“Who Dares Wins” has been the motto of nine different elite special forces units around the world, including the UK’s Special Air Service, Greece’s 13th Special Operations Command and the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines in the United States. It should also be the motto of every poker player who’s moved beyond tight aggressive play and wants to bluff effectively. The secret to good special forces operations in intelligence, intelligence, and intelligence – getting it from the enemy and using it against them in an unexpected way, which is exactly what should happen in your poker game when you decide to push in hard on a hand that you, logically, shouldn’t be involved in. Bluffing is not for everyone and in fact, I recommend that the majority of players simply avoid it entirely. However, much like there are millions of military service members around the world that aren’t in the special forces, there are some things that only the best poker players can do well, and bluffing is one of them.
Much like a military operation, a single incorrect bluff can cascade and ruin the rest of the game for you. To be fair, luck is a factor in bluffing, but intelligence is your most important asset. You have to have read your opponents and their actions to the utmost before you enter into the fray. If you’re a novice attempting to bluff against a more experienced player, you might get lucky, but it’s best to pay attention and understand how they may well react before you push them too hard. Bluffing early in a game only work so often, so you’ll have to deploy strategically so that they have the maximum possible impact in the game.
Some people believe in bluffing frequently; for the beginner, this is basically telling you to go hand your chips to third parties on a regular basis. You do want to be unpredictable to some extent, true, but being thought of as a solid tight-aggressive player who is likely holding a good hand is vastly preferable to being thought of as a wild card that doesn’t know what they’re doing next. You should also be aware that just as you’re getting data from other players, they’re getting data from you and the way that a novice stages and executes a bluff can become just as notable a tell as the dramatic, over-the-top flourishes that Hollywood insists on putting into poker scenes on film.
One thing you’ll need to be able to accept in most bluffs is a very military concept: acceptable losses: you’re dedicating a certain amount of your bankroll to obtaining a certain amount of money in a pot and if you can’t read pot odds or know what your ROI or possible loss would be, you should step away. Bluffing is as much a part of the game as anything else and you’ll want a good command of it before making a riskier investment at the table. The motto may be “Who dares wins,” but there just like any military operation, it takes more than just guts to seal the deal.
by Bodog Poker
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