To Bluff or Not to Bluff, That is the Question

I am by no means any kind of authority on bluffing. But I will share that I have bluffed, rarely have been caught bluffing, and when I do bluff I become very nervous so do it much more on line than in a live game. What’s more; most of my bluffs are semi-bluffs and even then don’t occur but maybe three times out of a hundred. I don’t think I have even shown a bluff.

My bluffs often come when the other players in the hand are tentative. I will usually bluff in either the first position or the last position. I rarely bluff with an all in; I will usually bluff with 3 times the big blinds.

I do not include heads up play when trying to determine how often I bluff, simply because I consider HU to be more about bullying than bluffing.

Do others have similar or different strategies?

Scratch

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I will bluff. It is part of the game of poker. I will mostly do it depending on who are the players at the table, how ‘tentative’ they are, what I think I know of them, and what I think they believe of me.

As a Omaha player (mainly), I will often play the ‘scare cards’ on the turn and bluff, especially if I can improve my hand on the river.

I will never show a bluff. :slight_smile:

I don’t do a great deal of bluffing in free chip poker. Like Scratch, I am most often in first or last position. If the flop is three different suits and unconnected I will sometimes bluff no matter my position. I will also when I have a large difference in chip stack either smaller or larger than other players. Finally, if a lot of checking is occurring in hands I will buff. I never show the bluff.

I don’t bluff much except when heads-up (or 3- or 4- handed). I can usually tell when my opponent has a medium strength hand that they might fold, but most players on Replay love to call so much that it is foolish to bluff them. I have played pots where I put my opponent on middle pair, I bet huge for three streets and got called down by that exact middle pair, so I learned not to do that often.

Especially late in tournaments, players get tight sometimes when they try to make it past the bubble, which is a perfect time to get aggressive.

Also, are you including the continuation bet as a form of bluff? I do that all the time so that my play is balanced. Any time I raise preflop, I will bet the flop whether I am extremely strong or if I missed. The only exceptions are weird/scary boards, when I have many callers, or when I am so strong that I want to keep my opponent around and give them a chance to improve later (e.g., flopping a full house). Some people might think that knowing that someone c-bets would provide some kind of advantage, but if your preflop raising range is appropriately strong, then your opponent floating the flop (calling with nothing/a weak hand) is still a mistake.

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first of all i want to say i think the bluffs you do, are u doing well. but as you also said you almost only use semi bluffs, but there are many more useful bluffs. also i saw u said that you do it rarely, it is a good thing to not do it too often, but according to your story i think you can do it a bit more often.

the best way to explain when you should bluff is to know which kinds of bluffs there are and the basic reasons why you should consider one.

here is a list of the basic reasons to bluff and why:

  • player amount: this one is important because the lesser players in game the higher chance you can get them to fold
  • position: simply said, the later you can act, the more information you have. and if you have information that your opponent(s) is weak, you can try a bluff.
  • information: by far the most important thing when considering a bluff. there are 2 kinds of information, the player and the hand info. when looking at the player info, it simply means the tighter the player the more you can bluff. when looking at the hand info, you look how weak you think your opponents hand is, if you think it is weak enough you bluff.
  • to bluff or not: when you considered the 3 things above and expect all your opponents will fold then bluff. if you are unsure and hope they will fold then won’t, only bluff when you have reason to do so.

as i explained earlier, there are many kinds of bluffs, and every kind of bluff needs an another reason to do. so i’ll make my ultimate bluffing guide, i will write all types of bluffs i can think of, what they mean, the reason why to use it, the reasons why not to use it, and example to understand when/why you can perform such a bluff. however keep in mind that every situation is different, so always consider the actual situation first before jumping to the example i gave. ok here the guide:

