Bluffing is one of the crucial parts of playing poker because it could be the difference between winning and losing, even with the worst of hands. The key is to have no expression in your face, whatsoever, even if you have the best cards on the table. If you catch a full house on the flop and you light up like a kid in a candy store, it’s safe to say the jig is up! Everyone will fold and even though you win, it won’t be very much.

Whatever you do, do not make eye contact with anyone at the table. You can, however, look for their facial signs closely. Professionals, like the ones we see in the WSOP championships, wear dark sunglasses so that they can still see their opponents faces, but not have their own eyes seen. Sunglasses can help to hide these subtle eye movements that other players use to determine the strength of their opponents hand and therefore they can be an effective way to reduce the ‘tells’ which are seen from the various players.

For the ultimate bluff, make small bets, call or check the whole way through. Then, when the river is turned, place a larger bet on the table, making the other players believe you just struck it big. Most of them, if not all, will fold from intimidation.

To keep the bluff alive, it’s best to not bluff all the time. Frequent bluffing will lose the players’ trust and they will never go along with any of the bets you place. The best time to bluff is with a small pot. This way, if you pretend you have a great hand, the other players will basically just give in and let you have it when the proper techniques are being used while bluffing.