Sunday, January 27, 2008

Be Taught How to Beguile Others at Texas Poker

By: Renaldo Michaels

Learn the forgotten art of playing Texas Holdem. Get information about when to bluff at poker and when not to.

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Bluffing in Poker and particularly in Texas Holdem is a very useful tool, but if it is not used properly it can be a very dangerous tool to try and use. If used right bluffing can give you the appearance of having a good hand when you have nothing and scare the other players into folding their hands, but if it is not done right then all that happens is that you lose some money.

1) You should only try to bluff after several of the players have folded the more players in on the hand the better the chances that someone will figure out your bluff, or someone may not be skilled enough to realize our are giving off the appearance of betting on a good hand and may continue playing and beat you because of their stupidity, but the point is that a large crowd is harder to fool then a smaller one.

b) This rule applies mostly if you are playing a draw game, but even if you are engaged in one of the stud poker versions such as Texas Holdem only: Bluff (unless you are playing against only one player and you are sure he is a passive poker player) only if your cards sum up at least to a pair. If the double cards you are holding are not strong such as two threes or two fours, it would be wise not to try and bluff. Again, if by previous rounds you have learnt that the players still in the hand are passive or are running scared because they have lost big on one of the previous rounds where they bluffed and lost, you should take advantage and bluff them into losing again.

3) If you are seated in such a way that your turn is last, then, raise the bet more than usual if no one else has raised it before you. This means that none of the others have strong enough cards to win, but they are hoping to get the cards that will turn their hand into a formidable one. Such players may get frightened if they notice you betting with large amounts. This is the time to bluff. But bet just enough to frighten away the meek but not to shake the bold. Then, these will remain thinking you are bluffing.

4) The best time for bluffing is just after you have won a big round where someone forced you to expose your cards and you revealed a strong hand. All the players around will start to gaze at you with respect. Exactly this is the time to strike and bluff the next round while they are still weary of confronting you and the cards you hold. If possible, try and play this Texas hold'em round in exactly the same way you did the previous one and this will confuse them completely.

5) Watch the cards opened up on the deck. If there is a pair down, and if that pair is made up of a value less than nine, try and bluff. Odds are high that others will think you have the rest of that pair or at least a card to make up a triple. Use this and bet accordingly.

6) Check out the players playing against you. If you manage to figure out that they play very conservatively and bet only when their cards are strong, they are the easiest ones to scare away. They think that others play like them and bet only when they have strong hands. Take advantage of this weakness in insight. But note that if you don't manage to frighten them off, that means they really have a massive hand.

Closure:
Bluffing is not very different than lying on a test or to friends. If you are a good liar, you will be able to bluff with a lot more confidence than others. But you need to reduce the amount you lie because whereas in life people tend to believe you, in Texas Hold'em, players tend not to believe you.

Renaldo is one of the few pure poker room and http://www.gambling-portal.com online casino reviewist still around. He has been detailing the features of each online entity for over a decade.


About the Author:
Jack Reider is the long-time editor for a portal reviewing online casinos and he is finalizing a list of poker rooms and casinos that still accept US players so go check it out at http://www.gambling-portal.com

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