  • normal bluff
  • when you think your opponent(s) are weak enough to fold
  • when you are not sure enough it will work
  • you have 10sJs on the button, you raise 3bb’s and get 1 caller. flop is 3c 5d Qh. your opponent checks and so do you, turn is As, opponent checks again. because he checked twice he has shown a lot of weakness, so you bet, representing the A and he folds.
  • double barreling bluff
  • when you failed to bluff him out on the flop and try again on the turn
  • when you put the opponent on a draw, when you think he did’nt believed you the first time, when a possible scare card comes
  • when you even consider he slowplays, when a scare card for you comes.
  • you have 8h8d, you raise in on the co 4bb’s, the bb calls. flop is 9h 3d 10d. the bb checks, you cbet with half pot, he thinks 2 seconds and he calls. the turn is Qc, now he bets 30% of the pot. you think the most likely is a queen or a draw, but you expect a queen will likely bet bigger and that this is probably a blockbet. you make a big raise and he folds.
  • triple barreling bluff
  • when you failed to bluff him out of the flop and turn and try it again
  • same reasons as with the double barreling but will rarely be still the case when 3barrel, the only logical reason is when an even bigger scare card comes
  • almost always, this is a very risky kind of bluff and should only be used when you really know what you are doing
  • you have Qh10s, the mp make a raise of 3bb. and you call in lp. flop is 6c 8d Kc. the mp bets 40% of the pot, you did’nt trusted it and thinks he is just cbet bluffing, and you raise. he quickly calls. you know now you misread him. turn Ac, mp now quickly checks. you make another bet of 50% of the pot, he thinks a few seconds and calls, you think he did’nt liked that ace or club. river 4c, he checks again, you bet 50% of the pot again and he insta folds. now you know for sure he had no club.
  • Cbet bluff
  • cbetting on a missed flop
  • one of the few bluffs that IS good to use most of the time
  • when specific cards came that likely have hit your opponent(s), when you will likely not be believed when doing.
  • instead of an example when to use it, i give now an example when NOT to use it: you have 9s9c, you raise utg with 3 bb’s, you get 2 callers. flop is Ah Kh Jc. because you had 2 callers it is very likely they (or at least 1) has a big card (especcialy an ace), and you have 3 overcards to your nines. so you check, 1 player bets, second calls, and you fold. (however consider that big cards may be a good thing when cbetting, but just in the right situations)
  • information bluff
  • make a small bet to see if they are weak enough to 2barrel with a stronger bet
  • when you think you can win with a bluff but just are’nt sure enough to actually do it.
  • every situation except explained above
  • you have Kh Js, utg a person raises 3bb’s, you call in mp, in lp another person also calls. flop is 7s Qs 7d. utg checks, you know nothing about the lp and the utg have shown weakness (which may even mean a slowplay), also the board is paired which means lesser possible outs for your opponents, you think you can get away with a bluff but just won’t be sure enough, so you make an information bluff of 35% of the pot, the lp thinks a few seconds and call, the utg insta folds. now you think a queen with at least a decent kicker would raise here, so the only thing that’s dangerous here is an 7 (which would be quite unlikely) or a draw. so any non spade J or lower will very likely win when you second barrel with a strong bluff.
  • semi bluff
  • bluffing on a drawing hand, which work as a blockbet most of the time, gives you fold equity with a unmade hand, and grants you a big pot if they call and you made your hand
  • when in early or middle position.
  • in late position without any bet placed yet (because you throw away a free card), when a very aggressive player is involved.
  • you have 10sJs. ep raises 3bb’s, you in mp calls, the co and dealer also call. flop As 4c 9s, the ep bets half pot, you semi bluff raise it 2,5 times that bet, co and button folds, ep calls. if the turn hits then you can try extracting a lot of money, if it won’t hit you can consider another semi bluff.
  • bullying bluff
  • bluffing because you know they can’t afford a call
  • attacking a short stack or sometimes a medium stack with a wide range of hands, when got information they are weak
  • attacking a too short stacked person (one which has that low amount that it makes you committed when they push), attacking another big stack, attacking anyone without proper information, doing so just because you can afford it.
  • you have Qc Jc, lp (has 20 bb’s) raises to 3bb’s, you (has 95 bb’s) call. flop 2h 3d 9c, the lp short stack checks, if you bet now it won’t make much sense because they only valuable hands are overpairs, sets, two pair and 9X, overpairs would have raised pf, 2 pairs would’nt have called at all, a set may be possible but wold very likely be slowplayed here, so only A9, 910s or maybe K9 make sense here, so a bet will be very likely seen as a bluff, but just because he can’t afford a call you can make a bullying bluff and you bet full pot, he insta folds.
