- This is the type of bluff backed up by a decent poker hand. The semi-bluff works if you are both having the same hand, and though it is an aggressive move, it is not as risky as a true bluff. It is a large bet that is being made by you to avoid a showdown, but you would not be helpless even if the showdown were to still occur.
- BETTING TELLS (ONLINE/LIVE) Timing: How much time your opponent takes before betting may differ depending on whether he has a value hand or a bluff. This will likely differ from one player to another, but look for patterns you can identify with for whether someone is bluffing or betting and use this to your advantage.
- Online Poker Tells #45 Response time. This is a tell that is very common with online poker. It is a quick sign that the player is not experienced, he is not an expert if he is slow at responding to the opponent's moves. On the other hand, a pro will usually know what he will do before you even bet!
By consistently combining tells with one's ability to make reads, extract value and manipulate opponents, a player may significantly increase his/her long-term expectation at the tables. And that's what it's all about! List of Online Poker Tells 1.
15:4724 Dec
You're on the clock.. Your opponent has just made a big bet on the river and it looks like he's trying to scare you away but is he really bluffing? What if he's just value betting? What if he knows his big bet would look suspicious in your eyes? What if he wants you to call? You look at your two cards and take a lost look at the five community cards. What is he trying to represent? You know you need more information to hero call your opponent. Does he have any physical tells? And how do I actually spot a bluff by just looking at him?
If you have been in this situation and asked yourself all those questions, you're in luck. It may be a little late for that last hand, but after reading the next few lines, you'll be ready for the future.
However, this won't be a list of poker professionals recommendations that can vary and can be quite confusing. Instead we will be sharing the results of psychological research conducted with a computer program. Yes, not a real person but an AI who can actually spot a liar successfully 75% of the time. That's 25% more than a human being's success rate; Or at least, that's what the researchers from the University of Michigan are saying.
According to an article called Deception Detection using Real-life Trial Data, the researchers taught a computer to catch a human being red-handed. What did they do exactly? They basically gave the program 118 videos to watch. Half of them were YouTube videos that included various persons responding to questions about made-up films and scripts, thus bluffers. The other half were testimonies from a non-profit organization that helps people who are wrongfully imprisoned with a mixture of both bluffers and truth-tellers
The program studied all those clips and came up with some pretty interesting results that can be very well used at the poker table.
Hand Gestures Are More Common When Bluffing
The AI has spoken: 40% of the liars are using their hands a lot when they are trying to convince the interlocutor while only 25% of the truth-tellers are actually using excessive hand gestures. But this is hardly a tell at the poker table where most of your opponents will be playing with their chips and not gesturing enough. However, one might be able to spot a tell based on how someone plays with their chips. Maybe there is something in how much the fidget with them or how fast they toss them.
Don't Be Fooled By The Direct Eye Contact
Most of us know liars avoid direct eye contact right? Well WRONG! In fact, in the bluffer's attempt to convince you he's telling the truth, he instinctively tries a little too much so he's much more susceptible to look directly in your eyes than a player who is actually telling the truth. Basically, when he's weak, he tries to look strong. Natural no?
And now it seems the AI picked up this interesting physical tell and gave the bluffers a 10% edge: while 60% of the truth-teller looked directly in the eyes of the interlocutor, the liars made the same exact move 70% of the time. So next time you're at a poker table and you look at your opponent who bet big on the river, don't be fooled by the fact he's staring back at you like he's saying ‘I've got nothing to hide.' Because guess what, he still might be lying.
Worrying Too Much Is A Sign Of Strength
Again, weak is strong in general, not just at the poker table, remember that. You opponent might try to look worried, might scowl and grimace just to convince you he has a weak holding when in fact, he doesn't. The computer program from the University of Michigan can confirm that: 30% of the bluffers scowled and grimaced while only 10% of the honest people used such signs of dissatisfaction.
Why? Because we try to imitate something natural such as telling the truth in an unnatural way and this usually leads to overdoing it or using the gestures in all the wrong situations. Make sense right?
Yes Means No
This is basically the principle of lying, yet this very simple principle can help us both off and on the poker felt. According to the research, the bluffers usually nod their head much more often than the truth-tellers. Plus the head nodders are not such confident individuals we might add. A strong character holding a strong poker hand doesn't need approval from anyone, they know who they are and what they have so they don't need to tell you and won't try to convince you with their body language.
