Bluffing vs. Slow Playing

One of the best skills to master in poker is the ability to outwit your opponents. Typically, this means being able to fool your opponents into thinking that you hold something that you really don't. By throwing players off the scent of your actual hand, you can either build up the pot or force others to fold, leaving you with the upper hand.

Bluffing

One of the most popular methods for "tricking" your opponents in poker is bluffing. Bluffing can take a number of different forms and can be used in a variety of scenarios, but one of the most effective bluffs is called the c-bet. This strategy requires a player to raise on the flop regardless of what hand he holds, to keep players from thinking that he missed a good hand on the flop itself.

Slow Playing

Another popular strategy for getting ahead in poker is called the "slow play." This is similar to bluffing in that its goal is to mislead opponents, but in practice it is also considered the opposite of bluffing because the betting strategy is completely reversed. That is, instead of making your opponents think you have a good hand, you bet weakly to make them think you have a bad hand.

Once you master these strategies, you'll not only be able to outsmart and outplay a number of your opponents, you'll also be able to better determine when they themselves are bluffing. This will help to ensure that you always have the upper hand, and that you can better calculate your implied odds of winning.