  • pot building bluff
  • 1 or 2 “value bets” and take the pot afterwards with a big bet
  • super super rarely, only when you have very good information that he will call small bets and fold to a big one, and at the same time a very dry board, probably works only at a specific kind of calling station. may also work to a strong oponent that thinks you just play odd to conceal a big hand, but in this case you should do this even rarer.
  • almost all circumstances, in almost all situations it cost you money instead of gain.
  • you have 5d 5c, ep limps in, you raise to 3bb from lp, the ep calls. flop 2h 7d Ac, ep checks, you bet 2bb’s, and ep calls, turn 8s, now you make a 70% pot bet and he folds. (as you see this is a really fishy bet and will be recognised my most, so only use this at the calling stations that fold to big bets) (also keep in mind that most of the time you shouldnt bluff at all to bad players, especcialy calling stations)
  • strong hand bluff
  • when you got a powerful hand, which is likely to got beaten afterwards but a scare card comes for an even bigger hand
  • to a strong opponent that’s capable of making big laydowns (because having a strong hand beat means he have an even stronger one)
  • when the scare card isn’t too scary for the opponent, when you do it because you think your “strong hand” is still valuable
  • you have 10d10s, the mp raises to 3bb’s, you are co and raises to 8 bb’s, the mp calls. flop is 10c Qs 7s, the mp checks, you bet a half pot, the mp thinks for a while and calls, turn Jd, he checks again, you bet a half pot again, now he waits a few seconds check-raises that bet 2,5 times, now you think for a while and you put him on a straight, but you still call because you may get a full-house, and your trips may even be good. the river 6s, he bets 40% of the pot, now you think for a while and remembered that your bets also could be like a flushdraw, now you bluff with a huge raise, he thinks for a while and folds, he shows AK (the nut straight).
  • check-raise bluffing
  • exactly like the name said
  • when you get a good read the better is bluffing, knowing really well what you are doing because failing this one will cost you a lot of chips. you also need a deep stack to do this (unless you are prepared to go all-in for this, but you need a very good read for that)
  • all other reasons
  • you have 7d 7s, ep raises 3bb’s, u call, lp and the dealer call too. flop 5h 9h jc, ep checks, u check, co check, and the dealer bets the pot, ep folds, you know 3 people checked and if he actually had a hand almost all of the times he should bet a lot less to get callers from a checked pot, you check-raise bluff from 12 to 30 bb’s, the co insta folds, and the dealer folds too.
  • meta game bluff
  • making a bad bluff on purpose expecting it will pay off in later rounds. because they will use cheaper tricks on you because you are the fish in their eyes, also your good hands will paid off more often.
  • know very well what you are doing (this one will just cost money if you wont have a very good reason), do only to strong opponents.
  • use this too often or too less, use this to opponents that already know you, bluff too high amounts.
  • you have 6c 6h, you are ep and bet 3bb’s, the mp and button call, flop 4d Qs Kc, you check, mp checks, the dealer bets half pot, you call and so does the mp, turn 2c, now you bet 40%, the mp folds and the dealer feels this is fishy to bet a deuce and quickly calls, river Jd, you bet 40% again, the dealer thinks a few seconds and calls, you show your sixes, he shows KJ.
  • all-in bluff
  • use all your chips as a bluff
  • when you are short stacked (only when very short stacked on the dealer or co, in all other cases you need at least some equity to do this) , when there is a huge pot to get (when using the second as a reason you should know very good what you are doing because this is the ultimate risk)
  • almost always
  • you have Ac As, ep (175bb’s) raises to 3bb’s, you in mp (120 bb’s) reraises to 8bb’s, dealer (140bb’s) calls, and so does the ep, flop Kh 9d 10h, ep checks, you bet (12bb’s), dealer calls, ep calls, turn is Js, ep checks, you check, dealer bets 35 bb’s, ep insta folds, you think about it for a while and the only logical bet is a queen or bluff, it can be a bluff because he did after 2 people checked, so after thinking you make the call, river is 9h, now you can check and hope he checks back because of a bluff, or you bluff all-in, it’s quite likely he has a queen, but the way you have played you can have a set or flushdraw for as far as he knows, and the flushdraw will be a flush now and the set a full house, and both will beat the straight, you bluff all-in, he thinks for a while and folds, he shows KdQd.

