It is a sad fact about the game of No Limit Texas Hold'em that most players love to bluff. Obviously, bluffing is a large part of the game, but I say it is a 'sad' fact because too many players base their bluffs on what they have seen on TV without really understanding it. They bluff too often and for too much money. If you learn to spot these players and when they are doing this, you can be a very profitable poker player very quickly.
First of all, as a general rule of thumb, if you spot an opponent bluffing, you have to have something yourself in order to make the call. In other words, it doesn't do you any good to call his bluff if you have nothing. His nothing might be better than you nothing. You do not want to get into poker hands where you are stacking your nothing up against his just because you know he is bluffing. You need to have at least hit something on the flop or you need to have a drawing hand.
For example, you have a hand of K-T and you call your opponent's bet pre-flop. The Flop comes out J-T-3. He bets and you feel that he is bluffing. You have at least hit middle pair and have room for improvement in your hand, so you are somewhat justified in calling if you don't feel that he has a J. However, lets say you are in the Big Blind with 8-9 off suit and your opponents limps into the pot. You call and the Flop comes down K-T-4. You feel he has an Ace and missed the flop, but when he bets you cannot call regardless of what you think he has because you have nothing. Even if he has nothing, his nothing may very well beat your nothing. Do not call here.
Another classic case of when you can call a bluff is if you think your opponent is on a flush draw and it does not hit on the River. Let's say you have T-8 and the flop comes Ts-5d-2d. You opponent bets and you call. The Turn is a meaningless 2c. He checks and you check behind him. The River is a 9h and he bets. You would probably be making a very good call here with your T's up because you might very well put him on a busted flush draw.
Of course, a lot of this depends on what kind of player you think he is. He could have been slow-playing pocket J's and have had you beat the whole way, but that is a subject for another article.
Overall, you want to take a close look at the board on each street and figure out how likely it is that your opponent hit his cards. Once you do that, you will know if you should call his bluff or not. You won't be right 100% of the time, so don't get discouraged. But, the more you are correct, the more profitable a poker player your will ultimately be.
First of all, as a general rule of thumb, if you spot an opponent bluffing, you have to have something yourself in order to make the call. In other words, it doesn't do you any good to call his bluff if you have nothing. His nothing might be better than you nothing. You do not want to get into poker hands where you are stacking your nothing up against his just because you know he is bluffing. You need to have at least hit something on the flop or you need to have a drawing hand.
For example, you have a hand of K-T and you call your opponent's bet pre-flop. The Flop comes out J-T-3. He bets and you feel that he is bluffing. You have at least hit middle pair and have room for improvement in your hand, so you are somewhat justified in calling if you don't feel that he has a J. However, lets say you are in the Big Blind with 8-9 off suit and your opponents limps into the pot. You call and the Flop comes down K-T-4. You feel he has an Ace and missed the flop, but when he bets you cannot call regardless of what you think he has because you have nothing. Even if he has nothing, his nothing may very well beat your nothing. Do not call here.
Another classic case of when you can call a bluff is if you think your opponent is on a flush draw and it does not hit on the River. Let's say you have T-8 and the flop comes Ts-5d-2d. You opponent bets and you call. The Turn is a meaningless 2c. He checks and you check behind him. The River is a 9h and he bets. You would probably be making a very good call here with your T's up because you might very well put him on a busted flush draw.
Of course, a lot of this depends on what kind of player you think he is. He could have been slow-playing pocket J's and have had you beat the whole way, but that is a subject for another article.
Overall, you want to take a close look at the board on each street and figure out how likely it is that your opponent hit his cards. Once you do that, you will know if you should call his bluff or not. You won't be right 100% of the time, so don't get discouraged. But, the more you are correct, the more profitable a poker player your will ultimately be.
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