Bluffing is one of the hardest techniques that you can learn in poker. You need to know when the best time to bluff is and how to suss out a bluffing opponent. The aim of bluffing is to make people fold out of their cards and steal the pot without actually having a good hand to back it up.

Take this scenario for example. You have an ace high card, the betting stays normal and no one bets. You decide to raise it in the hope of stealing the pot. Quickly flash a discreet grin over your face to make it look as though you are happy with what you have and you notice the people on the left of you cut their loses and let you steal the sweet pot. Simple!

Playing poker is one thing but playing poker with skill and style is another. This is what bluffing does; it separates those with skill rather than talent. There are two major goals to bluffing and these are;

Bluffing helps you to win hands even though you have not been dealt a winning hand.
Bluffing helps you to get more out of each player when you have been dealt a good hand.

As with the example above you can see how it easy it is to take the pot home with barely anything. It is not advised to constantly bluff but to change your game play around as this helps prevent other players from sussing your game play out. Bluffing should be an integral part of that game play to make the other players think that you know how to play well and of course takes all their money. You don't need to have an awful hand to bluff but you just need to assume that your hand isn't the best.

You also need to learn to bluff accordingly. Bluffing blatantly lets other players see that you will try and bluff so when the time comes that you do have a good hand then they may assume that you are bluffing and try to bet you out resulting in a much larger pot for you to walk away with.

You need to learn that you can never use just one bluffing technique and that for a successful bluff you need your wits about you and a stern face otherwise players will take advantage of the fact that you have nothing to play.

Obviously bluffing to someone's face is much easier than it is to bluff online especially with it comes to free games and people don't really care much about their fake cash. It is still wise to attempt a few bluffs online to get used to all the different circumstances.

Here are some tips on how to successfully bluff;

• Never get too predictable. Don't bluff all the time and don't fold all the time otherwise players will know your next move and this is something that you don't want.
• Never assume that you will get far on a bluff that has ten players still waiting on their turn. There is more chance of two or three players folding rather than seven or ten players.
• There are people that are less likely to fold in games such as Omaha as they have a higher chance of winning, as with the Hi\Lo games.
• Know when to fold your hand is a great example of a true poker player. Always second guess your opponent; if they look innocent then chances are they aren't.