Tournament Stretegy: Bluffing

I don't write a lot about bluffing, mainly because in a ring game you can make money without ever having to bluff, so really why bother? Most players, particularly new players, bluff way too much and I don't want to encourage that kind of reckless play by writing posts on bluffing.

However if you are going to do well in tournaments, then you have to use every trick in the book and that includes well timed bluffs. I don't recommend bluffing in the early stages of tournaments when pots are small and you don't yet have a feel for your opponents. There is a saying in poker that you can bluff a good player but you can't bluff a bad one, and I think there is a lot of truth to this. Spend those early stages observing your opponents and try to discern which ones can be bluffed and which ones can't. Play very tight poker, so that your table image will work in your favour when you start running a few bluffs in the middle or late rounds.

By the middle stages, your focus begins to shift from protecting your stack at all costs to risking a bit to accumulate more chips. If you can steal the blinds every now and then you will keep your stack from getting eaten away. When and how depends on your read of your opponents. I'm sorry to say that there is nothing you can read on a blog or in a book that will prepare you for every situation, your own read on your opponents is the most important thing to guide you. All I can do is give you some tips.

Pre-Flop Bluffing Tips:

• Don't try a bluff if someone has raised the pot before you. Your goal is to either steal the blinds outright or to see the flop against a single opponent. The size of your bet should be calculated to achieve these goals. If someone has raised before you, it is more than likely they will call your re-raise and you may get other callers who feel "priced in". Suddenly you are in a multi-way pot with bad cards. Not good.
• Don't always try to steal the blinds with a raise from the button or the cut-off (right of the button) positions. People steal the blinds from these positions so frequently that doing so too often yourself will send signals that you are bluffing. If you fold when everyone has passed to you on the button from time to time, it will make your steals seem more legitimate. Once in a blue moon, try raising from early position. It goes against all poker wisdom to bluff from early position, so if you make even a modest bet from there you should get a lot of respect - if your opponents are good players.

Post-Flop Bluffing tips:

• Don't bluff against two or more opponents. It is more than twice as unlikely to run a successful bluff against two people than it is against one. It is foolish.
• Don't bet too much when you bluff. A small bet, particularly against a good opponent, is often just as effective as a big bet. This is counter to a lot of people who say "go big or go home". I think if you go big with nothing in your hand, then you probably will be going home. Remember the rule: don't risk a lot to win a little.
• Don't bluff an idiot. Bad players just don't lay their hands down very easily. Which makes them fun to play against when you have a great hand but bad targets for your bluffs.

Post-Turn Bluffing Tips:

• My favourite place to bluff is on the turn - after my opponent and I checked after the flop. If I get called, then I shut down and don't put any more chips into the pot. If I get raised, I fold.

Post-River Bluffing Tips:

• Assuming you don't have a hand, the only way you make it to the river is if you and your opponent have been checking it down all the way, so it's pretty unlikely your opponent has anything. Go ahead and bet half the pot, more often than not you will take it.