and here some pre-flop bluffs:

  • blind stealing
  • use your late position to raise with a very wide range of hands to win the pot right now. same can be done in blind vs blind preflop
  • most of the time
  • when you have loose agressive players after you, early rounds in a tournament, when you or your opponent(s) are too short stacked (8bb’s or less), with off suited multi gap low cards (like Jd3c, 5h10d, 2s6c, 9h6s)
  • you have 7d 9d. it’s folded to you on the co, you raise it to 4bb’s and everyone folds.
  • limping bomb
  • when you had a lot of limpers who like to see cheap flops, afterwards you make a huge raise (slightly over the pot size) to steal all the free blinds they used.
  • on a table where at least 4 people limped and no one raised (recommended to do with more then 4) (less can be done too but is also less effective), late position or preferrably in the blinds
  • on a table with smarter players that may limp to trap you, or smart players that see what you are trying to do, being too scared or short to perform a c-bet after someone may called, anything less then a mediocre hand (all suited cards, connectors, small pairs, all hands with an queen or king (no aces since you are problably dominated with a call) are playable.
  • you have 5s6s, the utg, mp1, mp2, hijack and co all limped in (you have most of them all see it do much more times before) you are on the button and raise it to 8bb´s, and it´s folded to you by everyone and you get a free 6,5 bb’s, just because they all limped.
  • squeeze play
  • a very loose player have raised as he often does, in late position there was a caller which is probably aware of his loose play, you are in position of them and make a 3-bet with a wide range of hands to push them both out of the way because the raiser raised with a too weak hand and the caller probably would have reraised himself if he was strong enough
  • as mentioned above, use about 4-5 times the raise to raise them both away
  • with maniacs after you, with small aces or unplayable hands, with a stack of the size that commits you to the pot (all-in to do this is ok but you need an even better read on them)
  • you have 10s 9c, a loose agressive player in the mp raises to 3bbs, the co called, you are in the sb and reraise to 12bb´s, they both fold.
  • light 3-betting
  • 3-betting with mediocre hands as a bluff to get them folded of strong hands and to widen your own ranges to get more unpredictable (the squeeze play is actually a form of light 3-betting but it can be done in more situations)
  • in late position against a player that likes to raise a lot but isn´t a maniac, with weak hands that are unlikely to be hold by your opponent but do have some value if you got called
  • using this trick too much, using this trick with weak aces (if you get called you are very likely dominated by a strong ace) all other situations then mentioned above (this is a difficult trick and can cost you a lot when doing it wrong)
  • you have Qh3h, the person in the hijack raises roughly 30% of his hands and so he does now to 4bb´s, you are on the button and 3bet it to 14bb´s the sb and bb quickly fold, the hijack thinks shortly and folds too, he shows Ks 10c
  • light 4-betting
  • same as light 3betting but instead of a 3bet you perform an 4bet, however this one is even much more difficult and dangerous to use as an light 3bet. the differences are you need to have an good read of the raiser (unless you are the raiser of course) and an even better read of the 3better, and because 3bets are more rare then raises you need very good information that he can 3bet as a bluff or be capable of folding to a 4bet. also light 4bets should probably very rarely (maybe never) be used on replaypoker because this strategy will just even start from mid to high stakes in real money poker, so an 3bet (and even most raises) are meant as valuebet only in these stakes. besides of that the best is to have statistics of the other player in which you can see his 3bet,4bet call and 5 bet ranges which you also don´t have in here (the 3bet ranges need to be high and the 4bet call and 5bet ranges low), without statistics is possible but you will need a very good read on the opponent to be able for this.
  • as explained above. tighten your range to: suited connectors, suited 1 gappers, suited 2gappers with an high card that isn´t an ace, medium-high connectors, and (low) pocket pairs. make a 4bet of about 3 times the 3bet.
  • any non mentioned situation, using this when not exactly know what you are doing.
  • you have 9d10d and are in the mp and raise it to 3bb´s, the button 3bets you to 12 bb´s, it´s folded to you, lets just say you know that he has a 3bet range of 12% and also he is on the button, which both is a sign he may have a hand you can bluff him off, lets just say he folds 6%, only calls or your 4bet with 4% hands and 5bets with 2%, so you use a 4bet to 34bb´s, he thinks for a while and folds.
  • light 5-bet push bluff
  • first of all you need to know that this is the hardest bluff that exists by far (a normal all-in bluff is childsplay in comparison to this one), so don´t even consider using it when you are anything less then a pro or won´t mind to lose an entire deep stack buy-in. is the same idea as light 4betting but even a lot harder as the light 4bet because of the same reasons light 4betting is also harder as light 3betting, also your read of the 4better should be even better as the read of the 3better. unless you have some insane soul read of your opponent it´s also undoable without range statistics. the strategy itself is all about knowing the fold range of the 4better is high enough to compare to the equity you have when he may call and at the same counts for the other raisers, simply said EV, but it means you mostly go play on your fold equity but because 4bets often mean big strength your will be called most of the time so you need enough equity from a call to get the ev+, simply said your calling and fold equity will probably be too low on their own but when you combine them it will be +ev (if you do it right however) (same idea like a semi bluff), it´s also important that your opponent is loose enough to combine hands like AK (and if possible) AQs in their “value” range (since these hands are better for your small pairs and suited connectors then big pairs are), also the -EV of a fold may be even bigger then the -EV you get when you 5bet against a “wrong” range which also may be a reason to use the light 5bet push bluff (which means your range will be more wide if you were the 3better then the raiser, and wider when you were the raiser then when you still have to act).
  • as explained above, narrow your range to suited connectors of at least 56s and (low) pocket pairs (low pockets are slightly better), be in a deep stacked ring game of at least 100 bb’s (deep stacked tournament is possible too but there are’nt many tournaments where you and your opponent are over 100bb’s in the middle and late stages and because of the icm it is rarely worth it anyway, also almost never use this in the early stages of a tournament since you are’nt even close of being that deperate to use that kind of tricks)
  • always except the super specific situations mentioned above, not going all-in when doing this (because not doing it makes you committed anyway and you unnessecary lose fold equity like that
  • you have 3h 3d, a very loose player in the mp raises to 4bb’s, it’s folded to you and play on the button, you know he is very loose so you reraise him to 15bb’s, the sb quickly folds, but the bb makes a 4bet to 40 bb’s, the mp quickly folds, you think for a while and you saw him call a 5bet with AK before and in his statistics you saw he is capable of folding to a 4bet and does this roughly 35% of the time, you have 118 bb’s in total and the villain slightly more but is practically all-in if he calls you when you push, with all information combined you think pushing is the best option, so you 5bet push it to 118 bb’s, the bb thinks about it for a very long time, but he decides to fold, he showed JJ.

