Mastering Poker Bluffing: Tips by a Poker Professional

Bluffing is betting or raising with a weak hand to make someone fold. It’s a simple idea that only works because poker players are constantly trying to guess what the other person has. When you bluff, you’re essentially taking advantage of that uncertainty.

The funny thing is, most bluffs don’t look nearly as dramatic as they make them seem in the movies. It’s usually a normal continuation bet on the flop, or just a small nudge on the river that convinces someone their pair of 10s isn’t good enough.

Many beginners believe that bluffing is about ‘reading the face’ or some physical signs. In reality, bluffing is just understanding the situation better than your opponents and knowing when to raise, when to call, and when to fold.

A good bluff tells a story that the others need to believe. If you tell your opponents that your hand is stronger than theirs (you tell them with your bets, not actually telling them), they might believe it, and they might fold. If you have a neon sign saying “please fold”, that’s a bad bluff, and someone will read it – and you’ll lose.

Note from Mike Waters: Bluffing isn’t always about betting with weak hands and hoping everyone folds. Sometimes you bluff with strong hands. You might have a strong hand and act weaker so the others get brave, bet into you, and build the pot for you. Letting someone think they’ve trapped you can be just as profitable as pushing them off a hand. Both are bluffing in their own way because you’re getting into their heads and making them believe that you’re holding a weak or a strong hand.

Can you bluff every hand? Well, technically, you can, but not every hand is a good spot to bluff. Some situations are just bad positions to bluff, but some are practically inviting you to steal the pot.

In Texas Hold’em poker (and most of the other modern poker variants, like Omaha), bluffing usually comes down to position, stack, and the strength of your opponents.

I’ll walk you through some of the common situations where bluffing works (or doesn’t work), and teach you how to make your first bluffs.

Good bluffing spots are where your story checks out, and the board gives you believable strength. Let’s check out some examples:

A classic example is when you raise a pre-flop from a late position and place a continuation bet on a dry flop like Ace of Clubs, Seven of Diamonds, Two of Spades. That board favours you more than the blinds, so even if you’re holding Queen of Clubs, Jack of Spades, or Nine of Spades, Eight of Spades, a small c-bet makes sense. You’re representing a top pair or a decent ace, and a lot of players will let it go.

The position here is still key, as you can’t do this move in an early position. This move is only available when you’re in a late position. Otherwise, it’s too risky a move that loses strength with more players in the pot.

Semi-bluffs are another strong category. Say you call a raise with the King of Spades and the Queen of Spades, and the flop comes 10 of Spades, Five of Clubs, Two of Spades. You’ve got two overcards plus a flush draw. You’re not betting just to bluff; you’re betting because you have real ways to improve if you get called.

A scare card is any turn or river card that makes your opponent uncomfortable because it connects well with the range you’re representing. For example, you raise a pre-flop with Queen of Hearts, Jack of Hearts, get called, and the flop comes Nine of Clubs, Six of Diamonds, Four of Spades. You c-bet and get called. The turn then comes King of Clubs.

That King hits a lot of hands you would reasonably have as the pre-flop raiser, like suited Ace-King, suited King-Queen, King-Jack, or even sets like Kings. Let’s be honest here – if you don’t have a strong hand, and you get a King of Clubs as a turn, you’re not calling any raises.

It’s a terrible card for most calling ranges, especially if they are called with small pairs or suited connectors. A second barrel here makes your story believable, so it’s one of the best bluffing opportunities that works in many situations.

This is my personal favourite bluff. Most players find paired flops boring because they create a situation where many people fold, since three-of-a-kind and full houses are realistic. However, this also gives you an opportunity to bluff.

Say you raise from the button with Ace of Diamonds and 10 of Clubs, and the big blind calls. The flop comes Eight of Clubs, Eight of Diamonds, Three of Hearts and both players check. The turn is Queen of Hearts.

Now you can fire. That Queen plus the paired board is horrible for random pairs like Fives, Sixes, Nines, and even Js. Your opponent doesn’t want to commit chips when you can credibly represent the eight or a decent queen. Even though you missed, the board texture helps this bluff. Of course, there’s always the risk that they have a stronger pair or an 8.

