Bragging can be a strategy and if done the right way can really help. For bragging to be right or say acceptable in a poker game, it should be done with good purpose and intention. Bragging shouldn’t be done just for fun.

A brag that is not too loud to the ears and not too annoying is acceptable. It is the kind of bragging that helps and can earn some money. However, others still find this kind of bragging unethical. But still you can try making this but you must consider first the kind of players you are up against with.

Say you want to deceive your opponents. At some point, one of your opponents makes a bluff with ten-deuce and gets caught, but then gets lucky and able to catch running deuces to win. You can get in the way and brag and say lines like “yeah, I always play ten-deuce as I want to be like my favorite pro Doyle Brunson. If playing ten-deuce works for him then it will work for me too.” Your opponent then may go on tilt and you will have better winning chances. If he or she goes on tilt, he or she will become distracted and won’t be able to make good and sound decisions.

But of course, still, you must be careful when you brag. And never brag in all of your games most especially if you play with almost the same players most of the time. You may become too predictable and readable at the table.

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However, you must be very careful when you are making a bluff call as a bluff call is actually something too risky to make. Well, it is because making a bluff call requires higher level of thinking and once you make even just too little mistake in assessing what others think of you and the cards you are holding you’re dead. Thus, you must be very careful.

To make a successful bluff call, be sure you know how to properly read your opponents. To start out, say there is a pre-flop raiser with 8s 4s and you call him. Afterwards, flop brings Kh 9c 9s and your closest rival places a sizable bet and you flat call. You call although you are not so sure as you have no hand and no draw but then you can read that your closest rival won’t win. After few minutes, turn comes and brings 3c. Closest rival places a pot sized bet and raises all in immediately. Then closest rival flips over his AA face up and so you win. You can take home the pot then.

Example scenario above is a good example on making a successful bluff. Because of the good reading made, closest rival waved goodbye to the pot. Thus, to be able to make a successful bluff later on, practice on how to read your opponents well. Practice until you learn how.

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I regularly watch Holdem on television and once because of a certain game I’ve witnessed I realized something. Well, I realized that there are certain situations where acting first and betting can take a pot. But of course I understand that as a viewer I can see the cards of everybody while as a player I cannot.

Do you know of any circumstance by which a player can actually use first position to his own advantage?

Thanks in advance!

Warm regards,
Levi
Levi,

In pots where opponents both miss the flop, the person that bets first will usually take the pot. If you were the aggressor preflop in early position, then you should bet. If you are a tight player and people perceive that, sometime you can use early position to make a bluff.

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I typically play with some close friends. I can’t believe it but there’s one person who always wins. Well, he does bluff some pots and gets others to fold but I don’t totally believe that these are the reasons why he always makes it.

Normally, when he’s in a hand in someone and he happens to ride it all the way to the river calling any bet, he then makes it to have a pair or a gunshot straight. Not to mention that whenever a certain player is in a pot with him and we finally turn over a pair each, I usually have a king kicker while he has an ace.

I remember one time in a 3 handed game, with QhJh I went all in. He called and flipped 8h7h over. Flop came up and was Q Q 6. Turn followed and was a 9. River then was next and brought 10, thus granting him a straight. In the end he made it again. I don’t understand why he’s always lucky and he’s always on top of the line.

Next time when he gets either a pocket pair or suited picture cards almost every hand, what should I do? I need your advice please.

Thank you.

Regards,
Cade
Cade,

Your friend is riding a hot streak. You can either choose to play tighter against him, or choose to play small ball. A player such as this is a good one to play small ball with. See a lot of cheap flops and when your marginal hands connect big, then you punish him. Since he seems to be a bit of a calling station, you should be able to profit from him.

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I hope you don’t mind but I want to know if what are your thoughts about exposing your cards when a bluff works. Do you normally do this if you have planned to play tighter later on or else this is a bit evident particularly for usual Low Limit games? On the flip side, what if you have planned to play looser later on, will you show a big hand or you will let others pay for them to see what you have?

Thank you.

Best regards,
Adley
Adley,

If I want to mess with players heads or if I plan to play tighter later, I may show a bluff to throw them off and maybe convince them to call me down later. Otherwise, I don’t show my bluffs.

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I’m 38 yrs. old and have been playing poker for months now. I was not that interested with the game but since I received an open invitation to join a weekly poker group I then became a bit interested. The guys were very willing to teach me then, they were so kind. Well with the patience and hard work of those guys, I was able to understand some of the basics of poker and then later joined real games. However I was a weak tight type then. Online, I was a bit okay but in real games, a disaster. Normally, I’d get pushed out of the pot, typically with a bluff; or 2-everyone would fold and then wouldn’t get any action on the hand.

Just recently, I saw your site and started reading some stuff. I then discovered I have lots of things to work out on but I just decided later to have one at a time.

I tried first to treat my raise-o-phobia. Luckily, in a certain game, I was able to re-raise a bluff to take down the pot and also flipped my cards over for others to see I had nothing. I also ended up being on the third spot.

Next I worked out on was my position play and my being the initiator. I entered a 27 person online tournament and fortunately had made it to heads up.

Well, I also wanted to drastically reduce my limp in’s and checks so I tried once if I could do it. I won a lot of pots without going to a showdown. And the hands I lost weren’t that significant as players then just called me instead of betting or raising.

