Ten Poker Bluffing Tips You Ought To Know

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Poker bluffing is a great way to win more money in poker, if you know how to do it right. These ten tips are presented by Poker Tables Depot to help you rake in more cash in you next game.

1. Bluff when it looks like someone could have a good hand. Take a look the cards the dealer has flipped on the table. If it is possible to have a good hand based on what you see on the table, now might be a good time to bluff. Just be careful though, someone may actually have that good hand. Keep an eye on your opponents. If they aren't betting strongly, now might be a good time for you to bluff.
   
   
2. Poker bluffing is a great technique when other players appear to have a bad hand. Watch how everyone is acting. If you are playing with less experienced players, they could be making obvious signs that their hand is weak. Look for things like hesitancy when betting, or facial signs that show some distress or uncertainty. By betting strong when others have a weak hand, you are in fact encouraging them to fold.
   
   
3. Take advantage of novice players that are betting big a bit to often. Chances are that they are bluffing more than they should. As soon as you have a strong hand. Bet big and put them in their place.
   
   
4. Other players will likely make a mental note of your most recent bluff. Don't bluff again to soon or they may call you on it. Of course, if you get a strong hand right after you have bluffed, this can certainly work to your advantage. Try to pull others into the hand by making them think you are bluffing again. You can pull in a larger pot that way.
   
   
5. Poker bluffing tends to work better with tight tables (tables with players that are playing cautiously). Loose players (players that play more aggresively) will tend to call your bluff more often than tight players. You might want to hold back on bluffing until any loose players at the table have folded or are out of the game.
   
   
6. Bluffing works better in high, or no limit games. If the betting limit is low, there is little advantage to bluffing since you don't stand to gain a whole lot. Also, it's hard to scare other players into folding if you can only bet a small amount. Bluffing usually takes a big bet to get other players to fold.
   
   
7. Bluff from a late position only. If you bluff to early, you run the risk of someone else having a strong hand. Wait to see if other players are checking and folding. This usually indicates that their hands are weak and presents a good opportunity for you to bluff and take the pot.
   
   
8. Successful poker bluffing requires you to stay randam. Don't bluff to often and don't develop a pattern for bluffing. Keep other players on their toes and keep switching up your plays. You don't want anyone else to figure out your game and take you down.
   
   
9. Be careful around inexperienced or bad poker players. Bluffing may not intimidate them and they may keep on playing even though you are portraying that you have a very strong hand. The card or cards they need might just show up on the turn or the river.
   
   
10. Be careful playing good bluff situations too often. A particular scenario is before the flop. You are on of the last betters and most other players have folded or checked. If you always bet strong in this situation, other players might pick up on this pattern and take you down. Don't always take advantage of what looks to be a good bluffing opportunity.
    
    

Poker bluffing is an essential skill to learn if you want to increase your winnings. Use these ten tips to your advantage.

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Texas Hold Em Poker Hand Rankings

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For those players that are just starting out, here is a list of Texas Hold Em Poker hand rankings in order from the highest hand to the lowest.

Remember that when you play Texas Hold Em, you are playing with the cards in your hand and the cards on the table. You choose the best 5 cards that you want to play.

Here are the Texas Hold Em Poker hand rankings from highest to lowest.

1. Royal Flush - A, K, Q, J, 10 - all in the same suit

2. Straight Flush - Any sequence of 5 cards in the same suit - for example: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 of spades.

3. Four of a Kind - Example: A, A, A, A

4. Full House - Three of a kind and a pair - Example: A, A, A, J, J

5. Flush - Any five cards of the same suit

6. Straight - Five cards that are in sequence, but not necessarily of the same suit - Example - 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (not matching suits)

7. Three of a Kind - Example - A, A, A

8. Two Pair - Two seperate pairs - Example - A, A, J, J

9. Pair - Example - A, A

10. High Card - A single high card - Example - A

I hope you have found these Texas Hold Em Poker hand rankings to be helpful.

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A Beginners Guide To Blinds

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In Texas Holdem Poker, the big and little blind are the required bets that must be made in every hand of the poker game. These bets are called the blind bets because they must be made before the players are able to see the 'flop' of the first three cards by the dealer. The blind bets are predetermined amounts. Small blind is always half the amount of the big blind bet. Usually, the larger the stakes of the game, the higher the blind bets are.

The blind positions rotate with each deal. If you do not have dedicated dealer for your game, the person to the left of the dealer at the poker table is usually the 'small blind' and the person to the left of the small blind is the 'big blind' bet.

All other players at the poker table must match the big blind or fold if they wish to stay in the game and see the flop of the first three cards by the dealer.

One thing that often happens to new players is that they feel the need to defend their blind bets. They often continue to bet even on a poor hand just because they already have money in the pot. This is a poor strategy. The blinds are forced bets and you should not adjust your playing strategy just because you were forced to put money into the pot. If you have a bad hand - fold! Unless of course you plan on bluffing :).

The only exception I would make to this rule is if you are the small blind, and no raises have been made on the big blind bet. Since it won't cost you much extra to see the flop, go ahead and match the big blind bet to stay in the game. Once you see the flop, then you can better analyze if it's worth throwing any more chips on the poker table.

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