone is bluffing is if they are so kind and gracious to tell you to “save your money.” Keep in mind they are not your friend, they are not even your banker or your guardian angel. They really could care less if you save your money or not, but then telling you to save your money is their way of basically giving you a clue that they are trying to bluff and want you to back down so that the entire jackpot is theirs. Take this as a clue to raise the ante yet again and see if they fold. Remember, no matter how nice your opponent may seem, they are at the table for the same reason you are – to make money!
Next, if you and only one other person remain at the table they are much more likely to bluff. Why, you might ask? Because it‘s easier to trick one person than it is to trick an entire table. Very few people have the skills necessary to bluff an entire table, and it is much easier to do when it is just them and one other person. This puts them only inches away from the jackpot and makes them really anxious to get you out of their way. They are going to do this any way possible, and you should be willing to do the same right back to them.
If your opponent has made a poor flop at the table and they are still aggressively betting then you can be almost certain that they are bluffing. However, they may really have a good hand. The chances are still slim, but it is possible. Most people who have a poor flop and a nice sized jackpot on the table are not going to quietly bow out without at least fighting for that pot. You would do the same thing, so expect it from your competition.
You can also expect your opponents to start bluffing heavily if there is a huge pot on the table. Could you resist bluffing if you were looking at a pot worth several thousands of dollars? Likely not, and your opponent is human as well. Looking at a really nice sized pot is enough to make anyone start bluffing no matter how badly their hand may actually look. Remember, only a portion of poker relies on how well you can actually play the game. The rest relies heavily on your ability to bluff and to call your opponent’s bluff.
As you can imagine bluffing for a while can be a great way to really increase the jackpot but if you have decided that your opponent is simply bluffing hard with nothing real to win with and you are tired of playing you may be forced to make a huge bet in order to push them out of the way. Never keep a continuous betting cycle going any longer than necessary, you are wasting time when you could be playing a new round, and increasing the chances that you could run out of money to bluff with before your opponent which would have them walking away from the table with your money.
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