Bluffing Online Requires Subtle Strategies:
When playing poker, bluffing can be an important part of a winning strategy but bluffing online can be trickier than bluffing when playing at a table. This can work for you as well as against you as you cannot see the other player’s facial expressions, subtle body language changes or hear them shout for joy or curse in anger. Of course they cannot do the same with you, which can work to your advantage. Poker hands can be won or lost by bluffing online, provided you follow a few simple guidelines.
First, do not bluff too often. If you are called out on bluff, there is a good chance other players will consider every bet you make as being a bluff and that part of your game will essentially be over. When bluffing online, only do so when the time is right or other players are giving indications of being unsure of the strength of their hands.
If you are sitting at a large table and are in the early table position or one of the first to bet, never bluff in the beginning. There will be several players following your lead and any one of them can call you and expose the bluff before the betting goes around the table. When bluffing online it should be near the end of the round of bets, offer less exposure to others who can call.
Never Bluff Against Desperate Players
If there are only a couple of players remaining in the hand and one of them is seriously low on money, do not take chances. A desperate player has nothing to lose, except the chance of exposing your attempt at bluffing online by calling you. Whether they think you are bluffing or not, they may still take the risk, figuring they are either going to lose it all in that last hand or double their money and remain in the game.
Keep the size of the pot in mind when considering bluffing online as the larger the pot the more incentive other players have to stay in the game. Some poker players with a questionable hand may choose to stay in the game based on the amount of money in the pot offering more if they find out you are bluffing.
If you are playing in games with low betting limits, bluffing online very seldom has any advantages. With pot sizes and bets being low, there is little incentive for a person to drop out of a game and bluffing online rarely pays off in the end. However, if the pot continues to build and in higher stake games, a well-orchestrated bluff may be successful.
Related Reading: General bluffing tips.
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