You must always try and add tricks and lets say dishonesty to your game in order to stand a better chance of not getting read by the other players.

If you always check when your hand isnt great, but not as bad to fold, and if you always bet or raise when you have a very good hand that requires a risk then you are playing it honest all the way. And this can turn against you, because other more attentive players can figure out your game pattern and they might use their new knowledge to control your game.

When you are on the flop and you are the last or among the last players to take an action, then you can just raise the bet with a drawing hand here. It is very possible that our opponents check when the turn comes and you can also check in this case if you dont get the cards you need or expect.

However if you get what you needed you can bet as well here. The whole situation you have created this way will end up saving you money when you check and your hand doesnt become better and it will make you win a lot of money when your hand gets better. If the situation occurs and you are re-raised by another player it will cost you more money than predicted but it would be worth it because you just gained information this way about the other players hands.

When you find yourself in early position and you have a hand that should require a bet or a raise, it is better to check hoping that one of the opponents that has to act after you will bet and you can raise after that when your turn comes. This way you can get the pot much bigger. Lets say you have in hand an A and a K. When the flop comes you can see an A, a K and a 7. If you are first you will check here.

The next two players check also, but one of the players in late position will make a bet. You wait for your turn and then raise the bet that has been placed. This will cause all the other players to either fold or call you bet. But the statistics say you will get more folds than calls overall in your games. If you check and then raise when you are in an early position you get the initiative and you can control the outcome of the hand. However, if some of the other players call, this should give you an insight on their hands and it is still helpful.

Bluffing on Texas Holdem

Learn the most important tricks to bluffing. Learn when to bluff, when not to bluff and even when to bluff that you are bluffing.

Bluffing in Poker and particularly in Texas Holdem is a very useful tool, but if it is not used properly it can be a very dangerous tool to try and use. If used right bluffing can give you the appearance of having a good hand when you have nothing and scare the other players into folding their hands, but if it is not done right then all that happens is that you lose some money.

1) Check to see that the group of players playing for the pot is small. The biggest reason why you should do this is that it is easier to fool a small group than a large one. Another viable problem is that if the players are many, some might simply be dumb and not fully understand the true extent of your bluff. Whatever the case you have to take into consideration that a large group is tougher to bluff. Do not argue. It is simply so.

2) Do not bluff if your hand is weaker than a pair and to be on the safe side, better to have at least two pairs even if these are weak. Note that a player or two will remain in the game even if they have no hand whatsoever. They hope to learn how others play so that they will be able to beat them in later rounds. Such players can be caused to fold if you bluff well. Other than that, always take into consideration that some player will always remaining thinking you are bluffing. So, at least have a good enough hand to beat them.

2) Do not bluff with nothing. Bluffing should be used to make a weak hand look better but not to try to make nothing look like something. Bluffing should only be done if you hold at least one pair. Some players will not back down from your bluff especially in the beginning of the game. They are trying to feel you out and see how you react in different situations. To fool them you are going to have to become a good actor.

d) If you win a round of betting and the other Texas holdem players see that you did it with a big hand, then for the next few rounds you are at a big advantage. The memory of your high-value Texas Holdem sequence will linger in your opponents’ minds and this will help you tremendously if you bluff. Each other player will think twice before challenging your hand.

e) Since you are playing Texas Holdem, pay attention to the cards that the dealers places face-up on the poker table. If you find that the cards down make up a weak pair, then start bluffing. Others will think you have the card to make up a triple, and will back off in fright.

6) Pay attention to how the other players at your table but and what their hands are at the end. Poker players who only bet when they have strong hands are the easiest to beat. All you have to do is wait till they are not betting and you know they have a weak hand so if you push them they will fold for fear of losing any more money on a bad hand.

Closure:
Bluffing is not very different than lying on a test or to friends. If you are a good liar, you will be able to bluff with a lot more confidence than others. But you need to reduce the amount you lie because whereas in life people tend to believe you, in Texas Hold’em, players tend not to believe you.