OnlinePokerNews (OPN) presents an exclusive column of poker strategies with Adda52 Team Spades pro Aditya Sushant in which he’ll share his views on several strategy questions. With over 5 years of experience at live as well as online poker games, Aditya is one of the most successful professional poker players in India. In this weekly strategy column, he will share his thoughts on a number of poker strategy topics and give a detailed insight of this game of skill.
You don’t always need the best card in poker to win the pot. You can bluff your opponent and make him/her believe that you hold a stronger hand and thus steal the pot. Although it may sound easy, bluffing is a very critical move in poker and hence needs to be mastered with experience at the felt. In the 3rd chapter of “Strategy With Sushi”, Aditya Sushant talks about the Art of Bluffing and explains when and how to bluff.
Q1. How important is bluffing in poker?
Sushi – Bluffing is a very important part of the game. It is one of the most important poker strategies especially in Texas Holdem. One should master this skill and also learn when and whom to bluff at the poker table.
Q2. What are the two ideal situations to bluff?
Sushi – Although there can be many scenarios on the table when you can bluff your opponents, two best situation to do would be – 1) In a heads-up and 2) When you a sense a weakness in your opponent
Q3. How different is to bluff at live table than the online?
Sushi – It’s comparatively tougher to bluff in live games as you need to control your emotions which tell the whole story. In the online games, it becomes much easier to bluff as your betting pattern can only be a tell for your opponent, not your face and behavior.
Q4. How should one figure out whether the opponent is bluffing?
Sushi – In live game, you should pick reads and tells of your opponent. Sometimes, if you know your opponent’s playing style, you can catch him/her bluffing. In online games, you can catch a bluff by monitoring betting patterns.
Q5. How important are pot odds when bluffing?
Sushi – While bluffing one should not give good odds to the opponents to call. Small bets and raises can be called. Hence, one should always bluff with a properly calculated amount.
Q6. What would you suggest the poker newbies on bluffing?
Sushi – If you are new to this game, you shouldn’t bluff very often. You can bluff sensing the situations on the table and learn more about bluffing as a strategy to master it in the long run.
‘Strategy with Sushi’ is an attempt to help the amateur poker player to understand his poker path. We start with elementary poker questions and gradually tread the unchartered territory. If you have a question to ask or a topic to discuss then email us at editor@onlinepokernews.in and we will surely take it up with the Pro.