this were all possible kinds of bluffs i could think about and what you should do with them and how to do this.

hope this helps. yiazmat.

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Yiazmat,

Thank you very much; how kind of you to spend the time and effort adding to the conversation. This is a mouthful and I will save and reread.

I think my first words were that I am no expert, and this just goes to substantiate this truth. It is precisely because I was never really taught, or learned on my own, how to bluff that I make it a minimal play.

This may move me to try some of the above.

Cool.

Merci mon ami,

Scratch

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Yiazmat…
Wow… just Wow… and I thought my posts are long… nice.:+1:

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I’m A POKER ‘STUDENT’. iS ALL THE ABOVE WRITTN DOWN O

I’m a poker ‘student’. Is all this written down somewhere? I could really use I - I do bluff on a rare hand. I even picked u[ a Bluff Achievement award…small smile.

actually i don’t know if all of this is on the internet (probably it is). but what i do know, is that i have looked for some tricks too, and the very best i could find is five bluffing tactics in one page, also those five were much less explained as i did. and the stuff i have used is everything i could think of, so there may be more bluffing strategies but also a few i have thought about myself without ever learning it (like the strong hand bluff for example) it probably exists however because there are already so many existing strategies.

in short: probably all those strategies (maybe even more) are written on the internet, but not even close as much on the same page. and i have also explained specific details about them all.

hope this helps.

ps: tyvm for the very nice words scratch and sassy sarah :slight_smile:

Yiazmat,

Good subject bluffing as I find it used mostly with no similarity to the real life casino poker, RE AL MONEY POKER.
Here some newbies, to the game & site will call any hand., don’t know what the nuts of the hand are, and don’t care to learn, just playing and using luck, hoping their pair will win… Or the weiner that’s holding player number in 6 figure position been here couple years.
I think this site is used by 2 types of players those at this question want in our game those playing to learn, and those playing for entertainment or combo’s of each.
I’ve found bluffing doesn’t work here unless your in late position have analyzed your table and 1. have only players at the table.
2. Have earned the respect of the other players by having them muck, and your winning the majority of the hands they see that you play to conclusion.
3. Only bluff from late position, with few players in the hand and when the strongest opposition is out… Don’t bluff from early you’ll get played or raised, and ur dead.

Very, very rare that I bluff cause this play money is just that to most here, that never played real life I guess.
Who knows
Best to all.
Ausgmblr

well, wherever you find these notes, i’m making sure I have a start to my study path. - I just printed off your list and comments. thanks
byw I think I just sat to the right of you today… hmmm

good points you mentioned, only want to add 2 things to it:
1: as you already mentioned there are also players who like this site to get more skilled, which means these players are tuying to play it more seriously so if they play well enough there are good bluffing opportunities to find.
2: the higher in stakes you get the better the players become, so also in the higher stakes they become better in knowing when they have to fold, what means they are also more capable to get bluffed. also have to say that the truly complicated bluffs i mentioned are rarely good to use on this site and better in real money play like u said, but maybe the very best on this site will understand those tells you try to give and fold.

in short: the best is to look at every situation and see how much chance you have to get someone bluffed away and if you are playing to more skilled players you can also consider more complicated ones.

gl.