Sentence Fillers Are Bluffers
This is one of the few actual facts taught well by our parents when we were young. Indeed, those who use fillers like ‘um' and ‘uh' are more likely to be liars. And it makes sense also as those ums and uhs indicate pauses in the thinking process, pauses usually used to make things up.
But what does these fillers have to do with the play at the poker table? For one, you can ask your opponent if he's bluffing. If his answer is ‘Um, no' then maybe you should consider hero calling. Or maybe your foe read this article too and uses a level 3 type of poker thinking on you. Hmmm…
It's Not About Me, It's About Him Or Her
This last sign is pretty tricky and you must pay special attention to the way your opponent is speaking.
It seems the computer program identified that the liars don't like to speak about themselves that often. Instead of using first-person pronouns like ‘I' and ‘we' they choose instead to use ‘he' or ‘she.' This way, the bluffer can distance himself from the act of bluffing and tries to trick his opponent in the process.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves; just because you noticed someone at the poker table using more ‘he' and ‘she' than ‘I' and ‘we,' this doesn't mean he's actually bluffing. You have to pick up much more information in order to hero call successfully. Be sure to look at all the signs - including betting patterns and sizes - and see if they tell the same story. If they are, then it's actually a good time to hero call and amaze the table. Not so much? Well, maybe folding is the best action. Either way, we hope you made the right decision. No, really (just check the ‘we' in the sentence)!
What other physical tells can you think of? Be sure leave a comment below and share with the whole poker community your experience with bluffing and hero calling.
Poker bluffing is a very important aspect of the game of poker.
In basic terms bluffing in poker is when a player fakes a move and also fakes his face against his desired or real motives, luring his opponents to act in a desired way.
To be successful in poker bluffing, the bluffer must know the thoughts of the other players so as to create a game plan for winning.
The understanding and awareness of certain factors are very important in poker bluffing.
Some of which are the types of poker players at the table, the number of the opponents on the table, the ability of the bluffer to read the plays of his opponents, the cards on the board post-flop, the image already created by the bluffer for himself at the table, the size of the pot already on the table and his position in the hand.
Before I begin with my list I would like to share you my favorite bluffing video featuring Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 WSOP for some inspiration. He really shows us how to bluff in poker.
EXCLUSIVE BONUS CONTENT
Get this article as a beautiful, easily save as a PDF or print for daily use.
Get an amazing infographics covering poker bluffing
Bluff Poker Site
Get a free copy of our popular eBook '21 Secrets to Dominate the Poker Tables Like a Pro'.
Bluff Avenue Poker
Top 10 Poker Bluffing Tips
So there are many tips and how to guide on how to master the art of poker bluffing. Here is my very own top 10 of different ways to bluff in poker. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.
Winning with poker bluffing requires you to not play every hand, and you should always reserve your bluffing for the moments of better chances of winning.
Most people can't skip a round even when they are given a lousy starting hand because they get bored when they fold.
They cannot stand to wait for the next hand and play anyway, leading to loss of money to them.
However, it will eventually be discovered by people if you never put any money on the table without having four of a kind first, leading to smaller pots on your winning hands because your opponents will definitely fold.
You should always bluff a maximum of 2 players at a time if you want to be successful at poker bluffing.
With many active players at the poker table, you are not likely to scare more than 2 away.
Going against this rule causes one of the unmoved players to call your bluff if he has a really good hand.
In most cases, pots with more than 2 players are not profitable for bluffing because the more the opponents you are betting into, the less willing a player would be to call.
You should not bluff when playing against bad or newbie players, as these people frequently call bets regardless of the strength of their hand.
They do this because they still don't know what the game is all about, and are thus happy to call down bets with mediocre hands.
Inexperienced or bad players do not have the ability to fold, while a good player first tries to understand the strength represented by you.
This rule should be followed even if you feel you have a stronger hand.
Your bluffing should always be based on the pot odds, which means you should always display the attitude of a person with a winning hand each time you bluff.
In most cases, a player anticipates folding of a minimum of one hand when he bluffs.
But, you will be exposed if your bluff fails because there is no fold.
A player is not likely to fold if there is more money in the pot because he has more to gain by playing while your bluff will fold more hands with a small pot.
Therefore, a bluff should not be wasted on a large pot.
