Extra Advantages of Bluffing in Poker

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Extra Advantages of Bluffing

In the previous article I mentioned how bluffing in poker increases your profits by allowing you win more big blinds/hour.  However incase you already didn’t know, here are a few other advantages that bluffing and pot-stealing give you.

1) Frustrating your Opponents/Putting them on Tilt

No player likes being outwitted.  If someone took your money at a cash table bluffing you with 72 with all due respect you’d be pissed.  You’d probably admire the play in hindsight but you’d probably be very upset with yourself especially if it was a lrge pot.  The same principle applies to bluffing opponents.  The more times you bluff and show your hand the more likely your opponent’s going to become tilted – particularly in the low-limit games where player’s have shorter fuses.  In effect, the more bad decisions and loose calls you can coax your opponent into making, the higher you expected value (and profits) will be!  

2) Giving Yourself a Loose image.

By bluffing alot, 3betting light in position with suited connectors or even value shoving in EP, you can give yourself a more dangerous image at the table.  Not only does it make you more intimidating in live games but it also makes others think twice about bluffing you, and it makes your hands much harder to read on each street (because you’re pre-flop hand range is looser).  For example, if you’re constantly stealing blinds in late position than by the time you get your monster you’ll get greater call equity from opponents.  Hitting a top pair, top kicker on a board Ah-7h-2d will be the last thing on their mind after you’ve been caught raising junk hands pre-flop.

3)  Ability to Move up the Stakes

The further up the stakes you go, the more agressive you’ll have to be.  There is a lot more bluffing going on in the $2/4 than the $0.50/$1 casg games.  Your ability to convey a looser table image and bluff more hands LAG style, perhaps with an ability to play a 30% VPIP% will be a huge boost when moving up the stakes.

 4) More Fun Playing More Hands  

A loose-agressive (LAG) style involving lots of bluffs is generally more “fun”, especially if only sat at one table.  By bluffing more hands you’ll increase you’re overll enjoyment and pleasure from the game, not to mention stopping yourself wasting time sitting out of hands.

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