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glad it helped, yw :slight_smile:

i can’t remeber the exact seat but i saw you too :slight_smile:. also have to say i did screwed up today, lost a lot. tomorrow better i hope :slight_smile:

Excellent topic and even better comments. Though I have never bluffed even once in my entire life because I always have the absolute nuts, I think that situational bluffing is possible here, especially in MTT’s. Yes, the play is entirely different here than you see for real money but that just means we have to adjust our play.

Just for my 2 cents worth, I do not see the C-bet as a bluff or the information mining bet as a bluff. Maybe I’m playing with semantics here but I would pull these two actions from the list of bluffs and put them into another category.

The best advice I’ve heard on bluffing went to the effect that you cannot bluff a donkey off top pair so don’t even try it. To expand on that, you are not going to be able to run successful bluffs by a good portion of the players here. A player actually needs to be good enough to consider folding, sometimes even the best hand, for bluffs to come into play successfully.

i get what you mean but lemme explain those 2:

Cbet bluff: the true meaning of a bluff is making a bet/raise with what you expect is the worst hand but think to win it by letting everyone fold. the cbet is used in mosst flops when showed aggression in pf, when not hitting it is actually a bluff because you are telling the story you liked that flop and your hand is still good, while it fact it’s not. so it is actually a bluff when you miss the flop.

information bluff: in this one i agree with you completely the information bet isn’t a bluff, because you won’t do this in expecting to win with the worst hand, but only to get information. however the information bluff i talked about is meaned as a bluff because you use an information bluff in 2 steps. first the information bet to see if they are as weak as you think they are, and then 2barrel afterwards as the real bluff. so simply said: the information bet is no bluff like u said, but when using it when you already expect they are weak and finish the job by bluffing the second time then it is. so it’s actually like a double barrel, but with a weak first one if you are too unsure to make a real bluff, but are sure enough to try it in the first place.

I will still disagree here. Continuation betting as rote has not been the standard play for quite some time. It used to be that a player who showed aggression pre-flop (initial raiser) would c-bet every flop. This was basically a play to balance out hands made and hands not made to disguise strength of the hand. Even here it was not a bluff though.

More recently, the concept of equity c-betting and/or delayed c-betting has become more standard. Players like Asher Conniff were early adopters of this and either c-bet because they had equity in the hand, likely the best hand or the flop was unlikely to have been in any of the caller’s ranges. In only 1 of the 3 cases here is the bet a bluff. In the other 2 cases, the player still likely has the best hand and/or best draw and the C-bet is still a value bet.

Yes, getting a bit into the weeds here but this is a great topic and certainly worthy of discussion. A bluff is not simply any bet without having the absolute nuts and I think dissecting some of the concepts you brought up a little finer could be useful, Certainly you gave more than enough information for 1 thread and I certainly appreciate it. Perhaps concepts such as C-betting, pre-flop bets and other specific notions could be done in their own threads in more detail?

Regardless, thanks much for your efforts and excellent input. The more we engage with our fellow players here, the more valuable this forum becomes. Even when we disagree, we get glimpses into the minds of other players and that can only serve to make us better players ourselves.

fully agreed, it has always some advantages to see it from different points of views.

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What is an information bet? I have learned from watching poker stategy never to bet for information. If I think I have the best hand or can get my opponent to fold, I will bet. If I check and they try to bluff me, maybe that gives me a tougher decision than using a “blocker bet”, but I wouldn’t use chips to feel out an opponent. I guess it comes down to putting them on a range and knowing if they can make a good bluff, which makes betting for information unnecessary.

i get what you mean and have read the same thing too, but also i have read the complete opposite.
so i actually don’t know which is the truth, but what i do know is that i have used information bets from time to time, and it did helped me most of the times.
so i mean don’t know the math behind the do/don’t of this strategy, so i can’t say if you are right or not. but i do think it will help some people and when used right i think it can be profitable. but of course i may be wrong.

Regarding information betting, the only issue as I see it is how much will it cost and for what purposes. If I see a player who plays at very high stakes playing in a lower stakes game I will purposely join that game precisely to watch and read his play, and do so by, one, see if he plays in the same way, and two, make a relatively inexpensive information bet or call to learn how he plays a hand that at the higher stakes I would never bet or call. Roland comes to mind and so does RoughPokers, two very high stakes players who at times played (haven’t seen either one of them in over a year) at much lower stakes.

Scratch