Bluffing in small stakes games.?.?.?

[ocularus]

I have been playing in small stakes games and after reading Small Stakes Hold'em and Winning Low Limit Hold'em I have found a few perfect places for a bluff and they just don't seem to have any effect at all I think maybe one bluff actualy got someone to fold. So my question is this, is it worth it to bluff at all in low limit games or are they too loose to bluff? Thanks alot.
-John

[Bob T.]

Bluffing depends so much on image. I usually don't bluff much, until I don't get paid off on the river. Then I don't look for opportunities, so much as recognize hands where I might take control, and fire again on the river or turn, and not get paid off.

There are low limit games, where bluffing is completely out of the question, and you have to turn on the 'value betting only' switch in your mind.

[ocularus]

thank you! That is what I was thinking, but because I am not a seasoned veteran to the poker world, I was a little weary on trusting my own judgement. Thanks for the input!
-John

[Frond]

On Bluffing, sometimes you run across someone that is trying to bluff a lot at lower limits. Just isn't wise. There was a younger guy in the 4/8 game last night who was doing this a lot. On one hand it I was in the BB HU with him. I held something like middle pair and he kept betting into me and I had a pretty good idea that he had air. I opted to call him down and won the pot with my lone mid pair hand. I rarely bluff in LLHE.

[ocularus]

again thank you, all insights are greatly appreciated!
-John

[fishyak]

IMO,

Rule 1) If you can't get heads up against ONE player, bluffing is stupid.
Rule 2) How often can you get heads up in a game that has 7 or 8 people seeing a flop? Almost never, and the guy that is left is called a CALLING STATION for a reason. HE CALLS.
That leads me to

Rule 3) The only bluff that makes sense, has the word SEMI in front of it. Go ahead, and sometimes take a shot with that busted nut flush draw you have been betting out the whole hand. That kind of thing is OK.

But to play a straight out from the get go play any two cards bluff to the river in LLHE? I've done it once in the last two years.

[jeffnc]

[ QUOTE ]
Bluffing depends so much on image.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, I think the point is that in some weak games, you don't have an image. Or at least, your image might be something like "he's irritating". So in some games bluffing is not appropriate regardless of what image your opponents should have of you, had they been paying attention and had the knowledge to form a useful image.

[PorkchopDJG]

If the game is loose/passive with many calling stations as is the usual in live small stakes LHE games bluffing, slowplaying and continuation bets when you whiff on the flop are all not advised.

Play ABC poker and wait to hit big hands/draws and then jam it! You will get paid off.

[jeffnc]

John, here's what I would do. Go read "Book of Bluffs" by Matt Lessinger. Then "cherry pick" just a couple of them. Pick 2 or 3 scenarios that seem like they would be the most likely to succeed based on your type of game, and the description in the book.

Then, occasionally, try one of them in a game and see how it goes. If you continue to get called on these, then you have learned something valuable. The players you play against just call too much, and you use that to your advantage when you are worried about losing customers with your good hands.

Another way to go about this is get a big hand (quads, full house, whatever) and then bet like crazy and raise with it. Now if you lose all your customers, then next time that will be a good situation to bluff. If you don't then obviously that will teach you never to slowplay :-)

[HoneyBadger]

Funniest thing is these maniacs who bet and raise everything, all the time, and then suddenly when the board flops two jacks they check behind... riiiight [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]