Bluff
A bet made with a hand that rarely wins at showdown, hoping better hands fold.
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- What it means
- A bluff wins by making the villain fold. The best bluffs are hands that would almost never win if you checked, so a fold is the only way they win.
- How it is calculated
- The rule of thumb: if your equity against the villain's whole range is under 20%, checking rarely wins, so bet as a bluff. How often a bluff must work is the bet ÷ (pot + bet).
- Worked example
- You bet 6bb into 12bb as a bluff. It needs to work 6 ÷ 18, about 33%, of the time to break even.
- Why it matters
- Bluffing with hands that have some showdown value throws that value away. Bluffing with the weakest hands costs nothing when they would have lost anyway.
Lessons that teach it: A ratio and a share describe the same bets, Value, bluff or check · lessons other than the free one need an invite
See also: Value bet, Showdown value, Fold equity, Semi-bluff