This is part two of our Juicy Stakes Poker review of bluffing.  In the first article, we talked about bluffing as either fooling the opponents into thinking that your hand is a lot better than it really is or fooling the opponent into thinking your hand is a lot weaker than it really is.

Why Poker Values Misdirection

Last time, we spoke about bluffing as an opportunity and as the proficient bluffer as an opportunistic person.  Today, let’s talk about bluffing as a form of misdirection.

In almost every walk of life, we value honesty and forthrightness.  We deride politicians for talking out of both sides of their mouths.  We are unhappy when governments change the rules willy nilly; it bothers us that the reason for the changes are real but not apparent.

Poker is one accepted and popular area of life in which bluffing, misdirection, and outright skullduggery are not only accepted but have an honored place at the table!  How, then, does poker player learn to misdirect opponents and when is it best to do so?

The Purpose of Bluffing

Sometimes we refer to a person as “an open book”.  In many contexts this is a good thing.  We want our colleagues at work to be open and forthright in the business context.  The opposite of an open colleague is often characterized as a back stabber!

When we bring our “best friend” home to meet our parents, we also want her or him to be an open book.  Otherwise our parents might warn us against becoming too emotionally attached to someone who apparently has much to hide.

In the poker seems, being an open book is very bad indeed!  An open book means that opponents can surmise approximately what hand we have by either following our mannerisms, our betting patterns, or simply the sound of our voice. 

When Annie Sullivan yelled “she knows” in The Miracle Worker, it was a very good thing. It showed that despite her manifest limitations, Helen Keller “knew”!  If you are playing against a sharp woman and you think to yourself “she knows” it’s a sign that you desperately need some misdirection!

The Art of Bluffing and Position

If we take as axiomatic that every poker hand will have a bluff of sorts, we can also state that it is obvious that a bluff from early position before the flop is different than a bluff from late position.

A bluff in early position is clearly a strong attempt at misdirection as the player could have simply called the big blind but chooses to raise.  This should indicate a strong hand especially given the position.  So, a player who raises in early position with a poor hand is bluffing big time!

It is important to know that such a bluff will become an open book if the same player checks on the next round.  A raise in early position demands a continuation bet.  So, you have to be sure that you can make the continuation bet on the next round.

A weak or inexperienced player in early position who can be intimidated by a re-raise from the blinds or any other opponent and folds immediately after the re-raise will likely never be able to pull off a true bluff at the same table.  So, you also have to know if you can call a strong re-raise.

Finally, a small raise in early position is probably going to be seen as an attempt to get as much money out of the pot as possible with a strong hand without revealing too much about the hand.  In other words, a small raise in early position can be the best way for a player in early position to bluff.  The bet will look like an attempt to “hide” a good hand and may cause the other players to fold.

There is a great deal more about bluffing in early position and we will return to the subject in upcoming installments of this series.

Bluffing in Late Position

The blinds have put down their bets or antes and everyone has to call or raise the big blind in order to stay in the game.  YouTube clips fails to show us the many hands in which no one is willing to challenge the big blind and everyone folds before the flop.

So, a bluff in late position involves a case where either a player before the small blind calls or raises or the small blind calls or raises.  Since the small blind already has money in the pot, a call from that player may simply signal a desire to see the flop.   If the small blind or any other player simply calls the big blind, the hand goes to the flop.

If someone raises the big blind, the big blind has to then evaluate the likelihood that the raise comes from a strong hand over the possibility that the raise comes from a bluff.  In this situation, since the big blind already has a substantial investment in the pot, it may pay to call the raise and see the flop.

If the big blind adduces that the raising player can be confused or outright intimidated by a re-raise, that may be the time to pull off a naked bluff!

So Bluffing is All about Feel, Isn’t It?

To a very large extent, bluffing is all about feel.  But it goes a lot beyond feel as well.  The fact is that feel can be misleading.   That’s why we started out here talking about misdirection.  The best bluffs are the ones that make opponents “feel” the exactly incorrect feelings!

The idea of misdirection is a very subtle one.  You can’t expect a player to be bluffed on every hand.  Sometimes, you have to actually make a poor bluff in order to set up a much bolder bluff later in the game.

Baseball and Misdirection

Our American players and those from the many other countries with a large baseball following plus the many countries where interest in baseball is growing may appreciate a lesson in misdirection from baseball.

As in poker, misdirection can take on many aspects in baseball.  An infielder can make a ball hit to the outfield look like a ground ball through very clever misdirection.  However, most misdirection involves the battle between the pitcher and the batter.

Given that the batter can hit the ball and that a good batter can time a very fast fastball, the pitcher’s job is usually to make the player think one pitch is coming in one location and then to throw a different pitch in a different location.

When Johnny Sain was a pitching coach, he used to teach his pitchers that a breaking ball didn’t meet to break a lot; even a very small change in direction would be enough to get most hitters out.

In this sense, we can see that misdirection, whether in baseball or in poker is not a ponderously massive aspect of the game but rather it is a very important yet quiet element in the game.  It is subtle and requires a good deal of practice plus a refined ability to discern the situation.

We will return to bluffing again soon as it comprises an important part of the game and rewards well those who work to become better bluffers!

