What is Bluff?

A bluff is a bet or raise made with a hand that is unlikely to be the best, intending to make opponents with stronger hands fold. It is a foundational element of poker: without the credible threat of a bluff, a player would only ever bet with strong hands, opponents would always fold to that betting, and no value could be extracted. Bluffing is what makes every bet ambiguous and therefore profitable. Good bluffing is selective, not reckless. It works best against opponents capable of folding, on board textures that plausibly connect with the strong hands you are representing, and at bet sizes large enough to pressure but not so large as to risk more than necessary. Worked example: you raised pre-flop and the board comes king-high. You miss entirely, but your pre-flop raise credibly represents a strong king. A continuation bet of around two-thirds of the pot tells a consistent story; an opponent holding a middling pair faces a tough call and often folds. The bluff succeeds not because your cards are good but because the narrative is believable and the price you set is uncomfortable. A refinement is the semi-bluff: betting a drawing hand that is currently weak but can improve. It can win immediately if opponents fold, and still has outs to make the best hand if called — two ways to profit from one bet. Why it matters: balancing bluffs with value bets is what makes you unpredictable and unexploitable. Common mistake: bluffing players who never fold ("calling stations"), or firing into boards that miss your represented range. A bluff with no fold equity is simply throwing chips away. Compare to: Continuation Bet, Check-Raise.