Your Online Bluffing Strategy

Bluffing is a huge part of playing poker, but since the rise of the online poker table, it's no longer the same as it used to be. The key difference is the fact that unless you're playing with webcams on, you have no need for a poker face, as your avatar is completely static in most cases. So how do you go about bluffing in this day and age?

Think like an opponent

It's important to remember that you're playing someone who simply has no idea of what your cards are, and they will be going solely on what they see coming up on their screen. Think about how they perceive you as an anonymous player. Firstly, this means whereabouts you are in relation to them on the table. If you're last, having a full table of players check only to see you make a bet is going to make that person think twice, and ensuring that they have no time to really consider what you're actually doing (think of online poker as a "twitch" variation of the speed of its regular, real-life counterpart) means you can take them to the cleaners before they know how bad your hand is.

Secondly, never bluff too often, as it's really easy to spot someone who's bluffing like mad and betting for the sheer hell of it, and in a tournament or at a regular table, these people will get targeted by the rest of the table very rapidly. It's generally a sneaky way of playing as a maniac (or a "monster", depending on your poker lingo), but without the added benefit of actually winning anything, as after five hands of iPro555 going all-in on the first round of betting, people will suss that their cards are likely very bad.

Avoid traps

One of the worst things you can do is bluff against someone who's playing like they're trying to win their last meal. Desperate players make crazy bets, and you may be drawn into a betting war with someone who has no idea you're bluffing at all, which can backfire if this is the first good hand they've had all day. They have nothing to lose, and if you're playing smart, it's likely you have quite a lot. When someone's clearly going to start going all-in due to panic, back off and play conservatively until they go bust or leave.

Also, watch the pot, as a huge pot means some serious contenders for your poker-throne, and it's hard to bluff these people into folding when they know that staying in leaves them with a relatively good chance of walking away with a huge chunk of the change sitting on the table.

Bluff well, and you'll walk away a rich individual, but don't be fooled into thinking that "online" means "easy bluffing". Bluff smart and stay wealthy, people.