Poker Bluffing: Art or Suicide Mission?

[amts]

bluffing isn’t just about guts — it’s about timing, psychology, and knowing your opponent.


🧠 Smart bluffing happens when:

• You’re up against a tight player
• The board tells a believable story
• You have position and some backup outs

🔥 But bluffing fails when:

• You bluff a calling station
• The board is too messy
• You do it too often or too obviously

💡 Pro tip: bluff less than you think, but better than they expect.
Because the best bluff? It’s the one they never see coming.

 

[rsparente]

Fair enough, sums up great part of Jonathan's Little book, but even with calling station you'd be able to bluff, but need to know their ranges and the r:r ratio is always low.

 

[Mig32]

Honestly, in my opinion, bluffing feels more like a suicide mission than an art — at least most of the time 😅. It looks great when it works, but when it goes wrong (and it often does), it can wipe out a solid session in seconds.

I get that there’s strategy behind it — timing, reading opponents, board texture — but personally, I prefer playing more straightforward and saving chips for spots where I have real equity. Bluffing can be part of the game, but for me, it’s a high-risk tool I use very sparingly.

 

[Poison91]

A question for you experienced players: Do you think it's important to bluff a lot to raise chip volume and be able to compete more aggressively in the tournament, or is it better to play it safe, cash in, and then play value hands?

Honestly, in my opinion, bluffing feels more like a suicide mission than an art — at least most of the time 😅. It looks great when it works, but when it goes wrong (and it often does), it can wipe out a solid session in seconds.

I get that there’s strategy behind it — timing, reading opponents, board texture — but personally, I prefer playing more straightforward and saving chips for spots where I have real equity. Bluffing can be part of the game, but for me, it’s a high-risk tool I use very sparingly.

I think the exact moment to do it is when you realize your opponent is looking for a flush draw or a straight draw, sometimes a double-headed draw (a straight draw on both sides). The difficult thing about t is realizing that.

 

[wushibala]

I’m pretty sure that without bluffing, you won’t win much in poker.
Sure, sometimes you’ll get lucky and be dealt strong hands often — but let’s be honest, how many tournaments like that happen in a year?
Probably not many.

 

[Shooter74]

Sometimes it's Art... however, it's usually a suicide mission for me...

 

[mssmotilda]

Yes, bluff is a formidable weapon, but it kills even those who don’t know how to use it.

 

[phuchoidey1]

Bluff is hard to play you must know your behavior of your opponents and the pressure you can make , how safe of opponent

 

[kittykittykat]

It’s an art if you’re winning doing it. Pay attention to position, also know your opponents, and don’t risk you’re stack against a super stack.

 

[bodil19982]

It depends on the opponent and the situation on the table, this is possible

 

[CaioRJ]

In freerolls, this can be a suicide mission
Only bluff against players with short chips.

 

[R.Holynskyi]

Absolutely agree. You've put it exactly how I think it is. I rarely bluff, but if I do, I do it successfully in 95% of cases. I think a lot of players underestimate bluffing, bluffing either very often or very little. In my opinion, the most important factor is knowing and understanding how your opponent plays, against whom you are bluffing.

 

[duqnuk]

The feeling when your bluff goes through by betting half or even your whole stack is just unmatched. It's that mix of adrenaline, mind games and reads that makes poker feels more like art than just gamble.

 

[Poker Orifice]

A question for you experienced players: Do you think it's important to bluff a lot to raise chip volume and be able to compete more aggressively in the tournament, or is it better to play it safe, cash in, and then play value hands?


I think the exact moment to do it is when you realize your opponent is looking for a flush draw or a straight draw, sometimes a double-headed draw (a straight draw on both sides). The difficult thing about t is realizing that.

If we believe they're on a draw, don't we want THEM to bluff... and call them down with a bluff catcher? (or re-raise them on river when we don't have a strong enough hand to be a bluff catcher BUT we know they are weak)

 

[Poker Orifice]

Bluffing isn’t just about guts — it’s about timing, psychology, and knowing your opponent.


🧠 Smart bluffing happens when:

• You’re up against a tight player
• The board tells a believable story
• You have position and some backup outs

🔥 But bluffing fails when:

• You bluff a calling station
• The board is too messy
• You do it too often or too obviously

💡 Pro tip: Bluff less than you think, but better than they expect.
Because the best bluff? It’s the one they never see coming.

How often should we be bluffing? (on average)

 

[MAFNL16061986]

sometimes i try to bluff people to fold it depends on how many players i am against tho and try to figure out how the person is playing in game