The bluffing sweet spot

The most memorable hands of last night's session were two times I bluffed successfully, winning the pot without a showdown. These successes made me realize I probably don't bluff often enough. The great thing about a successful bluff is that it increases the odds that the next strong hand you get will be misinterpreted as a bluff when you bet it.

One thing I've learned is that it's a bad move to try to bluff from early position, since you don't have enough information yet. On average, it's also a bad idea to try to bluff from middle position. Both times I bluffed last night, I was in late position. That's the bluffing "sweet spot" where bluffing should become second nature given the proper conditions. One of my prerequisites is that my bluff bet opens the betting in that betting round. If someone else has opened the betting, bluffing is off the table for me.

Thinking about this in terms of luck, it's lucky to be in the bluffing sweet spot when no one has opened the betting; just as lucky, in its way, as being dealt strong cards. I think it's almost as important to take advantage of the bluffing possibilities that arise as it is to take advantage of the strong cards that come your way.

delta: $24,400
balance: $490,142