Bluffing won’t succeed all the time. Observant opponents will notice when you are caught bluffing. Once others realize that you do not have a legitimate hand each time you bet, your good hands will attract more calls than they would if you left your opponents with the impression that you never bluffed at all.
That’s one of the benefits of bluffing. Not only will you be able to steal a pot every now and then, but a failed bluff or two will serve as potent advertising. As a result, a player who bluffs every now and then can expect to make more money on his good hands too.
BLUFFING WITH MORE CARDS TO COME
Imagine that you’re playing hold’em and you raised before the flop with KQ, and two other players call. Suppose the flop is J4. If you come out betting on the flop, you have any number of ways to win this pot. Your opponents could fold, and you’d win right there. But even if one or both call, you certainly shouldn’t mind. After all, any of the nine hearts in the deck will complete your flush. Moreover, any of the three kings or three queens will give you a pair that is probably superior to whatever your opponents are holding. In addition, there are three tens in the deck (exclusive of the 10©, which completes your flush) that will give you a straight draw.
A lot of good cards are in that deck, and you are rife with potential. When you couple the chances of making the best hand on the turn or the river with the possibility that your adversaries will fold if you bet, you are probably an odds-on favorite to win the pot one way or another.
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