Bluffing Strategies and Tips for Playing Online Poker. Poker is known for its bluffing, you often see the professionals bluffing big time. Big bluffs often pay big dividends but bluffing successfully requires skill and strategy. Bluffing is not going to win you all the games but by bluffing at the right time and circumstances it will increase your poker chips quite readily.

Newcomers to online poker will wonder why their bluffs are not working, the answer is simple. You are either bluffing too often or at the wrong time of the game. You need to learn to 'read' the other players demeanor or style of play. Once you have a player figured out you will be able to discern if he has a strong hand just from their style of play. Remember this works some of the time as players will try and fool you into believing that they have a weak hand so that you and the other players will bet.

To fool your opponents into believing that your hand is stronger than it actually is.
To fool your opponents into believing that your hand is weaker than it actually is.

When you are bluffing with a weak hand you need to avoid a showdown, if you bet quite heavily your opponent may fold and you get the pot. It is wise not to show your hand all the time if all the other players have folded, this goes for a good hand as well as a bluffed weak hand. You don't want your opponent to know what type of hand you had; it just makes it easier for them to read you in future games.

Sometimes after a successful bluff you may want your opponent to know that you have bluffed them by exposing your cards. Your opponent will not like this and that is the idea. You now refrain from bluffing for awhile until similar circumstances arise while you are holding a good hand. Your opponent, hopefully, will remember how you bluffed him previously and will not want to be bluffed again and will bet with you. A showdown will have been forced but this time you will have a good and this time the pot will be even bigger than previously.

Bluffing players to fold involves raises, sometimes even big ones. The point of raising is to place that seed of doubt into a players mind, will they be willing to lose chips to see if you are bluffing. Calling denotes that you have a semi good hand and that will frighten few players.

It is known that it is easier to bluff a good player, which is true. Your bluff may go unnoticed against a poor player while a good player will fold thinking you have a strong hand. Poor players that call may just get that winning hand and here goes your bluff and chips. Why bluff a poor player when you can simply beat them.

The number of players: the more players left to bluff with a poor hand the greater the risk, if four players are left and you scare off three players you are left with one player that has a possible winning and he won't share the pot with you because you bluffed three other players. Now bluffing to show that you have a weak hand is great with many players as many players just increase the pot size.

Your position at the table: being closer to the dealers left (you bet early) increases the difficulty in pulling off a bluff. Speaking or betting last is the best position to try a bluff. If a player has bet and all others have folded you may just persuade the other player to fold by betting the maximum. This may put doubts into the players mind causing him to fold and leave you with a nice big pot.

An example, you are the last person to bet before the draw in a game of five card stud. You are holding a pair of eights and have raised and the other player calls. Your opponent draws three, which suggests he has a pair. You draw one pretending to either have two pairs or four of the same suit etc. The chances of the other player's hand improving is 5-2, will he risk chips if he still has a pair or will he assume you have filled your flush or full house and fold.

Size of the pot: the bigger the pot the easier it is to pull a bluff off. A player with a weak or moderate hand will think twice before calling a big pot.

Bluffing to look weak:

Perhaps the most difficult bluff to pull off, is trying to persuade the other players you have a weak hand when you actually have a strong hand. The point to bluffing weak is to get as much money into the pot, to accomplish this you need to bet slowly. Betting slowly is especially true of limit poker and games like Omaha and Texas Hold'em. You can encourage players to stay in the game by perhaps calling or by raising a small amount where you otherwise would have raised a large amount.

Betting the maximum amount at every opportunity might make all the players fold, leaving you with a small pot while betting low or calling to much will leave you with a small pot as well.

The best teacher for this is experience. Learn to use your judgment of how the other players are betting.

Bluffing to lose:

By bluffing to lose you literally are throwing winning hands. You are trying to persuade players that you are a loose player in the hopes that they will bet against you next time.

Rather bluff with a purpose, you will find that you will lose enough bluffs anyway.

Good Games for Bluffing:

Some poker games are better suited for bluffing. High limit games are great for your bluff, how many players are going to risk a hundred chips when their hand is not quite strong? Players in low limit games with a limit of five or so chips will rather lose the five chips knowing they where beaten.

Knock-out games with no-limits, such as Texas Hold'em or Omaha Hold'em with progressive blinds are ideal for bluffing. Player that are reluctant to bluff will be forced into bluffing as the blinds will soon diminish his pile of chips, this will force him to go all-in otherwise he will be knocked out especially in the final rounds as he will need to supply one of the blinds.