Bluffing is a good strategy which can be done when you actually hold aces full of kings.
It could even be done if you had low bets and a good hand, as that is a tactic which engages your opponents, forcing them to add to the pot for you to end up with a bigger pot when the hope of winning is lost.
You should also pay attention to the opponents who have folded already, because a player who is out of a hand tends to register more emotion on his face.
If a person folds an eight, it is easier for you to know before two eights are on the board.
In addition, if you notice that a player is upset, there are more chances of you being able to bluff the remaining opponents in the hand and take the pot.
Though bluffing is a common poker strategy, a long time is needed to really be good at it.
You should know when to bluff, making it a strategy that should be launched by experienced players.
Most inexperienced players think that to really become a winning poker player, they need to bluff.
This is not true, because it is possible to be a winning poker player without even bluffing once.
Thus, your bluffs should be limited as much as possible.
They are to be used only in situations where you are sure your opponent will be forced to fold.
You should never be compelled to bluff because you have not done that for a long time.
If all signs indicate that your opponent has a strong hand, you should not bluff.
If you cannot just sit without doing anything, using a semi-bluff is a good idea. This is the type of bluff backed up by a decent poker hand.
The semi-bluff works if you are both having the same hand, and though it is an aggressive move, it is not as risky as a true bluff.
It is a large bet that is being made by you to avoid a showdown, but you would not be helpless even if the showdown were to still occur.
If your betting shows a consistent trend, you should bluff.
For instance, if you had a pre-flop raised in a game holding 6-6, and the flop produced A Q 5 after getting a caller, it would be an indication of the best time to bluff because of the consistent trend.
At the same time, this should be done carefully and not too frequently during the course of the entire game, or you would be caught by the other players that you were just bluffing.
The secret of an effective bluff here is not making the others to be aware that you are following a specific trend or that you are bluffing or not during the game.
If you completely missed the flop after pre-flopping with a good hand, it could be a good idea to repeat that bet.
In some cases, this is a good time to bluff because a better hand could still be made with subsequent cards.
Now, many of the other players are aware that your bet pre-flopped the last time, and don't know that you missed it.
If you represent your bet, pressure will be put on the other players because they will have the suspicion that you now have something better than you have actually.
Bluffing also works when there is a pair on the board.
The reason is that the chances of a person hitting a hand are reduced.
When you have 2 cards, and they are the same cards on the board, it means they are less of a flush possibility (not the same suit), less of a straight possibility (not ordered), and that out there, there are only 2 other cards which could match them to make a set.
However, this won't be a list of poker professionals recommendations that can vary and can be quite confusing. Instead we will be sharing the results of psychological research conducted with a computer program. Yes, not a real person but an AI who can actually spot a liar successfully 75% of the time. That's 25% more than a human being's success rate; Or at least, that's what the researchers from the University of Michigan are saying.
According to an article called Deception Detection using Real-life Trial Data, the researchers taught a computer to catch a human being red-handed. What did they do exactly? They basically gave the program 118 videos to watch. Half of them were YouTube videos that included various persons responding to questions about made-up films and scripts, thus bluffers. The other half were testimonies from a non-profit organization that helps people who are wrongfully imprisoned with a mixture of both bluffers and truth-tellers
The program studied all those clips and came up with some pretty interesting results that can be very well used at the poker table.
Hand Gestures Are More Common When Bluffing
The AI has spoken: 40% of the liars are using their hands a lot when they are trying to convince the interlocutor while only 25% of the truth-tellers are actually using excessive hand gestures. But this is hardly a tell at the poker table where most of your opponents will be playing with their chips and not gesturing enough. However, one might be able to spot a tell based on how someone plays with their chips. Maybe there is something in how much the fidget with them or how fast they toss them.
Don't Be Fooled By The Direct Eye Contact
Most of us know liars avoid direct eye contact right? Well WRONG! In fact, in the bluffer's attempt to convince you he's telling the truth, he instinctively tries a little too much so he's much more susceptible to look directly in your eyes than a player who is actually telling the truth. Basically, when he's weak, he tries to look strong. Natural no?
And now it seems the AI picked up this interesting physical tell and gave the bluffers a 10% edge: while 60% of the truth-teller looked directly in the eyes of the interlocutor, the liars made the same exact move 70% of the time. So next time you're at a poker table and you look at your opponent who bet big on the river, don't be fooled by the fact he's staring back at you like he's saying ‘I've got nothing to hide.' Because guess what, he still might be lying.