Now, I’m more on being the aggressor and I believe it’s far better. My bluffs, traps, big pairs and even my losing hands are all much better. All points to my advantage. But I’m now bothered, I might return to my old ways, my old approach. Any tips?

Many thanks,
Lexis
Lexis,

Continue to work on your game and use the tools that you have developed to your advantage. Also, continue to work on new tricks and skills to help you get further in tournaments and to take them down. Work more on blind stealing and also on things such as playing small pot poker, table image, and pot odds. The more you learn, the better player you will become.

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For more than a year now, I’ve been playing Holdem with my younger brother. In a weekly basis, we have short-handed tournaments, normally of 4 players. I believe we are both tight players however are also aggressive when in a pot.

One time, we encountered a player who has won the last few times in a row. The said player is at times a loose-aggressive one however most of the time just loves to call station and so later I decided not to bluff against him in a pot or do anything out of the ordinary. I’m bothered as maybe he had something and then would call it down even on a draw or the like. Later, I just realized that I was already checking on the flop when I missed my hand while other player was busy placing huge bets. At some point, I’ve been folding and if not observed him as he bluffs. End part, he chased the cards he needed and I end up paying him off. Any thoughts?

Well, now I realize that though I can feel I have the best hand against an opponent, I still play cautiously while trying to observe what his hand is. Do you think I sound sensible on this one?

Hope to hear from you.

All the best,
Jirby
Jirby,

When playing against a loose aggressive player, the best bet it to either tighten up your game or see a lot of cheap flops and punish them when you connect. Push your hand when you have the advantage and take his money when you have the best hand. Yes, there are times he will suck out on you, but that will happen against a calling station. Be prepared for such.

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Most of the time, flop appears and I don’t yet have anything good like a strong flush draw or an open-ended straight draw. Then at some point where I already have lots of outs to bring me a hand I will feel pot will be granted to me. However, I typically check when such thing happens. I also mix up a bit of betting stuff to my style so that players can’t nail down any patterns. But my approach wasn’t effective one time. I expected to hit but I end up frustrated, no hit at all. I thought of checking however I may look like a weak one.

In your case, how often do you bet a draw as opposed to checking it with a hope of getting a free card? And do you know all the best pots to bet on a draw? Lastly, when you can’t hit on the turn and/or river, what’s the best way to go on?

I’ll be glad to hear from you soon.

Thanks in advance!

Warm regards,
Tristan
Tristan,

When you are in position and are on a draw, those are the best times to bet to try and get a free card. That way, players will tend to check to you on the turn. When you are unable to hit on the turn or the river, if you do not have a hand, you can either try to fire out a bluff at the end or check it down and save your losses. A lot of this will depend on the player that you are against and the likelihood they will fold to your bet. Now chances are you will be bet into on the river if you checked on the turn. In this case, you likely should fold.

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For about 8 months now, I’ve been playing Poker, mainly online. I’ve been playing well I believe however I know I still can go places in my career.
Now I want to know, do you show your cards either after a hand win or lose all the time? I don’t show my hand that often and if in case I do show it, I make sure I would win a hand or else have a good one. When I’m bluffing, I also never reveal anything. But if I can feel I could win with a strong hand, I like to show what I have. I believe doing this may just make others think of calling or raising a bluff on me.

Any advice on revealing hands?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Warm regards,
Luke
Luke,

I never show my bluffs. I will show an occasional strong hand, especially if it’s late in the tournaments. I want the players to think I am always playing tight and that I have the goods whenever I am in the pot.

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I am new to Poker and actually a very under-funded one. I’m 24 yrs. old and a graduating student. Just yesterday, I tried a live session in a certain casino in Atlantic City. I had $150 at $2-4. In total, I played for 7 hours. During the first 5 hours, I remember the table had very little turnover. Fortunately, I was able to build a table image that I actually want and then used it to my own advantage.

My opponents were mostly in mid age and actually seemed to be moderately experienced. I believe they were such kind if I were to consider their number or quality of hands played, speed or decisiveness of decisions, discussion about hands afterwards, etc.

On the other hand, 4-5 or 10 people saw the flop, 2-3 would showdown. At such point, I was able to have an additional $100 in chips through solid play and an occasional bluff. But later part, things started to change. My opponents one by one left the table and were replaced by married couples in their 70s, single men in their 60s, a frail man in his 80s, and finally by a half blind and half deaf man. Each hand then took twice as long to complete and the average number of people per flop turned 8 while per showdown, 5-6. Later, I started to lose whooping $60+ pots to rags as most of the players at the table played every hand and called down to the river regardless if they had something or not. I thought of leaving the table but I had no idea if it was the right thing to do then. I was too inexperienced to know. Unfortunately, I lost everything.

Now I want to know if at what point do you determine that the quality of your opponents is already poor and that it’s much better to just leave the table? And is there any good playing approach I can use the next time around considering the situation is still the same and so as the kind of players?

Thanks in advance!

Gerry
Gerry,

I know which casino you were playing at. I actually frequent it myself and probably can tell you several of the players you played against. In a game such as that, you will suffer your share of bad beats. You can play tight and you will turn out a long term winner, but you will have wild swings at times. Also, you can loosen up your standards, but again, if you do not hit, you will have wild swings. In such games, I loosen up a bit but not insanely. I usually play a decent range of cards, but the only difference, I don’t wait until later position.

Game like these require a looser approach. This type of loose game is a tough one to play in due to all the bad beats you will take. If the game is too uncomfortable, you can always find another one.

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