Bluffing -- An Intro

Let's talk about bluffing, which is essentially representing that you have a strong hand and taking it all the way to the end when you basically have nothing. In almost any motion picture that has featured poker as a backdrop, part of the game scenario has involved someone who is trying to bluff his way into a pot or, at the very least, someone who sits there contemplating a big decision and says, "I think you're bluffing."

Bluffing is slightly exaggerated at the highest levels of play, because the competitors are just too sharp to be taken in on a regular basis. In limit games there is generally a "showdown," though not always. You can get the table to fold sometimes on the river, in which case if you're strong you can be successful.

Of course, depending on the setting, bluffing can have a bad connotation. Case in point - years ago, my mother used to play in a weekly poker game with her friends. None of the players was what you would consider a "sharpie" - my mom least of all. I asked her if she ever tried bluffing her way into a few pots here and there. She looked at me as if a were some sort of cat burglar. "Nobody bluffs in this game," she said. I walked away thinking, "Gee, this is probably the kind of situation where it WOULD work in a regular basis."

Remember that you don't have to turn your cards over at the end, so if you're artful enough about it, no one will know they've been bluffed.

That's precisely the way you want it.