This is part two of our Juicy Stakes Poker review of bluffing.  In the first article, we talked about bluffing as either fooling the opponents into thinking that your hand is a lot better than it really is or fooling the opponent into thinking your hand is a lot weaker than it really is.

Why Poker Values Misdirection

Last time, we spoke about bluffing as an opportunity and as the proficient bluffer as an opportunistic person.  Today, let’s talk about bluffing as a form of misdirection.

In almost every walk of life, we value honesty and forthrightness.  We deride politicians for talking out of both sides of their mouths.  We are unhappy when governments change the rules willy nilly; it bothers us that the reason for the changes are real but not apparent.

Poker is one accepted and popular area of life in which bluffing, misdirection, and outright skullduggery are not only accepted but have an honored place at the table!  How, then, does poker player learn to misdirect opponents and when is it best to do so?

The Purpose of Bluffing

Sometimes we refer to a person as “an open book”.  In many contexts this is a good thing.  We want our colleagues at work to be open and forthright in the business context.  The opposite of an open colleague is often characterized as a back stabber!

When we bring our “best friend” home to meet our parents, we also want her or him to be an open book.  Otherwise our parents might warn us against becoming too emotionally attached to someone who apparently has much to hide.

In the poker seems, being an open book is very bad indeed!  An open book means that opponents can surmise approximately what hand we have by either following our mannerisms, our betting patterns, or simply the sound of our voice. 

When Annie Sullivan yelled “she knows” in The Miracle Worker, it was a very good thing. It showed that despite her manifest limitations, Helen Keller “knew”!  If you are playing against a sharp woman and you think to yourself “she knows” it’s a sign that you desperately need some misdirection!

The Art of Bluffing and Position

If we take as axiomatic that every poker hand will have a bluff of sorts, we can also state that it is obvious that a bluff from early position before the flop is different than a bluff from late position.

A bluff in early position is clearly a strong attempt at misdirection as the player could have simply called the big blind but chooses to raise.  This should indicate a strong hand especially given the position.  So, a player who raises in early position with a poor hand is bluffing big time!

It is important to know that such a bluff will become an open book if the same player checks on the next round.  A raise in early position demands a continuation bet.  So, you have to be sure that you can make the continuation bet on the next round.

A weak or inexperienced player in early position who can be intimidated by a re-raise from the blinds or any other opponent and folds immediately after the re-raise will likely never be able to pull off a true bluff at the same table.  So, you also have to know if you can call a strong re-raise.

Finally, a small raise in early position is probably going to be seen as an attempt to get as much money out of the pot as possible with a strong hand without revealing too much about the hand.  In other words, a small raise in early position can be the best way for a player in early position to bluff.  The bet will look like an attempt to “hide” a good hand and may cause the other players to fold.

There is a great deal more about bluffing in early position and we will return to the subject in upcoming installments of this series.

Bluffing in Late Position

The blinds have put down their bets or antes and everyone has to call or raise the big blind in order to stay in the game.  YouTube clips fails to show us the many hands in which no one is willing to challenge the big blind and everyone folds before the flop.

So, a bluff in late position involves a case where either a player before the small blind calls or raises or the small blind calls or raises.  Since the small blind already has money in the pot, a call from that player may simply signal a desire to see the flop.   If the small blind or any other player simply calls the big blind, the hand goes to the flop.

If someone raises the big blind, the big blind has to then evaluate the likelihood that the raise comes from a strong hand over the possibility that the raise comes from a bluff.  In this situation, since the big blind already has a substantial investment in the pot, it may pay to call the raise and see the flop.

If the big blind adduces that the raising player can be confused or outright intimidated by a re-raise, that may be the time to pull off a naked bluff!

So Bluffing is All about Feel, Isn’t It?

To a very large extent, bluffing is all about feel.  But it goes a lot beyond feel as well.  The fact is that feel can be misleading.   That’s why we started out here talking about misdirection.  The best bluffs are the ones that make opponents “feel” the exactly incorrect feelings!

The idea of misdirection is a very subtle one.  You can’t expect a player to be bluffed on every hand.  Sometimes, you have to actually make a poor bluff in order to set up a much bolder bluff later in the game.

Baseball and Misdirection

Our American players and those from the many other countries with a large baseball following plus the many countries where interest in baseball is growing may appreciate a lesson in misdirection from baseball.

As in poker, misdirection can take on many aspects in baseball.  An infielder can make a ball hit to the outfield look like a ground ball through very clever misdirection.  However, most misdirection involves the battle between the pitcher and the batter.

Given that the batter can hit the ball and that a good batter can time a very fast fastball, the pitcher’s job is usually to make the player think one pitch is coming in one location and then to throw a different pitch in a different location.

When Johnny Sain was a pitching coach, he used to teach his pitchers that a breaking ball didn’t meet to break a lot; even a very small change in direction would be enough to get most hitters out.

In this sense, we can see that misdirection, whether in baseball or in poker is not a ponderously massive aspect of the game but rather it is a very important yet quiet element in the game.  It is subtle and requires a good deal of practice plus a refined ability to discern the situation.

We will return to bluffing again soon as it comprises an important part of the game and rewards well those who work to become better bluffers!