The term Bluff is used to describe the acts of pretending knowledge one does not have, or making threats one cannot execute.

In poker, bluffing means to bet or raise with a hand that will fold enough better hands to be profitable. Bluffing can cause other poker players to believe the bluffing player has a dominant hand, so that they all fold; the bluffing player then wins the pot.

A pure bluff, or stone-cold bluff, is a bet or raise with an inferior poker hand that has little or no chance of improving. A player making a pure bluff believes he can win the pot only if all opponents fold. A pure bluff can be profitable in the long run when the probability of being called by an opponent is lower than the pot odds for the bluff.

If a poker player bluffs too frequently, observant opponents snap off his bluffs by calling or re-raising. Occasional bluffing disguises not just the hands a player is bluffing with, but also his legitimate hands that opponents may think he may be bluffing with.

Bluffs have a higher expectation when the probability of being called decreases. If a player bluffs too infrequently, observant opponents will recognize that the player is betting for value and will call with very strong hands or with drawing hands only when they are receiving favorable pot odds.

Source:  Poker777 staff

Thursday, 30 April 2009