If you want to win a pokerace99 game, you need to be able to spotting the bluffs and not going to help your opponent to make a good hand. This may seem difficult but it is not as hard as you may think. In fact, you can learn to do it with practices and by observing your opponent. I should know, I have been doing it for a quite a time and I mentioned it in my other articles.
There are certain signs that you can look for to spot a bluff. It is true that poker is a game of chance and you never know when you will be dealt with a great hand. However, you can take certain factors into consideration to spot the bluff.
Here are some of the things to consider:
- Bluff when you are the first to enter the pot
- Bluff when you bet the last pre-flop
- When you raise when you are on the button
- When you check pre-flop
- When you raise pre-flop
- When you limp pre-flop
- When you check post flop
If you spot a bluffant, do not call him unless:
- You have a great hand
- The bet was cheap and it is unlikely that you will lose a good chunk of your chips
- The player is a poor bluffer and is just betting with nothing
Calling the bluff in the first 4 bets if you have not hit anything is a bad idea. If you have some dip in you hand, which is likely because you opponent has a better hand, you can call the bet to see the flop or you can call to try and hit your hand. In each case, you need to measure the risk and reward of the call. Watch for a pattern of frequent calling.
Most of the times, pattern isn’t important, and you are good at spotting bluffs, but be aware that other players can and will be observing your betting patterns. People will also keep an eye on the value of your bets, especially against beginners and when you have high re-raise or aggressive play.
However, the best time to see an opponent’s bluff is when you have a strong hand and have been concealed, meaning you have the better hand and do not want to give your competitors a free card. If you are a veteran in the game, you can do this later in the game when you have fewer bets to pay with and your opponents are drafting off.
The later your position in the game, the more you should pay attention to your opponents’ actions. Observe when they check, call or raise. When they bet, you should either call if you think they will win the hand or raise, especially if you have a good hand. Do not try going all-in in early position, there is a good chance that someone will have a better hand than you. If you think that the worst hand is better than yours, you should fold.
In the scenario that you call with a good hand, the payoff is 35:1. Still, when you lose, you lose 35:1, so you only win if you win the hand. The 35:1 payoff means that if you call with a good hand, you can expect to lose about $1. In fact, about half of the time, you will lose money calling.
If you decide to bluff, it is at this point that you should have some sort of calculation on your possible loss. You can’t go all-in or fold at the outset of the game, for that would be suicide.
Moreover, if you are already a veteran in the game, you can better judge if you need to bluff or not. You can decide if calling or raising the bet will be better or not. This demands a lot of skill, but you can do it.
If you are a beginner, you should consider whether calling or raising the bet will be better for you. If you have a lower hand, so much so that you are at the risk of losing the hand, you should bluff. But if you think you have a better hand, you should most especially try to raise the bet.
After you have established yourself as a good player, you can bluff two kinds of different kinds of flops. This requires different skills. You should bluff from the earlier position if you can, or raising from there if you haven’t gotten any callers yet.
Why should you bother bluffing then? Asked earlier, you should not raise without a hand. You should bluff only if you have a really, really good hand, or if you think that the person who raised the bet will fold if you have a really, really good hand.
