Classification of bluffs

There are three main types of bluffs in poker: fundamental bluffs, game flow bluffs and comfort zone bluffs.

Fundamental bluffing is used in situations where your opponent doesn't get many good hands, but you do. In these situations, the opponent can't do much with his range, even if he sometimes knows that you are bluffing. A game flow bluff is a bluff based on the reading that in this game flow situation your opponent will not expect you to bluff. A comfort zone bluff is a bluff in which the opponent's comfort zone will prevent him from making a correct call. He may have a strong enough hand to make the call and may even go against you at some point in the game flow, but you have read that this situation is in the player's comfort zone, so you can make frequent and effective bluffs.

Of course, in reality, bluffs do not fall into just these three categories. Most of them work on different levels, or they can work on two levels and not at all on the third. These are just the three primary directions in which a bluff shows its effectiveness.

Including all our observations, we can arrive at a two-part definition of a bluff. It reads as follows:

"Bluffing is the art of knowing which situations to bluff in, and the art of knowing which ones your opponent will fold. "

The first part, knowing when to bluff, is about attacking structurally weaker areas in the opponent's game and using fundamental, strong bluffs. This part of the bluff is about the tactician inside you studying the various "technical blueprints" and planning attacks.

The second part, the art of knowing when your opponent will fold, is a psychological game - it's about knowing your opponent's psychology, his comfort zone, understanding the flow of the game. It allows you to choose the right time to bluff, exactly when the opponent will believe it and fold. This part of the bluff is the matador in you, connected to your senses and the rhythm of the action, pulling out the red cape at the right moment. A master bluffer must have mastered both parts.

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