Bluffing In online Poker
This was published 17-06-2009
Bluffing in an online poker room is completely different than bluffing in a live game. For a lot of reasons, it’s easier to bluff. You just have to click on the button, and not worry about your face flushing, or your breathing changing, or anything about your body giving you away. Make sure you’re chat is disabled, and all you have to do is close your eyes and prey you aren’t called. Thing is…most people do this. Bluffing is out of control online, and people are wising up to it (and have been for a long time).
A good player can spot an online bluff a mile away, and I’m telling you, LOVES them. The tells are extremely obvious, and have nothing to do with your eyes going to the left or right, or you holding your breath. It comes down to how you play the hand, and throwing an ill though out bluff on the end of a hand will typically not pay off, and in fact end up losing you money.
Another main reason to stay far away from bluffing online is that players change in the blink of an eye. There is typically a waiting list with players joining as soon as a player “gets up” from the table. If you have a read on a player, leave for the washroom, and come back to seemingly the same player but get burned because the guy you had a read on left, and was replaced by an ultra aggressive player. Or even worse, someone who has marked you as an easy target, and is waiting for you to throw out your stack on the turn.
Because online bluffing is called more often, you have to bluff very minimally. If you are going to bluff in online poker, keep it to situations that really matter to your opponent. Wait for a great opportunity, plan it and execute it. Throwing out money willy-nilly will not pay off in the long run, and you’d be much better served playing ABC poker.
