Goebbels Bluffing

Joseph Goebbels, the famous Nazi progaganda "spin doctor" said something like:

Repeat a lie often enough and people will start to believe it.

I've had some bluffs called because I lost inertia. I quit telling the lie for one round of betting.

Normally I think taking a "sanity check" is a good idea. See if THEY'RE willing to bet big, or raise a small bet I place. Maybe they have a better hand than I think they do.

But if they're on the edge of believing I have a stronger hand than they do, and I quit lying for one round of betting, suddenly doubt appears in their mind.

On occasion I'll pretend to have a pocket pair of aces. I'll raise pre-flop, and provided the table cards don't undo me, I'll pretend that all the way to the river with an marching army -- a continuing, constantly increasing set of bets.

Only done once in awhile, it's lethally effective. Then again, once in awhile someone else "hides in the shadow" of my leading the betting and wipes me out.

Are you bluffing for fun, to make the game more interesting when lousy cards are all you have, or are you in it strictly to win. Bluff accordingly.