Bluffing from the blinds is not attractive against multiple players, but against a single late-position opener, it can work well. Say the cutoff raises, and you defend your big blind with 10 of Spades and Eight of Hearts. The flop comes King of Diamonds, Four of Clubs, Four of Spades. This flop favours the defender.

However, if you lead small in this situation, you’re basically saying, “I have the four or a king.” It might sound obvious, but trust me, it is believable, especially because many players auto-fold their openers.

Bluffs work best against players who fold. You don’t bluff the experienced guy who refuses to fold the second pair, but you can definitely bluff the ‘grinder’ who’s obsessed with hand ranges. Someone who likes to think in terms of ‘combos and range advantage’ (or some other fancy terms they’ve read online) is the perfect target when you have nothing but your blocker effect.

A blocker effect is a hand like Ace of Spades and Five of Spades on a board showing possible flushes or straights. Their hands are essentially blocked, so they give you credit.

Note from Australian Gamblers: A blocker effect means your hand contains cards that make it less likely your opponent has the strongest hand on the table. If the river completes a spade flush and you’re holding the Ace of Spades, you know they can’t have the ace-high flush. Same idea if you’re holding a card that completes a straight – you’re making those combinations less available for your opponents. This makes your bluff more believable because they’re worried you’re the one holding the winning hand.

I mentioned these ‘grinders’. They’re players who aren’t calling because they “feel like you’re bluffing”, but because the range math says they should. Yes, they can be some of the easiest opponents to bluff.

A good example is when you raise a pre-flop from middle position with the Queen of Diamonds and Jack of Clubs, and the flop comes King of Hearts, Nine of Clubs, Three of Hearts. It’s not a great flop for you, and against a calling station, you’d probably check and give up.

But against a ‘grinder’ (a player who focuses only on the range of options), a continuation bet works like a charm here because you’re representing all the strong Broadway hands that connect with that King: Ace-King, King-Queen, King-Jack, or even Aces.

These players don’t want to call and “just hope” you’re bluffing. They want a logical reason to continue, and if their hand doesn’t fit the range puzzle, they fold. It’s one of the rare moments where playing against someone who overthinks actually makes your life easier.

If you’re on the button, you have the most information and the widest opening range. That alone creates opportunities to bluff because everyone else is out of position. A very simple (and very common) spot is:

You’re on the button and raise 3x the big blind with a hand like Queen of Spades and Nine of Hearts (any hand can work here). Let’s say that the big blind calls. The flop comes Ace of Hearts, Six of Clubs, Four of Diamonds.

Neither of you hit a good hand, but that Ace is a nightmare card for the big blind. If they check (they usually do), a small bet from the button puts a ton of pressure on them because you’re representing any Ace, any good Broadway hand, and even some suited connectors. Most players just fold here because calling with bottom or middle pairs feels miserable when you’re out of position. This is one of the simplest bluffing opportunities, and it works in many situations.

Another simple bluffing opportunity comes from tiny pots (like 2-3 blinds) where nobody has shown interest. Tournament players do this constantly, but it works in cash games too. Say you limp behind with a 10 of Spades and an Eight of Clubs on the cutoff, and four players see the flop.

The flop comes Queen of Diamonds, Seven of Clubs, and Three of Hearts, and everyone checks to you. When a whole table checks, it usually means nobody hit the flop. A small bet here often takes it down because nobody wants to defend random air in multi-way pots. Nobody cares about that small pot anyway, so you might just steal it.

But like any bluff, this one can backfire, too. For example, if someone slow-played top pair, if a player hit middle pair and doesn’t believe you, or if you’re playing against someone who hates folding, you’re suddenly betting into a hand you’ll likely lose.

Position is one of the most important factors in modern poker, and it becomes even more important when you’re bluffing. A bluff is basically a story you’re selling, and the more information you have before you bluff, the easier it is to tell a believable story.

When you’re the last to act (late position), you get to see who checked, who called, and who already gave up on the pot. When you’re first to act, you’re bluffing blind and hoping nobody has a hand that will ruin your plan.

