D uring the past 20 years, I’ve been associated with many of the best poker players in the world. And all are outstanding bluffers.

That doesn’t mean they bluff more than the average weekly player -- just that they bluff more strategically. Experience teaches them when a bluff is likely to succeed and what psychological value it can have even if it fails.

Best Bluffing Strategies

Don’t change your style when you bluff. You can look your opponent in the eye or not, chatter like crazy or keep silent -- as long as you are consistent.

In most cases, don’t bluff a weak player. Chronic losers stay in the hand when they shouldn’t and call another player’s hand when they shouldn’t. Even with a weak pair, they will call a bet. They tend to fall in love with their cards. If several weak players are left in the hand, don’t even think of bluffing.

Important: Don’t bluff the night’s big winner. The pile of money in front of him/her and his belief that he’s on a roll will make it more likely he will stay in the game and call your hand. Conversely, if a player is losing heavily and is playing his money instead of his cards, he will be easy to bluff.

Play the other person’s hand -- not your own. That’s what great players do. This means figuring out what an opponent probably has. This is done through observation and experience.

Mentally track how your opponents play. Good players can figure out the parameters of an opponent’s hand -- what he will call with, what hands he will raise with and what hands he will fold against a raise.

If it comes down to two players in a seven-card game and you think your opponent has one pair of middling-value cards -- a below-average hand -- you can probably bluff him into folding, no matter what you hold. Your bluff will be more convincing if the face-up cards in your hand are strong. In particular, scare cards -- an open pair or a possibility for a flush or a straight -- will scare a weaker opponent.

Exploit your position when you are the dealer in a game such as draw poker. After you deal the cards, one player bets and the rest fold. This can be a great time for you to raise, as the last player to act.

If the remaining player takes three cards, you know he has a high pair. A classic bluff would be for you to raise and then draw two cards, creating the impression that you have three of a kind. Even if two players are in the same hand and each takes three cards, you are still in a good position to bluff. If both players pass the betting on to you after the draw, bet. They will probably fold.

Show your losing bluff hands occasionally. Do this if your opponents are mumbling that you only bet on great hands. This is a pure reverse-psychology play. It convinces your opponents that it is not necessarily meaningful when you raise the stakes. Once they believe that you don’t always have great cards when you raise, you’ll win big pots when you actually have great cards because they’ll all think you’re bluffing.