Worrying Too Much Is A Sign Of Strength
Again, weak is strong in general, not just at the poker table, remember that. You opponent might try to look worried, might scowl and grimace just to convince you he has a weak holding when in fact, he doesn't. The computer program from the University of Michigan can confirm that: 30% of the bluffers scowled and grimaced while only 10% of the honest people used such signs of dissatisfaction.
Why? Because we try to imitate something natural such as telling the truth in an unnatural way and this usually leads to overdoing it or using the gestures in all the wrong situations. Make sense right?
Yes Means No
This is basically the principle of lying, yet this very simple principle can help us both off and on the poker felt. According to the research, the bluffers usually nod their head much more often than the truth-tellers. Plus the head nodders are not such confident individuals we might add. A strong character holding a strong poker hand doesn't need approval from anyone, they know who they are and what they have so they don't need to tell you and won't try to convince you with their body language.
Sentence Fillers Are Bluffers
This is one of the few actual facts taught well by our parents when we were young. Indeed, those who use fillers like ‘um' and ‘uh' are more likely to be liars. And it makes sense also as those ums and uhs indicate pauses in the thinking process, pauses usually used to make things up.
But what does these fillers have to do with the play at the poker table? For one, you can ask your opponent if he's bluffing. If his answer is ‘Um, no' then maybe you should consider hero calling. Or maybe your foe read this article too and uses a level 3 type of poker thinking on you. Hmmm…
It's Not About Me, It's About Him Or Her
This last sign is pretty tricky and you must pay special attention to the way your opponent is speaking.
It seems the computer program identified that the liars don't like to speak about themselves that often. Instead of using first-person pronouns like ‘I' and ‘we' they choose instead to use ‘he' or ‘she.' This way, the bluffer can distance himself from the act of bluffing and tries to trick his opponent in the process.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves; just because you noticed someone at the poker table using more ‘he' and ‘she' than ‘I' and ‘we,' this doesn't mean he's actually bluffing. You have to pick up much more information in order to hero call successfully. Be sure to look at all the signs - including betting patterns and sizes - and see if they tell the same story. If they are, then it's actually a good time to hero call and amaze the table. Not so much? Well, maybe folding is the best action. Either way, we hope you made the right decision. No, really (just check the ‘we' in the sentence)!
What other physical tells can you think of? Be sure leave a comment below and share with the whole poker community your experience with bluffing and hero calling.
Poker bluffing is a very important aspect of the game of poker.
In basic terms bluffing in poker is when a player fakes a move and also fakes his face against his desired or real motives, luring his opponents to act in a desired way.
To be successful in poker bluffing, the bluffer must know the thoughts of the other players so as to create a game plan for winning.
The understanding and awareness of certain factors are very important in poker bluffing.
Some of which are the types of poker players at the table, the number of the opponents on the table, the ability of the bluffer to read the plays of his opponents, the cards on the board post-flop, the image already created by the bluffer for himself at the table, the size of the pot already on the table and his position in the hand.
Before I begin with my list I would like to share you my favorite bluffing video featuring Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 WSOP for some inspiration. He really shows us how to bluff in poker.
EXCLUSIVE BONUS CONTENT
Get this article as a beautiful, easily save as a PDF or print for daily use.
Get an amazing infographics covering poker bluffing
Bluff Poker Site
Get a free copy of our popular eBook '21 Secrets to Dominate the Poker Tables Like a Pro'.
Bluff Avenue Poker
Top 10 Poker Bluffing Tips
So there are many tips and how to guide on how to master the art of poker bluffing. Here is my very own top 10 of different ways to bluff in poker. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.
Winning with poker bluffing requires you to not play every hand, and you should always reserve your bluffing for the moments of better chances of winning.
Most people can't skip a round even when they are given a lousy starting hand because they get bored when they fold.
They cannot stand to wait for the next hand and play anyway, leading to loss of money to them.
However, it will eventually be discovered by people if you never put any money on the table without having four of a kind first, leading to smaller pots on your winning hands because your opponents will definitely fold.
You should always bluff a maximum of 2 players at a time if you want to be successful at poker bluffing.
With many active players at the poker table, you are not likely to scare more than 2 away.