Most beginners underestimate how much their seat at the table changes their ability to bluff the hand, so I’ll now explain the three positions and how suitable they are for bluffing:

• Early Position: EP is UTG and UTG+1; bluffing here is hard, and I don’t recommend it regardless of your hand. You’re acting without any information, and there are just too many players left to act behind you. Your position just doesn’t allow you to bluff. What will you do if someone in a late position calls or raises? When in EP, just play straightforward poker and save your creativity for later.
• Middle Position: MP is anywhere between EP and LP, and bluffing here can be realistic, but you need to be very selective. It usually depends on how many opponents are behind you and their (and your) stack, so some semi-bluffs and occasional continuation bets might be a possibility here.
• Late Position: The LP is usually the cutoff and the button, and this is the absolute best position for bluffing. If you’re a deep stack, you can basically do whatever you want here. You can steal pots with weak hands, apply pressure after everyone checks, and represent stronger hands than you have. Many bluffs work here not because of the cards, but because everyone else hates calling out of position.

Tip from Mike Waters: If everyone just checks or calls and you’re in a late position, it’s almost mandatory to bet. Weak pots just need someone to claim them, and if you’re in LP, it should be you. Most players hate calling out of position with nothing, and the button takes advantage of that more than any other seat on the table.

The strength of a bluff has more to do with your opponents than your cards. Some players fold too much, some call too much, and some will read your bluff early. If you try to bluff someone who calls on everything, your bluff can be useless, and you’re relying on hand strength.

On the other hand, if you don’t bluff players who are scared of their own stack, you’re missing out on the beauty of poker. Most players have some “default behaviours” that they return to under pressure, so bluffing only works when you aim at those pressure points at the right people, in the right moment.

In general, poker players can be divided into several categories:

• Calling stations: They’re players who call with anything just to see it, so a standard bluff here is pointless.
• Fold or fit players: They either fold when they have a bad hand, or call if they have a good hand. They’re our perfect bluff targets.
• Range nerds (grinders): They are players who rely on maths too much. They are, obviously, very familiar with the poker mechanics, but they lack practice. They can be good targets.
• Short stacks: They might fall into any of the categories above, but they’re running out of chips, so they would call on anything because they’re running out of time. Personally, I don’t recommend trying to bluff short stacks.
• Tight players: These are your favourite players. The tighter they are, the easier they’ll give up small pots.

Note from Australian Gamblers: If you try online poker at any Australian poker site and play a few hands, you’ll spot these player types instantly. Just sit at the table and observe. You’ll see who never folds, who only plays strong hands, who thinks too much, and who’s clearly the calling station. Once you know who’s who, bluffing becomes a lot easier.

Chips are valued differently in cash games and tournaments, which is why bluffing works slightly differently. In cash games, players tend to call lighter because they can reload if they bust, so there’s no true ‘all-in’ situation. They might call you with a middle pair with a weak kicker just to see if you’re bluffing. On the other hand, cash game stacks are also deeper on average, which gives you more room to apply pressure and try some of the bluffs I mentioned above.

In tournaments, losing every chip hurts more because you (usually) can’t reload. So, tournament players fold a lot more often, especially in later stages around the bubble or when approaching the paying stages.

Nobody wants to call and be out of the tournament with Ace-high or second pair. Survival pays better than increasing your stack, but this can also create a good bluffing opportunity with mediocre hands when you’re in LP and have a reasonably deep stack.

Bluffing isn’t magic, and it isn’t about luck. It’s about getting the right timing to apply the right pressure to the right opponents. It’s more poker psychology than anything else.

The two most common mistakes I see people make are bluffing too much and not bluffing enough. You always need to read the situation correctly. If it’s a bad bluffing situation (you’re EP or MP, the board is bad, your opponents are not good bluffing targets), don’t attempt it.

On the other side, if the opportunity is perfect and you’re not bluffing to win chips, you’re playing poker wrong.

Bluffing is not about confidence – it’s about information. The more information you have about your opponents, the easier it is to sell your story. A good bluff is a combination of a believable story to a good target, and with the right amount. Do these three things right, and poker will become a lot more fun.