Basic Strategy:Tips : Position : Starting Hands : Bluffing : Betting : Money Management

Hopefully, by now you are pretty well versed in what you need to do to successfully bluff in no-limit Texas hold’em. While it may seem fun to bluff all the time, it’s definitely not part of a winning strategy. Controlled and calculated bluffs can work wonders, though. There is no strategy in poker that guarantees you a 100% victory. But there are tricks and tips that will significantly increase the chances. The first rule for beginners is to never bluff. More experienced players will quickly figure it out and you will lose money. The second rule is to play only strong winning hands in poker. #4 Join A Poker Training Website. A very simple poker tip is to find a poker training site for the game type you enjoy most. One of my favourite pieces of training is the Upswing Poker Lab which is run by the famous poker pro-Doug Polk – this course starts at the very basics of poker, and will teach you the fundamentals of Cash games MTTs and live poker turning you into a well-rounded player.

Every poker player loves to bluff. There really is nothing quite as thrilling as pushing your opponent off a hand that they should have won with a well-timed bluff.

Unfortunately, the bluff is a move that is all to often overused and abused by beginner players, which in turn costs them a lot of money. Use this bluffing strategy to help you master the art of bluffing in Texas Hold'em.

Why should you bluff in poker?

It's probably not like you need another reason to try and pull off a bluff as a newer player to the game, but I'm going to give you one anyway.

Bluffing allows you to take down pots that you would not normally have won, whilst adding some sort of 'unpredictability' factor into your play. Therefore if your opponents find it difficult to tell whether you are weak or strong in a hand, it is going to help you win money in the long run.

The less your opponents know about your game in Texas Hold'em, the better.

How to pull off a successful bluff in poker.

If I could tell you how to successfully bluff every time in poker through this one short article, then I would be the most sought-after guy in the world of poker. Having the ability to spot prime opportunities to bluff comes from experience at the table, rather than from a set of specific rules that you might read somewhere. However, this does not mean that I can't give you the groundwork for a good bluffing game...

To pull of a successful bluff, your play needs to fill two criteria:

1. Your last action in the hand should have been strong.
2. Your opponent's last action in the hand should have been weak.

In a way, this basically says that the story of the hand needs to line up correctly, otherwise your bluff will fall apart. If your opponent has been playing weakly and you have been playing strongly, it makes perfect sense to suggest that a further strong play (i.e. a bluff) is likely to win the pot.

Conversely, it is almost suicidal to attempt to bluff an opponent off their hand when they have been playing strongly and you have been playing weakly, because it simply does not line up with the way the rest of the hand has been played. The more believable your bluff is, the greater the chance it has of working.

Having position over your opponent increases the likelihood of your bluff being successful, as you will be able to see whether or not they are weak (by checking) before you decide whether or not to bluff.

How often should you bluff?

Let me start off by saying that you do not need to bluff nearly as much as you might think. Bluffing is a great weapon, but only if it is used at the right time and in the right situations. If you use it too often, your bluffs are going to lose a lot of credibility and you will end up getting caught out and losing chips.

As with a number of other plays in poker, you want the bluffing opportunity to come looking for you, rather than going all out to look for the times you can bluff. The chances are that if you are forcing out a bluff, it's going to be an unprofitable play. Just because you are playing poker, it does not mean that you are obliged to bluff at some point during the session, so keep focused.

When should you bluff?

You should bluff when you are confident that your opponent will fold. A bit of a vague answer I know, but it really is the simple and most effective answer to the question. However, I will give you a few more bluffing tips to help you along.

It is better to bluff at smaller pots than it is at larger ones.

Bluffing at smaller pots is a lot less risky, and therefore is not so detrimental when things do not work out how you planned. This is an especially good tip if you are a new player, as it allows you to get to grips with bluffing without putting too much of your money at risk.

Bluffing on the flop can be very effective.

About two thirds of the the time your opponent is going to completely miss the flop. On top of this, even if they do hit the flop a little, the chances are that they are going to fold if they come up against too much resistance. It is a lot easier to fold and save money rather than risking a lot with a mediocre hand. So if you were the raiser before the flop, a continuation bet can prove to be a very effective play

Avoid bluffing the river.

