15 Best Poker Bluffing Tips Used by the Pros [2024]

It is hard to find good poker bluffing tips these days. Most books and videos just focus on teaching you how to play your good hands well.

But what if you have a crappy hand and you just want to bluff them out of the pot?

Well that is why I decided to come up with this list of the 15 best poker bluffing tips that the pros use to win more pots with junk hands.

Hopefully this will help some of you newer poker players who don't quite know how to bluff yet.

1. Steal the Blinds More Often

The easiest way to start bluffing more in poker is just to start stealing the blinds more often. Many people think you need to have a really good hand to steal the blinds.

The truth is that you don't. You just need to have the right type of players in the blinds, tight and weak.

Next time it is folded to you on the button and you have a hand like:

• 8♥5♥
• K♠4♠

And you see two tight players who don't fight back very often in the small blind and big blind, raise it up instead of folding!

This very simple poker bluff will often get through and win you an easy pot. Also, do not discount the long term value of this for your poker winnings either.

Gaining that 1.5 big blinds from a successful blind steal a little more often can easily be the difference between a small winning poker player and a big winning poker player.

2. 3-bet Light Before the Flop

The next easy poker bluffing tip is to re-raise before the flop more often with some hands that also aren't exactly the nuts. This is also called a light 3-bet.

Once again, you want to do this against tight players who don't fight back very often.

And you want to do this when they raise in late position. That is, when they raise around the button or in a blind versus blind situation.

Often they are weak here. Try re-raising them light with some speculative suited hands once in awhile.

I love to 3-bet them light with hands like:

• A♦5♦
• 8♣9♣

To see all of the hands in my light 3-betting range, grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.

3. 4-bet Light Before the Flop

Now you can also take this to the next level if you suspect that somebody is re-raising you light before the flop. And you do that by re-raising them light back. This is also called a 4-bet.

When I 4-bet light I will often pick hands such as small suited aces:

• A♥3♥
• A♠4♠

The reason why is because they have some reasonably equity versus a big pair even if you do get called. A3 for instance will beat pocket queens around 30% of the time.

Being suited though, these hands can also make the nut flush as well as the wheel straight.

Lastly, small suited aces also have some great card removal. And what I mean by that is that since I have an ace in my hand it makes it less likely that they have a big ace themselves.

So a light preflop 4-bet every once in awhile is an easy poker bluff to pull off versus weak fearful poker players.

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4. Continuation Bet the Flop More

The next way to bluff more in poker is to follow up your preflop raise with a bet on the flop more often. You don't actually need to have connected with the flop in order to make a continuation bet.



And the reason why is because most of the time your opponent won't have anything. Remember, you only flop a pair in Texas Hold'em 1 in 3 times!

So if you have a hand like ace high next time on the flop, and it is checked to you, go ahead and make that continuation bet bluff. Often they will just fold.

5. Bluff Raise the Flop

Another one of my favorite poker bluffing tips is to raise the flop when they bet. And the key here is to do it with hands that have some equity such as 9♥8♥ on:

T♥ 6♠ 2♦

This is a perfect spot to go for a bluff raise because we have a gutshot straight draw to the nuts and a backdoor flush draw as well.

Raising some of your less obvious draws like this is one of my top poker bluffing tips.

Because by making bluffs like this every once in awhile you will win way more pots without having to go to showdown. And often without the best hand.

In other words your poker redline winnings will go through the roof! And that in a nutshell, is basically the keys to the vault. This is how you win at poker.

6. 3-bet the Flop With Big Draws

Another easy way to bluff the flop more often is to bet into them and if they raise, re-raise them right back. I love to do this withs hands like big draws.

For instance: I have 6♠5♠ and the flop comes:

Flop: 9♠ 6♦ 3♠

This is called a monster draw. If they bet, I am going to be raising them nearly every time.

Let's remind ourselves of what we have here:

• Pair
• Flush draw
• Two backdoor straight draws

With a hand this strong it literally doesn't even matter what they have, we will always be in good shape. We just have so many ways to win the pot later on.

But often the 3-bet on the flop alone will make them fold. That is why this is an easy way to bluff them out of the pot and just take it down.

By the way, 3-betting the flop with your big draws is an advanced strategy that I cover in much greater detail in my new poker book, The Micro Stakes Playbook.

7. Float the Flop and Bet the Turn

Another great poker bluffing tip is to call on the flop (also called a float) and then bet the turn when they check to you.

This poker bluff works especially well at the lower stakes because there are a lot of weak players who will not continue betting without a strong hand.

In fact as I have discussed before, I think this is the single most effective poker bluff in the micro stakes games and has skyrocketed my winnings in recent years.

Once again, you want to do this in situations where you have some reasonable equity such as:

• Two overcards
• Backdoor straight draw
• Backdoor flush draw
• Gutshot straight draw

For Example: I have A♠Q♦


Flop: 2♥8♣T♦

They bet, I call.


Turn: K♥

They check, I bet.


I win so many pots at the micro stakes with this simple little semi-bluff play it is ridiculous.

Now you always want to have some outs in poker so that even if they do call you, you have a chance of winning the pot by getting lucky as well.

