Tips for Bluffing in Poker

I was trying to calculate how much money I’ve bluffed over my poker career.

The number came to be more than $1 billion.

Here are some tips that I’ve collected over all these years of bluffing ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/tjavZ9x3Nc

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) April 14, 2023

1. Attack flops that miss their range
2. Be careful when draws miss
3. Know what you are representing
4. When to focus on their hand
5. When to focus on your range
6. Know your opponent
7. Understand the stakes for them
8. Use leverage

Let’s dive into each point in more detail…

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) April 14, 2023

1. Attack boards that miss their range

If your opponent’s range is high card heavy, they won't love the 6♠️ 4♠️ 3❤️ flop.

If stacks are deep enough that they can’t just rip it in with KK, consider lots of small semi-bluff raises with gutshots, flush draws & even pairs.

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) April 14, 2023

2. Be careful bluffing when draws miss

When you’ve called two bets on J♦️ 9♦️ 4♣️ 5♣️, and get checked to on the A❤️ river, you need to restrict your bluffs.

Why?

In theory, because you have many missed draws.

In practice, people know & they like to overcall in these spots.

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) April 14, 2023

3. Know what you are representing

Knowing that your hand and the situation are good for bluffing is step 1, but it’s not enough.

You need to know what you’re trying to represent with your chosen bet-size and whether or not it makes sense with your previous actions.

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) April 14, 2023

4. Against weak players, focus on their hand

Weaker players aren’t adept hand readers.

They’ll tend to fold weak hands and call or raise strong hands.

If you can put them on a weak range, attack!

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) April 14, 2023

5. Against strong players, focus on your range

Strong players ARE good hand readers.

They'll have a rough idea of whether your range contains more potential value bets or bluffs.

So, you should too.

They’ll also analyze the story you’re telling (#3), so make it a good one!

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) April 14, 2023

6. Know your opponent

Can you tell this player is afraid of losing a big pot?

Or that another player gets SO much enjoyment out of a winning hero call?

You can sometimes judge by how mindlessly someone folds that they aren’t hungry for every pot.

Bluff the right players!

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) April 14, 2023

7. Understand the stakes for them

How important is this tournament chip stack to this guy?

Is this his deepest run ever?

Was this girl down all session & finally got even? Or is she down so much that this pot doesn’t matter?

Understand what losing a big pot means to them.

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) April 14, 2023

8. Use leverage

When you’re c-betting the turn, or check-raising the flop, your opponent knows they might need to call more than just this bet.

Make it clear early in the hand that you might be threatening their stack.

They’ll be more likely to get out of your way.

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) April 14, 2023