This is not to say that bluffing on the river is always wrong, but a lot of the time a river bluff is a poorly executed play. Players will usually bluff on the river in a last desperate attempt to win the hand, regardless of how they have played up to that point.

This makes the river bluff look completely out of place, and is very easy to spot if you are an experienced player. So as a general rule of thumb, avoid bluffing on the river unless you are completely sure about what you are doing.

Randomly bluffing on the river is one of the biggest leaks in an amateur player's game.

Poker bluffing strategy overview.

As much as you might love to bluff, you have to learn to put a leash on your bluffing tendencies to keep them under control. It's not easy to snap out of the bluffing lifestyle, but if you want to become a winning poker player, it is something that you are going to have to suck up and get on with.

The next time you have the burning urge to bluff, close your eyes and click fold, then see what happens. It won't hurt as much as you think, and you will have probably saved yourself a nice bit of money. Bluffing can work incredibly well in the right situations, but there really is no need to focus your game around this play. Bluffing is a tool, not a game plan.

Go back to the sublime Texas Hold'em guide.

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Howdy partner, and thanks for stopping by! A few short words about the new Governor of Poker Texas Tycoon.

Texas Holdem Bluffing

Description: Multiplayer poker game

Objective

The game focuses on poker playing and emphasizes skill. Completing missions, winning hands, busting players and leveling up to unlock new poker saloons, ultimately advancing you through the town of El Paso. Plus, every poker saloon presents you with 4 different achievements to earn, bringing you closer to our biggest question…who is going to make it to the Governor’s Mansion first?! Will it be you?

But wait, there’s more! If that’s not enough action for you, then stick around for the opening of the Black Jack building and the Big Win Events that will allow you a chance to earn the respect of the inhabitants of El Paso (oh, and plenty of chips too).

Good luck partner, you’re in for a real adventure!! Have a technical or billing question? Check out our Governor of Poker Texas Tycoon Help & FAQ article here.

Menu

Terminology

Governor of Poker Terminology:

• Need chips: a player with a stack of chips that is relatively small for the stakes being played, usually goes all-in when forced due to the blinds.
• Big stack bully: A player with a large stack for the size of the game who raises frequently to force out more cautious players.
• Blind: forced bets posted by players to the left of the dealer button
• Turn: The turn or “turn card” or “fourth street” is the fourth of five cards dealt by the dealer.
• River: The river or “river card” is the final card dealt

When playing against bots:

• Steamy: a state of anger, mental confusion, or frustration in which a player adopts a less than optimal strategy, usually resulting in poor play and poor performance.
• Tilt: emotional upset, mental confusion, or frustration in which a player adopts a less than optimal strategy, usually resulting in poor play and poor performance.

Getting started

A = Here you see the amount of Chips and gold you have. Need more gold or chips? Just click the Get chips or Get gold button.

B = You can see your progress here. Your Profile

C = You can see if you have new mission to do here. You can also see if you’ve already completed older missions.

D = Here you can select gifts to send you friends and earn chips for inviting your friends.

E = All the items you own you can find and activate in your inventory. Note; consumables like XP doublers, VIP passes and certain gifts (cigar, straw) will disappear once you’ve used them. Do you want to know how much time there’s left on a certain item? You can check your inventory too.

F = In the shop (F) you can buy decorations like hats, medals for showing off your level, decorations and poker specials.

G = Send a friend invite to your Big Fish Games friends.

Overview

Shop

In the shop (F) you can buy decorations like hats, medals for showing off your level, decorations and poker specials. Get fancy, dress down, but you sure as hell gotta get ready for the Wild West!

Poker Specials are XP doublers whereby you get double the amount of XP that you would normally earn. You can also buy VIP passes for different time frames where all buildings will be unlocked so you can access all saloons.

Currencies

Chips: chips are the main currency for playing Poker. Players get a start amount and when leveling up or earning achievements players get chips. And a player of course can win chips when playing poker. And also with the daily reward we give away chips now and then. When a player is out of chips extra chips can be bought.

Gold: gold is a currency whereby the player can do rebuys, buy decorations or medals. In the future it will also be possible to play poker for Gold.

Game Play

To enter a poker game just click on a saloon which is unlocked. Per saloon there is a different buy in. This is the amount of chips to enter the poker game in that saloon.

