Bluffing in free online poker is obviously optional, but in my experience it is crucial at some point if you want to win and progress in poker with higher stakes.

In poker, there are many ways to bluff, depending on your situation. Once you have mastered the basics, being able to make a good bluff will be simple.

First and foremost, knowing your table image is a key factor to consider before bluffing. A tight player is more likely to succeed with a bluff than a loose player. It’s worth keeping in mind what you are trying to achieve by bluffing, and this is what you are trying to convince another player that you have a hand you don’t have, hence the table image. A loose player will probably be called after the flop with a medium pair or even high ace, a tight player will not.

When thinking of bluffing when playing free online qq online, you need to consider how other players play and what kind of player they are. A more experienced player is much more likely to detect your bluff than a less experienced player. A less experienced player is less likely to have his own image on the table, so you can easily identify the type of player against.

Past the table image, preflop action is also vital for a ‘big’ bluff.

Let’s say your 45 minute tournament, you’re playing very tight, but the dealer is not being kind and nothing is happening. The blinds have increased and you feel that a big bluff is needed.

You have queen / ten of a suit, a good bluffing hand. To pass this as a pair of kings or ace / king, you need to raise the preflop. ‘How much?’ I heard you say. Well, remember that you are trying to bluff to win chips, so you need to raise an amount that will be paid by at least one player or maybe two. Let’s assume two players call your raise and the flop comes two / nine / king, rainbow.

Even though you have a good chance of getting a straight with your ten and queen, you still have the opportunity to continue your bluff with the king. There is a chance that one of the other two players will have a king, but you need to find out to fire your first bullet (this must be more than the minimum bet). Let’s say one player calls and the other folds. The turn comes a six, still a rainbow.

Now you need to fire your second bullet. That should be a pretty big bet, but crucially it should be bigger than your first one. Now, if your opponent has nuts, he will probably increase you; In this case, you may be able to Hollywood for a while before giving up. If, however, he only calls, he probably has only one king.

So let’s say he calls and the river reaches four. The next bet is always the hardest, but the most important one, you need to fire the third bullet and again it must be more than the second. A check at this stage will result in either a straight bet or a large bet that you will have to fold. Whatever happens here, you must be prepared to fold and not allow your third bullet to become an all-in. Remember if your bluff hits the river, your preflop raise will make your opponent feel like he is late throughout the hand.

The third point I would make about bluffing is: don’t go bluffing. By that I mean don’t go all in at any time. By bluffing, you must accept that others may have genuine hands, and therefore you must be prepared to give up. No one wants to be knocked out.

Before talking about my final point about bluffing, some quick things to consider are: your table position relative to the button, the type of game you are playing (by that I mean tournament, heads up, cash table , etc.), and small bluffs increase in order to blind the weaker players.

The last point I want to emphasize about bluffing is ‘postflop bluffing’. This usually happens when players are chasing a hand, such as a flush or straight. The best way to illustrate this is to again use a scenario situation.

You get 9c / 10c. You limp with three others and the flop comes, 3c / jc / Ah. You are the small blind and check, the next two players check and the button bet. You pay and the other two fold. The turn card comes in 3d. Now, if you check the button, it will probably bet and maybe rather big, because you suspect it has the ace. You need to place a minimum bet first.