Posts filed under 'Bluffing'
All of us like to think we’re the Master Of The Universe on the table. We have the skills and the strategy to outplay our opponents. But, there are times when you’ll sit at a table and instantly realize that you’re the underdog. You’re a minnow in an ocean of sharks. When that happens, how do you survive? Should you lurk in the shadows and strike when the other players aren’t expecting it? Or, are you better off making them think you’re the player they’ve been afraid to confront. Here’s how to survive as the table underdog.
Developing Your Image
When you approach a table, the others won’t know what to make of you. Chances are, you’ll already have observed them playing. So, you’ll actually have more information than they do. The more information you have over them, the better your decisions will be on the table. If you’re the underdog at a table, fold a lot. It’s not to preserve your bankroll. You fold to develop your image in the minds of your opponents.
Here’s the reason…
As soon as the other players see you folding until you have a strong hand, they’ll dismiss you. To them, you’ll just seem like a player they can bully whenever they want. They’ll think they have you pegged. But, that throws open the door for you to bluff. If they see you betting, they’ll simply fold. The pots you’ll win will be small. But, you’ll win consistently.
Maintain Your Cool
When you’re playing with a bunch of veteran players, it’s easy to start playing aggressively. It feels natural. That’s the mood of the table. Watch yourself. You’re not doing yourself any favors by trying to make a hero play. If you’re taking a pair of threes to a showdown, trying to pull off a magnificent bluff, one player’s call can bring your entire game down around your ears.
Learn to play your hands with moderation. When you’re the underdog at a table, you have one primary advantage: making the others think you’re playing with a style that you’re actually not. As soon as they dismiss you as a weak player, you can begin taking the smaller pots. Remember, a lot of baseball games are won with singles and doubles. Not home runs. You can survive as an underdog. But, you have to play it smart.
August 3rd, 2008
Bluffing is a key part of playing good poker. But, there’s an art to it. Do it too often under the same circumstances and other players will pick up the scent. You’ll go from predator to prey in a heartbeat. Do it too seldom and you’re leaving opportunities for quick kills on the table. Anyone can bluff. Few have the skills to do it well. So, let’s talk about the art of bluffing.
Daring Vs. Stupid Bluffs
Bluffing is a daring move. You’re lying through your teeth, holding cards that can’t stand the heat from other hands and hoping to swipe the pot from under the noses of the other players. That’s a tall order. If it works, you’ll feel as if you own the world. There’s nothing like pulling the wool over the eyes of experienced poker players and getting away with it.
It’s a rush.
But, your bluffs can sour quickly. A lot of veteran players see bluffs often. They’ve spent years watching others make stupid bluffing mistakes. In fact, they’ve probably made the same mistakes themselves. The fact is, inexperienced players follow the same patterns. They tend to bluff in similar circumstances. When their bluffs are called, they scratch their heads, wondering what happened.
Contrarian Bluffing
If you’re going to bluff (and you should), learn to do it when others don’t. Rookies tend to bluff after a raise before the flop. Or, they bluff like idiots on all of the big pots, with dollar signs in their eyes. Skilled players can see right through it. They draw the rookies in, get them to bet more chips and then slit their throats.
Bluffing is supposed to catch everyone by surprise. If other players are expecting a bluff, that’s obviously the worst time to do it. For example, bluff during early positions when the pot is relatively small. It’ll help throw other players off your trail.
Here’s a bluffing tip that a lot of people won’t tell you. Most tables will have good and bad players. Believe it or not, bad players blow out bluffs more often than good players. Skilled poker players play on instinct, skill and percentages. Bad poker players often play out of stupid aggressiveness. I’ve seen veteran players try to bluff and have a knucklehead on the table take them to a showdown. The knucklehead simply didn’t know any better.
Validation By Getting Caught
Here’s my last tip on bluffing (for now): if you’re not getting caught, you’re not bluffing often enough. It’s like asking people out on a date. If you’re not getting shot down, you’re not approaching enough people. Obviously, if you’re getting caught whenever you try to bluff, others are onto your scent. But, find a balance. Bottom line… bluffing is one of the most potent weapons in your arsenal. Use it properly and you can devastate a table. Use it poorly and you’ll just blow yourself up.
July 21st, 2008
We’ve all seen enough poker movies to know what “tells” are. If you’re new to the game, you’re probably giving things away without even realizing it. Don’t worry. I’m going to help you fix the problem right now. I actually wrote this to help players recognize tells in their opponents. But, if you’re reading and saying to yourself, “Geez, I do that.” you’re in trouble. Fix it or prepare to get eaten alive.
The Eyes Tell All
Ever see players wear sunglasses at the table? They don’t do it to look cool. They do it so you can’t see their eyes during a hand. Even veteran players have a tough time hiding things with their eyes. So, they wear impenetrable sunglasses. The next time you’re sitting at a table, look at the other players. You’ll notice them staring at hole cards. You’ll see them looking at the hands of the players to their left (watching for possible folds). They can’t control their eyes. Here’s a word of advice: if your eyes can’t lie, wear sunglasses.
