Daniel Negreanu: Five Ways to Find a Bluff in Poker

 Daniel Negreanu's Poker Tips: Five Ways To Spot A Bluff

Bluffing is an integral part of poker. But equally important is the ability to recognize an opponent's bluff. Here are some of the things that you should be focusing on.

Know Your Opponents

You must pay attention to the tendencies of your opponent before you start playing against him. You need to find out if he is bluffing.

A poker player is akin to a criminal profiler. Before you decide on how to play your hand.

Keep an eye out for physical signs

You can spot a bluff by looking at your opponent directly and trying to sense his fear. If your opponent looks nervous it could indicate that he's lying.

You can easily spot unusual or uncharacteristic behaviors in your opponent to determine his physical tells. You could see a pattern in your opponent's behavior, such as when he bets and then suddenly raises his hand above his mouth. This could be an indication that he is bluffing.

Or he might just be self-conscious about bad breath. You can't deny that reading physical tells is a complex science.

Watch the Bluffing Style of an Opponent

A player who is losing is more likely steam or to go on tilt. He may be impatient and more likely to bluff. This type of erratic play can be a sign that he is steaming.

This is important to remember: Some players bluff because of boredom.

When winning players are confident, they often attempt to deceive their opponents with a clever bluff.

Others use their conservative table image as leverage to make bluffs. One example is a tight player who might use his conservative table image to set up bluffs that his opponents will not see. You won't be surprised if you spot this type of player.

Nuts and Nothing Players

You may find yourself in a position where you have to decide whether your opponent has the best hand or not. You should consider calling a wager if you feel you are in this position.

Strange Betting Patterns

This is one of the best ways to detect a bluff.

It is important to be aware of how your opponent handled the past to make educated decisions for the future.

Try to identify his betting patterns. You will find it easier to identify bets that don’t make any sense.

Let's say, for instance, that your opponent has a flush on the turn. She slowplays her hand in hopes that you'll place a bet so that she checks-raises.

Ok, the flop now comes Kh-10s-7h. And the turn card is 5h. Your opponent checked the hand and called on the flip. However, she decided to bet on the turn after the third heart hits.

You have probably eliminated the possibility that she might have made the flush by figuring out her betting pattern.

Perhaps she is good at mixing her play. It is poker afterall. how to spot the bluff in poker