Four Prongs of Bluffing

Like the tines on a fork, successful bluffing has several prongs.

Or so it appears, having been stabbed with all of them repeatedly.

First is narrowing the field. Whether with a bluff on the flop, or pre-flop, the successful bluffer always reduces the number of remaining opponents to a manageable number. Like one. Maybe two. Seldom 3. Never, well, you get the idea.

Number two is "putting" the intended victim on a certain set cards. Like a garbage pair. 9's or lower.

I regularly see players "bet out" three of a kind or a straight into a flush, "just to be sure" you're not bluffing.

Number three is scare cards -- a PS, PF, two pair, or even a pair of royalty that provides them a credible reason to believe you have something better than they do. Although they may "buy" your story simply with #4; personally I find what THEY have is far more powerful in convincing them to fold than what I PRETEND to have.

Number four is a bet large enough that they don't want to lose. The fear of loss, at least in most players, seems to be slightly stronger than the desire to win, perhaps because Hold'Em is mainly a defensive game -- taking assured wins, and avoiding possible lossses.

There are certainly other "prongs" like position, being later is almost always preferable, but those are the four biggies. Or so it appears to me at this stage of my poker career.