Green Light on Bluffing
Some would tell you that stopping a bluff is the best way to beat an opponent at the poker table. But did you know that encouraging another poker player to bluff can be a more effective way to win?
Most poker players would like to stay out of the way of bluffers. However, there are others who would do anything just to make his opponents bluff at the poker table. Weird, but it is true.
Why would people want their poker opponents to bluff?
There are several reasons why poker players would want that to happen. First reason is to have a bigger pot. More raises mean more money to the pot, right? How does one exactly get more raises to the pot? A poker player may choose to make the raise himself, but there is another more effective way to achieve the same effect.
The other way is to make your opponents raise instead of you raising the bet. This is more effective because if you decide to raise the pot, chances are, weaker hands will fold, and you do not want to do that. Your objective is to put more money to the pot, not scare your opponents away from it. You want them to put their money into it, so that in the end you will win a bigger amount.
Just how do you make your opponent bluff you? This is the tricky part. First and foremost you must appear weak, or at least act like you have a weak hand. Thus, you should not show any sign of aggression especially at the earlier part of the round. You do this even though you got a very promising hand, like two pairs before the turn for example.
Less experienced poker players would raise at this stage, but you should not, that is if you want a bigger pot. What you should do is just check at this moment, luring your opponents into thinking that you have such a weak hand. Do this especially if you have reason to believe that they cannot form a stronger hand, for example, if the flop cards are not suited. This means that they have little chance to form a flush.
The key here is to make underestimation work for you. You do this move especially to aggressive poker players, who would pounce on any poker player who seems to have a weak hand. Since nobody is raising the pot, aggressive poker players would likely raise it themselves.