Hands

Players construct hands of five cards. The player with the highest-ranking hand winning that particular deal. For instance:

Player A: Has a Two Pair of 2,2, and J,J

Player B: Has a Two Pair of 2,2 and Q,Q

Player B will win because of the higher ranking cards. Below you’ll find the different hands you could play.

You can play the following hands:
1. Royal Flush – One suit and cards in sequence from the Ace
2. Straight Flush – One suit with cards in sequence
3. Four of kind – Same rank cards in all suits
4. Full house — Three matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another rank
5. Flush – All five cards are of the same suit, but not in sequence
6. Straight – That contains five cards of sequential rank in at least two different suits
7. Three of a Kind – Three cards of the same rank
8. Two Pair – Two cards of the same rank + Two cards of another rank
9. Pair - Two cards of the same rank
10. High Card – made of any five cards not meeting any above hands.

A = During the poker game you could always check the available poker hands by clicking this icon.

B = See which ranking position you currently have.

Hands

Experience (XP)

You receive Experience Points when you ‘achieve’ something in the game:

• winning a hand (the amount of XP varies, depending on the hand you win)
• busting other players
• earning achievements
• winning tournaments

XP is very important as it unlocks new poker saloons and new items in the shop like, hats, pins, buttons and outfits. So don’t forget to collect the XP stars during the poker game, every time you’ll receive them.

Rebuy

When a player is out of chips, there is a possibility to do a rebuy to stay in the poker room. When doing so, the player received the number of chips that is required in that poker room. A player can either do a rebuy for him/herself but also other players can do a rebuy for the other players.

Achievements

In every poker building a player can receive 4 different. It might happen that not all achievements are earned when a new poker building is unlocked. You can always return later to earn the remaining achievements. On top of the poker building, the number of achievements is shown with the card symbols. (A)

Achievement symbols

Every time you click on a Poker building, you’ll get a pop-up with the building’s 4 achievements. Completed achievements will be highlighted and their symbol colored in, and achievements that have yet to be completed will be faded and uncolored.

Achievement pop-up

Bluffing

Bluffing is the quintessential trick in hold ‘em poker. Of course, the reasoning for a bluff is to deceive the other players into thinking you have a better hand when you actually do not. For a bluff to work, you need the other players to think you actually have that better hand. There are two types of “bluffing” :

• Bluffing – is a bet or raise made in attempt to win a pot despite the fact that you have little or nothing as far as a hand goes. The goal of the bluff is to get the opponent(s) to fold right then. You will lose if they call.
• Semi-Bluffing - is a partial bluff with some truth in the play. A semi-bluff is similar to a bluff in that you bet, check raise or raise but a semi-bluff differs in that it has a couple more ways to win then a bluff does. With a bluff a person can only win if the opponent folds. With a semi-bluff you can either win by them folding right then, by improving to the best hand or by catching a scare card and betting them out on a subsequent round.

Texas Holdem Tricks

Friends

You can invite your friends to play Governor of Poker and really play with them. Governor of Poker enables the possibility to sit in the same poker room as your friends. Even when your friend is not at the same level, he/she can join you in the poker saloon (as long as the friend has sufficient Chips for the buy in). You can only invite friends with a Big Fish Games account.

A = To invite your friends.

B = If you know the Big Fish Games username of your friend? Look him or her up

Texas Holdem Tricks And Tips

C = Search results

Add friends

Big Win Events

Big win Events are tournaments played in Alamo or the Oil field. these buildings will be open for limited time only, so when you find it – come play!

• Look for the Big Win Event building and click to enter.

Alamo – Big Win Event building

• Check out the required dress code, prize division, and leaderboard (all marked below with arrows). If you don’t meet the dress code (here it’s the white hat), head to the shop to pick up an item that fits the attire!

• Join a game and try to get to the top 10% to take home the grand prize!

Big Win Event –pop up

Black Jack

Governor of Poker Texas Tycoon is the first place on Big Fish where you can take a break from Texas Hold ‘Em to play some good ole’ fashioned Blackjack! You’ll be eligible for Black Jack when you reach level 4. Find the Blackjack building in the game and test your luck! Will you get to 21?