Bluffing in Online Poker

Simply put, bluffing is essential to poker. If you never bluff, you are missing valuable opportunities to take the pot down without a fight. If you bluff too often, not only are you putting yourself at risk against players with real hands, but you're advertising for players with any sort of hand to call you down.

In order to play a well-rounded game, you should incorporate bluffing and defending against bluffs into your repertoire. More specifically, you should try to master the even-more-difficult art/science of online poker bluffing.

At a real poker table, bluffing takes on a completely different form. You have to worry about physical tells that you're giving off, consciously or subconsciously. Some of your professional human poker players will refuse to give any tells by shading their eyes via sunglasses. My favorite tell-avoidance is from Phil Laak (yes, we also get SGSN - Shark Game Show Network). Have you seen him seek refuge under the hoodie? I liked this move so much that I decided to try my own version down at the local Kelp Keep 'em tables. Whenever I see an opponent watching me too much, I put the seaweed slivers between my teeth and activate my thin membranous eyelids to cover my reactions. Alright, it still needs a little work. The point is that you can try to pick up on these physical tells when you're trying to deduce your opponent's bluff. It's also a different experience when you're staring someone in the face who had just thrown in all his chips on the hand. Online, you won't have that luxury.

Even when the reward is very little, online players seem to bluff even more than real table players. Perhaps it's much easier when they only have to click a button on a mouse as opposed to actually announcing their actions and pushing in physical chips. They aren't staring at anyone so they don't have to worry about what their eyes are saying, they aren't handling any chips, and you can't see them if their pulse quickens and they start to sweat. The only tell that you will be able to use online is the time it takes them to bet and how much they bet. I don't find either of these tells very reliable, so I don't make it a habit to call many big bets when I don't have much of a hand.

How to Spot Bluffs Online

So, how do you spot online bluffs? The only dependable method is to study your opponents, take notes, and make as accurate a read as possible on his cards. If you have seen him make the same out-of-line bet over and over after he misses his draw, feel free to call that bet with second-best pair. Because most of online poker play is so wild, I don't recommend trying to deduce a bluff strictly on betting patterns. Professionals will often realize that an abnormally large bet is a bluff, because normally you would encourage action with a strong hand rather than blowing them out of the pot. Many online players don't recognize when they want action, so they'll go all-in on a $1 pot with the nut flush. Consequently, they'll often do the same thing just to steal the miniscule blinds. Online players don't often make a lot of sense, so don't waste your attention trying to figure them out. Know your opponent and make a decision based on their previous plays.

How to Bluff Online

What about the opposite? How do you bluff your opponents online? For the same reasons outlined above, I rarely recommend a flat-out bluff online against more than one or two opponents. Many players like to take a draw with bottom pair, hoping to catch two pair or a set on the turn. If you haven't even made a pair, they'll beat you every time in a showdown. In a passive pot with lots of callers, forget about bluffing. However, I highly recommend the semi-bluff online, especially when you're in position. What is a semi-bluff? Simply put, it is a bet or raise with a hand that has outs to improve, but probably isn't the best hand at the moment. Let's take a look at an example hand to illustrate a move that has been highly successful for me playing online.

We're in a $1/2 no-limit ring game and I'm one off the button. There are two callers ahead of me and I've got Ad-Jd. I just flat call, the button folds, and the big blind stays in. The flop comes with 10d-4d-8c. The first two players check, and the third player bets $6. When I'm up, I happily toss in $20 to go into the $15 pot. Why? First of all, there's a good chance that I'll win the pot right there. Even if I get called, I'm still in good shape. I've got the nut flush draw and two overcards to the board. A lot of cards will help me on the turn, and if I hit the flush my hand is pretty well-disguised. This is a semi-bluff, as I don't have a complete trash hand, but it also isn't worth anything at the moment. I love betting into draws when I have position because it puts me in control. Many timid players will fold to me in this situation, and if I run into a big reraise I won't be a big underdog if I decide to call. This move is best played from last position relative to the other players, as you'll usually get to take a free card if you don't improve on the turn.

I've heard from many online players who like to defend their blinds unnecessarily or call their opponents down just to keep them honest. They hate the fact that someone could be running over them without a hand. Why get so upset about it? If you don't have a hand yourself, you don't have any business calling their raise. If you're on the big blind and get raised by a notorious bluffer, the worst thing you can do is just call to see the flop. Most of the time, the flop is going to miss both of you. Since you're out of position, you'll just have to check the hand. He, correctly, bets and you have to fold your hand. All you've done is wasted some extra chips because you didn't want to be bluffed. Toss in a big reraise if you must, but have a hand if you're going to go into battle with a bluffer. Don't get involved in personal revenge or try to be the table sheriff - you'll only be hurting your own bankroll. Don't worry, someone else will be happy to put on the badge at the table.

Essentially, you're going to run into a lot of bluffing online. Most of the time, you won't be able to know for certain that your opponent doesn't have you beat. I recommend ignoring betting and time patterns and instead taking inventory of past hands with your opponents. When you want to pick up an extra pot, I recommend the semi-bluff much more often online than a straight-bluff. If you're going to make an out-of-line steal attempt, be sure to have some outs to a potential winning hand. When you hit your hand, you'll just look like you got lucky on a steal attempt. This also succeeds in securing you future action on your monster hands. Oh, and next time you visit the local poker room, try putting the cards in your mouth and rolling your eyes back in your head. It'll catch on… I swear!

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