Should You Bluff in Poker?

No matter what type of poker you play, unless you only play free Texas Holdem, the answer to the question “should you bluff” is an emphatic yes. There are two very good reasons for this. One, if you miss bluffing opportunities, you miss winning opportunities. There are some pots that it is clear nobody wants. Make sure you are the guy who takes those pots rather than the next guy, and you will stand a much better chance of being a winner at the end of the day. The other reason is that if you never bluff, people will always be exactly sure what your bets mean, and you will never win any money when you have a good hand.

How Often Should You Bluff?

This will vary depending upon the type of person you are and the structure of the table. If it is a very tight table where people are playing straightforwardly, you should bluff more often. If it is an extremely loose table where no one believes anybody, you should be much more reluctant to bluff. If you have not been getting much action on your good hands, it’s time to work in a bluff or two. If you’re getting called down all the time, especially if you are showing down mediocre holdings, wait on the bluffing for awhile.

What Are the Best Games to Bluff in?

The best games to bluff in are no limit or pot limit games, where you can really put a lot of pressure on your opponents with a big bet. Limit games are much harder to bluff in, especially in a game like Omaha where someone often has the best or close to the best hand. There are bluffing situations in limit, but they are not as frequent as in no limit and pot limit games.

Playing in Sit'n Go's is one of the best and most straightforward ways to generate money at the poker table. The structure of the game, the amount and the level of competition as well as the amount of poker rake involved (the registration fee) are all built in a way that gives players the advantage, compared to regular cash games or even MTTs.

Being the peculiar genre of poker that it is, Sit'n Go play also has its own particularities. If you're a good cash-game player, that won't necessarily mean you'll be a good STT player as well. Tournament play will throw challenges at you, that are much different from what you'll encounter at any cash table. The very first thing you need to be aware of is that gambling doesn't pay in the early stages of a tournament. If you are an aggressive and successful cash game player, you'll have a hard time controlling your urges in the opening stages of STTs, but unfortunately, that is exactly what you'll have to do.