If you do manage to hit your miracle card that could put them straight on monkey tilt as well, which is always a very good thing for you!

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8. Double Barrel Scare Cards

Another great poker bluffing tip that works particularly well at the lower stakes is to continue betting the turn on all scare cards. This is also called a double barrel.

By scare cards I mean like when the flop comes:

7♦4♠2♥

And then the turn comes:

A♣

You should always bet on this ace no matter what you have because it will be very scary for your opponent. They will often lay down their:

• 88
• 99
• TT

And so on.

Because they are scared of that ace. That is why this is an easy poker bluffing tip that will often win you the pot.

There is an excellent discussion by the way of exactly what player types to target when double barreling in Daniel Negreanu's new advanced poker training course.

9. Bluff Raise the Turn

The next poker bluffing tip that I have for you is a bit more advanced. When somebody double barrels you (bets the flop and turn), raise them back.

I like to do this with hands that have some reasonable equity once again:

• Flush draw
• Straight draw
• Two overcards 

The reason why this bluff works so well is because it forces them to have a really strong hand. And since it is very hard to make a really strong hand in Texas Hold'em, this play is highly effective.

Therefore, this poker bluff will often take it down and win you a nice sized pot.

Make sure that you check their WTSD% before attempting this play online though. You want to make sure that they aren't a calling station.

This is why having the right HUD stats on your screen can be so crucial to your success. I use my HUD all the time to figure which players to bluff and which ones to lay off.

10. Check Raise the Turn All-in

Another poker bluffing tip which applies massive pressure on your opponent and often wins you the pot uncontested is the turn check raise all in.

Now this is another very advanced play. You have to have a very solid read on your opponent.

They should be one of those weak and fearful players once again who do not like to go to showdown without a very strong hand. Again, make sure to check the WTSD% stat on your HUD to verify.

If you want to know exactly which hands to check raise all-in on the turn (and what players to do it against), I cover this in much greater detail in Modern Small Stakes.

11. Double Float the Turn

The next poker bluffing tip is to double float and take the pot away on the river. What is a double float you might be asking yourself?

A double float in poker is when you call their bet on the flop and then on the turn as well.



Many players at the lower and mid stakes will have the heart to fire two bullets at you, but not many have the cajones to fire that third one on the river as well!

So you can often make a bluff on the river when they check to you and just take it down.

12. Bluff Your Missed Draws on the River

Bluffing on the river is the real key to winning more pots without showdown in Texas Hold'em. And there is no better time to do it than when you have a missed draw on the river.

And that is because you probably aren't going to win the pot with your jack high!

Once again, you have to make sure you are doing this only against those weak and fearful players who love to make the big hero fold.

Also, you need to make sure that you are telling a believable story when you are bluffing the river in poker.


For Example:

• Are you representing a legit hand?
• Did the board runout hit cards that should be in your range?
• What does my opponent think I have?

Always ask yourself these questions.

Lastly, don't even bother trying to bluff the fish or the recreational players very often. Because they will just call you down.

13. Bluff Raise the River

Another highly advanced but also killer poker bluffing tip is to repop them on the river. The reason why this strategy works so well is because most people view a river raise as an extremely strong hand.

Here is an example of a pretty crazy river bluff at the micro stakes for instance. You won't believe the result!

So if I know I am up against a weak and fearful poker player on the river I might take my missed draw or bottom pair and just turn it into a bluff instead.

It sure beats just giving up and surrendering the pot like most people will do. It is also very good for your poker winnings!

If you play online poker there are many poker tools by the way which can help you identify the weak and fearful poker players.

14. Hollywood Shove Your Monster Hands on the River

One of my favorite poker bluffing tips isn't really a bluff but it is disguised as one. And it works amazingly well especially at the micro stakes.

If I have a huge hand on the river such as:

• Set
• Straight
• Flush
• Full house

If they bet into me, I will often let the clock or timer run down a fair bit while pretending to think. This is also called hollywooding.

My goal here is to make them think that I am considering a bluff. But really all I am thinking about is Vegas and the f@%king Mirage!

So when I finally shove all in, they will often call me down because they think I am bluffing.

15. Make Them Think You are that Weak Fearful Poker Player

Perhaps the best poker bluffing tip I can give you is to make them think you are that weak and fearful poker player that I have talked about so much in this article.

Or in other words, make them think you are just another nit who only bets big and raises when he has the nuts.

Because if everybody views you as a loose maniac, then nobody is going to believe your bluffs. They are just going to call you down like crazy.

So if you want to be able to get away with many of the poker bluffs that I listed in this article, then the other players at the table need to respect you.

Final Thoughts

So there you have my top 15 best poker bluffing tips. From preflop all the way to the final river raise you should always be looking for good spots to bluff in poker.

Bluffing more often is indeed one of the absolute easiest ways to start improving your winnings at the poker table. You need to make sure you are bluffing the right poker players in the right spots though.

In general you want to avoid bluffing the loose recreational players and focus on bluffing the tight fearful players. And never show them the bluff. Always let them keep guessing.

Lastly, if you want to know how to consistently make $1000+ per month in low stakes poker games, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.


Let me know your best poker bluffing tips in the comments below.