All poker players like to " bluff " regularly , there is nothing more exciting in a poker game than to deceive an opponent with a weak hand and win the pot .

Unfortunately , the bluff is a move which novice players tend to abuse and in long term they will most certainly loose. We will teach you the basic strategy to help you mastering the art of bluffing in Texas Holdem Poker . This strategy contains 4 basic points :

I - Why should I Bluff in poker ?

II - How to make a successful Bluff in Poker

III - How frequently should I Bluff

IV- When to make a Bluff

I - Why should I Bluff in poker ?

There is no particular reason for bluffing however this move allows you to win pots that under normal conditions you would not win , giving you a factor of ' unpredictability ' to your game . So if your opponents find it difficult to tell if you have a strong or weak hand, that can help you to make money in long term .

Figure I: "Actor of the series Lost Jorge Garcia doing Bluff "

II - How to make a successful Bluff in Poker

If I could tell you how to bluff successfully in all poker games through this article , then I would be the most sought after poker player in the world. Having the ability to detect major opportunities for bluffing comes from experience, rather than a specific set of rules that you can read anywhere, I will give you the foundation to make a good bluff .

To make an effective bluff, your game needs to meet two criteria :

- Your last action in hand should have been strong ;

- The last action of his opponent in the hand must have been weak ;

In some ways this suggests that your game history must have been the opposite of his opponent . If your opponent has played a weak mode and you are playing aggressively , so it makes sense to suggest that the most aggressive player ( ie , a bluff ) is likely to win the pot .

On the other hand , is almost suicide to try bluuf with an opponent who has being playing well and we're playing badly , the more convincing and credible you are at a poker table, the higher will be your chances of making a successful bluff!

III - How frequently should I Bluff

Let me start by telling you that you do not need to bluff nearly as much as you might think. Bluffing is a great weapon, but only if used at the right time and in the right situations. If you use it too often, your bluffs will make you lose credibility.

As with a number of other plays in poker, you want the opportunity of bluff to come looking for you, instead of searching for the ideal time to bluff. Experience tells me that when you're trying to force a bluff, the game will run you badly. Just because you are playing poker, that does not mean you are forced to bluff at some point in the game, you must stay focused.

IV- When to make a Bluff

You should bluff when you're confident that your opponent will fold his bet. This answer is a bit vague, but it really is the most simple and effective answer to the question. However, I will give you some more tips to help you bluff. Here's the first, it is safer to bluff in small pots rather than in large pots.

Bluffing in small pots is much less risky and therefore is not as harmful when things do not work out as planned. This is a good tip, especially if you are a novice player, which will allow you to familiarize yourself with the bluff but without putting to put much of your money at risk.

- Mainge Bluff in flop can be very effective.

In about two-thirds of the moves your opponent will fold on the flop. Beyond what even they hit the flop chances are that they will fold if they are faced with much resistance. It is much easier to fold and save the money instead of risking too much with a mediocre hand. So, if you are the preflop raiser, a continuation bet can be a very effective move. It should maximize your training results in your poker game.

- Avoid to Bluff at River.

This is not to say that bluffing on the river is always wrong, but a lot of the time, a bluff in river is a miscalculated move. Usually players are bluffing on the river as the last desperate attempt to win the hand, regardless of how they played up to that point.

Bluff on the river gives the appearance of a move completely out of context, and makes it very easy to detect if you are an experienced player or not. So, as a general rule, avoid bluffing on the river unless you are completely sure what it will do.

The next time you have the desire to do bluff, close your eyes and make "fold", and then see what happens. It will not hurt as much as you think, and you will probably save some money. the Bluff can work incredibly well in certain situations, but there's really no need to focus your game around this move. Bluffing is only a tool, not a game plan.

Below is an inspiring video of Greg Merson (winner of the WSOP Main Event 2012) making bluff against Jake Balsiger at the final table of the WSOP Main Event 2012.

Video I: "Greg Merson bluffing against Jake Balsiger at the final table of the 2012 WSOP"

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