Learn the most important tricks to bluffing. Learn when to bluff, when not to bluff and even when to bluff that you are bluffing.
Bluffing in Poker and particularly in Texas Holdem is a very useful tool, but if it is not used properly it can be a very dangerous tool to try and use. If used right bluffing can give you the appearance of having a good hand when you have nothing and scare the other players into folding their hands, but if it is not done right then all that happens is that you lose some money.
1) You should only try to bluff after several of the players have folded the more players in on the hand the better the chances that someone will figure out your bluff, or someone may not be skilled enough to realize our are giving off the appearance of betting on a good hand and may continue playing and beat you because of their stupidity, but the point is that a large crowd is harder to fool then a smaller one.
3) If you are in the last position before the dealer and no one has raised the pot raise the hand bigger then anyone raised th4e hand so far. This will tell the other players you have a strong hand, and since no one raised the hand in the last round it means that they have no confidence in their hands or they are hoping to get the card they need in the next round, and a large bet here may make them change their minds about staying in the hand, but do not make the bet ridiculously large the good players at the table will see thru you and will call your bluff.
c) Seating is very important to bluffing. If you are the first player when playing Texas Holdem that has to make a decision, or if you are the last player that has to decide, you have an upper hand on the rest of the players. If seated in the beginning, you can terrorize the rest by placing a large bet when the Holdem Dealer asks you to make your move. Big bets placed in the beginning of a round will scare off those players who have small hands and leave you to go head to head only with a select few. Likewise, if you are the last player in line, you are in the best position of knowing which players are willing to bet and which are not. If players remain in the game without rising the bet, this is your chance. Raise the bet. Most will drop out because their cards are not good enough.
4) The best time for bluffing is just after you have won a big round where someone forced you to expose your cards and you revealed a strong hand. All the players around will start to gaze at you with respect. Exactly this is the time to strike and bluff the next round while they are still weary of confronting you and the cards you hold. If possible, try and play this Texas hold'em round in exactly the same way you did the previous one and this will confuse them completely.
5) If on the flop a pair is revealed and the value of the pair is less then nine then there is a good chance that a strong bluff now will make people think you either already have a pair in your hand or you at least have the third card of that value in your hand giving you a 3 of a kind.
6) Check out the players playing against you. If you manage to figure out that they play very conservatively and bet only when their cards are strong, they are the easiest ones to scare away. They think that others play like them and bet only when they have strong hands. Take advantage of this weakness in insight. But note that if you don't manage to frighten them off, that means they really have a massive hand.
Summing it all up:
The better an actor and a liar you are the easier it will be for you to fool people with your bluff. When you do decide to bluff be careful not to go overboard, bluffing is a part of poker and everyone knows it and is always on the lookout for a bluff. Good Luck and Happy Playing.