Bluffing
Bluffing is determined by a lot of factors like number of opponents, type of poker players, position of your hand, and the size of the pot. Bluffing and slow playing tactics are used by players to deceive the opponents so that they play differently than they would if they see others’ cards. Bluffing is one form of deception. It is best to bluff when there are fewer players. Before bluffing one should know the type of players he is up against. Bad players usually do not fold and bluffing against them will be futile. Another important quality is to read the opponents. Though this requires some experience, player can predict how each and every player will act and that can make bluffing easy. The kind of image that you have on the table is also vital. If a player has a loose image, that means he plays more hands than others, it may be difficult for him to bluff. The size of the pot is also a big factor. As more players will be vying for it, it may be difficult to bluff. But a bluff if successfully pulled off when the pot size is large could mean huge gains for the player. Hence the hand and skill of the player largely tells when to bluff. Slow playing is when a player, even when he has a strong hand, bets very weakly, giving others an opposite impression. It is also called trapping or sandbagging.