Going against this rule causes one of the unmoved players to call your bluff if he has a really good hand.
In most cases, pots with more than 2 players are not profitable for bluffing because the more the opponents you are betting into, the less willing a player would be to call.
You should not bluff when playing against bad or newbie players, as these people frequently call bets regardless of the strength of their hand.
They do this because they still don't know what the game is all about, and are thus happy to call down bets with mediocre hands.
Inexperienced or bad players do not have the ability to fold, while a good player first tries to understand the strength represented by you.
This rule should be followed even if you feel you have a stronger hand.
Your bluffing should always be based on the pot odds, which means you should always display the attitude of a person with a winning hand each time you bluff.
In most cases, a player anticipates folding of a minimum of one hand when he bluffs.
But, you will be exposed if your bluff fails because there is no fold.
A player is not likely to fold if there is more money in the pot because he has more to gain by playing while your bluff will fold more hands with a small pot.
Therefore, a bluff should not be wasted on a large pot.
Bluffing is a good strategy which can be done when you actually hold aces full of kings.
It could even be done if you had low bets and a good hand, as that is a tactic which engages your opponents, forcing them to add to the pot for you to end up with a bigger pot when the hope of winning is lost.
You should also pay attention to the opponents who have folded already, because a player who is out of a hand tends to register more emotion on his face.
If a person folds an eight, it is easier for you to know before two eights are on the board.
In addition, if you notice that a player is upset, there are more chances of you being able to bluff the remaining opponents in the hand and take the pot.
Though bluffing is a common poker strategy, a long time is needed to really be good at it.
You should know when to bluff, making it a strategy that should be launched by experienced players.
Most inexperienced players think that to really become a winning poker player, they need to bluff.
This is not true, because it is possible to be a winning poker player without even bluffing once.
Thus, your bluffs should be limited as much as possible.
They are to be used only in situations where you are sure your opponent will be forced to fold.
You should never be compelled to bluff because you have not done that for a long time.
If all signs indicate that your opponent has a strong hand, you should not bluff.
If you cannot just sit without doing anything, using a semi-bluff is a good idea. This is the type of bluff backed up by a decent poker hand.
The semi-bluff works if you are both having the same hand, and though it is an aggressive move, it is not as risky as a true bluff.
It is a large bet that is being made by you to avoid a showdown, but you would not be helpless even if the showdown were to still occur.
If your betting shows a consistent trend, you should bluff.
For instance, if you had a pre-flop raised in a game holding 6-6, and the flop produced A Q 5 after getting a caller, it would be an indication of the best time to bluff because of the consistent trend.
At the same time, this should be done carefully and not too frequently during the course of the entire game, or you would be caught by the other players that you were just bluffing.
The secret of an effective bluff here is not making the others to be aware that you are following a specific trend or that you are bluffing or not during the game.
If you completely missed the flop after pre-flopping with a good hand, it could be a good idea to repeat that bet.
In some cases, this is a good time to bluff because a better hand could still be made with subsequent cards.
Now, many of the other players are aware that your bet pre-flopped the last time, and don't know that you missed it.
If you represent your bet, pressure will be put on the other players because they will have the suspicion that you now have something better than you have actually.
Bluffing also works when there is a pair on the board.
The reason is that the chances of a person hitting a hand are reduced.
When you have 2 cards, and they are the same cards on the board, it means they are less of a flush possibility (not the same suit), less of a straight possibility (not ordered), and that out there, there are only 2 other cards which could match them to make a set.
It could be that those 2 cards had not yet come, or were either buried (especially in a low pair, would people often fold lower cards pre-flop).
In this situation, it is like having 2 cards coming on the flop, and statistically, this means only a few people would have a drawing hand or have hit their hand.
Therefore, you have a good opportunity for bluffing.
final thoughts
Poker bluffing is an art because the player needs to consider a lot of factors.
Pokers Bluffs Il
At the same time, the paradox of bluffing is that if nobody has ever caught you bluffing, you are either not bluffing enough or you are one of the best bluffers.
You would be bluffing too frequently if you were caught almost every time you bluff.
When To Bluff In Poker
Late positioning and sensing weaknesses should form part of your bluffing strategies and though they do not usually win a pot, they narrow it down to a few people.
Now you should go and practice your newly learned poker bluffing skills by playing some real poker.