One of the greatest feelings in poker is pulling off a great [[Bluff_(poker)|bluff]].  I know that every time I make good on one, it makes me feel like I just picked the other player’s pocket (which in a sense I kind of have).  But what’s even better is being able to pull a wide range of bluffs off.  

I know that my personal favorite is the continuation bluff which involves betting out before the [[Flop_(poker)|flop]] with a good hand and then continuing to be aggressive after the flop has been shown no matter what it reveals.  It’s always fun to watch how many people will bow out of the hand thinking that I have a monster.  Of course, I’ve been the one bowing out many times as well so I can’t talk too much.

I can talk about the semi-bluff though as it’s always a classic.  Everyone from novices to pros use this one as it sees a player who doesn’t quite have a made hand yet betting out anyways in hopes of getting others to fold.  But if they don’t fold, the player still has a chance to win the hand if their card comes on the river.

One bluff that I don’t use that much is the all-in bluff.  The bluff that involves going all-in without the best hand in hopes of knocking others out worries me too much.  I don’t like risking everything without the nuts or something close to. 

Two bluffs that I rarely ever use are the cold bluff and the check-raise bluff.  I think that the cold bluff, one which involves making daring bets and raises with nothing at all in an attempt to get everyone to fold, is best left for the movies.

The check-raise bluff is one I never use because most of the types of players I go against wouldn’t even think about it.  Check-raise bluffing sees a player do the typical check then raise if the other player opens the betting in order to get more money into the pot.  However, the difference is that the check-raiser doesn’t have a great hand and wants the other player to fold after the raise in fear that a monster hand awaits. 

This only works on very skilled players as the large percentage of people don’t usually worry about a bluff on a check-raise.  This is a pretty complicated one and makes me glad that I just stick with my continuation and semi-bluffs.