Facial Tics
A lot of poker players like to think of themselves as unreadable blocks of marble. They’re not. Most of us are emotional creatures. We wear those emotions on our faces. Your dog dies? Your face shows it. You win $10,000? It’s easy to see. You have such a strong hand that you can’t believe your luck? Don’t be surprised if other players begin folding. You’re not as unreadable as you think. That’s why you see player with baseball caps, sunglasses and hoods. It’s not a fashion statement. They simply know their tells and they’re covering them up.
Nervous About Something?
This tell is actually kind of funny when you spot it. Some players (especially rookies) don’t handle confrontation well. They become anxious. You’ll notice them fidgeting in their seat. Their eyes dilate. They may even start sweating or involuntarily flexing their muscles or jaw. Experienced players know how to identify it quickly. They’ll look for veins that appear in the neck or face. They hear a dry throat of higher-than-normal voice. Listen, if you’re getting anxious at the table, you need to control yourself. Unless you enjoy being a piece of meat for the other dogs at the table, learn to suppress your anxiety. Poker is all about confrontation. Get used to it.
Body Appreciation
Here’s something that rookies do all the time. If you do this, you need to stop. You may think other players at the table are psychic. They’re not. They’re just reading the obvious signs you’re giving them.
Here’s the problem. Just like we wear our emotions on our faces, others can read it in your body language. Watch other players next time you’re at a table. There will be at least one player who does this. If they get a strong hand, they’ll sit up straight. If they’re dealt crappy cards, their shoulders will slump. When they’re getting ready to bluff, they’ll lean toward the pot. You don’t have to be a mind-reader to get the message.
The Bad Actor
Beginners always do this. But, some pros do, too. Everyone thinks that being a good poker player means being a good actor. That’s true to a point. But, most people are bad actors. When they have a great hand, they’ll downplay it (”Oh, I didn’t realize it was my turn.”). Or, if their hand is poor, they may speak more loudly while raising bets (a tell in bluffing). Learn to recognize bad actors. Win their chips and send them packing.
Telling ‘Em Off
Every player has tells. I have them. You have them. Get used to it. Fooling yourself by thinking you’re a rock that’s devoid of emotion is a one-way ticket to the slots. Learn your tells and control them. Learn others’ tells and exploit them. Poker is as much about playing your opponents as it is playing your cards.
June 15th, 2008
Advanced poker is much more about playing one’s opponents than the cards. The psychological aspect of the game gets front seat, and subtle things (like all sorts of poker tells) become much more important. These are the circumstances under which bluffing inevitably rears its head. Whether it’s a blind-stealing semi-bluff, or a full one, bluffing is going to be present in the game, one way or another. Knowing how to read your opponents, the board and the betting patterns can come in extremely handy in this situation.
The most basic thing you need to know in order to spot a bluff, is how you should build up a near-perfect bluff yourself. If you’re playing against a table full of newbies, bluffing won’t do you much good. In order for a bluff to be successful, you need people who can pick up the message of strength that you’re emitting when bluffing. Rookies and fish won’t be able to tell that you’re showing strength, so they won’t fall for the bluff.
Against good players, bluffing or semi-bluffing makes perfect sense, though in this case, you need to make sure your bluff is perfectly set up, or it’ll backfire.
A good bluff needs to be created. You can’t just shove all-in on any hand and hope for the best, especially not considering the fact that in order to even consider bluffing, you need to be playing against good players.
A bluff begins with picking up reads on your opponents. Observe their behavior and draw your conclusions. Then keep your eye on the board. If you notice your opponents showing weakness, and you see a board texture that would suit a given scenario perfectly, imagine that the scenario is indeed real, and play it out like it’s a movie.
Now that you know how bluffing is supposed to work, you’ll know what to look for in your opponents when you suspect one is being pulled on you.
Poker tells have a huge role in the detection of a bluff. The most important poker tell of all (that’s because it is available live as well as online) is the betting pattern. People must play hands one way or the other, so they must act somehow. They cannot avoid leaving a telltale trail of clues through their betting.
In live poker, there are plenty of other tells you can pick up on. Always watch the eyes of your opponents. The eyes never lie, and that’s exactly why professionals wear shades or baseball caps to hide their eyes. Often, you’ll see one of the players ask a question about the other guy’s hand and look him straight in the eye. People know that their opponents can’t tell a lie while looking someone straight in the eye.
Another tell regarding the eyes is when you see someone stare at his hole-cards insistently. That usually means he has a monster hiding there that he just can’t get enough of contemplating. If you see someone looking at the players on their left, it usually means they’re trying to figure out whether someone would call an eventual raise of theirs or not.
Watch out for the obvious tells players are giving out. Everyone likes to be a comedian, an actor to be more precise. If they want you to think they’re showing strength, they’ll go out of their way to make you think so. If they want to appear weak, some people will overdo that too.
Never underestimate the power of body language. Even if people hide their eyes, there’s nothing they can do about body language. Players on strong hands will automatically adopt a more dominant posture, which, in a “bring it on” kind of way suggests that they’re ready for a confrontation. Those who want to slip by unnoticed and possibly see another free card, adopt a specific posture too. This is something people just can’t help. It’s part of what nature endowed us all with when it comes to communication.
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April 3rd, 2008
