#PokerNugget #Bluffing

For a bluff to work, your 'story' needs to be believable. The most believable stories have lots of believable details. You can't just say "I'm George Clooney" and expect a random person to believe you. You've got to look like George Clooney, act like George Clooney, and sound like George Clooney.

I don't look like George Clooney, I don't act like George Clooney and I don't sound like George Clooney, so I don't go round telling people I'm him, as no one will believe me. At the poker table, however, I act like a reasonable player (most of the time), so if I raise under the gun, I can rep a strong hand on flops that contain aces or kings. If I bet the flop,I'm usually going to stick with my story and also bet the turn if it doesn't change the board much. I'll be especially likely to barrel if my bluff has some outs. Since I don't get out of line too much, people will usually believe me if I represent a strong hand by firing multiple barrels.
Here's an example, where I open 53s UTG (don't try this at home, kids!). I bet the AK4 flop, because I have lots of aces in my range. I could also have KK for a set. On the turn, I pick up an OESD, but I stick to my story of "I have at least top pair". When villain calls, it's very likely he has an ace of his own, but if I fire a third barrel, I'm saying "I have at least two pairs (most likely AK) and you should fold one pair". As luck would have it, I got the perfect river card. I backdoored my straight (I made the nuts with 53!) but at the same time the villain made two pairs with A7. On another card he might have folded to my triple barrel, because all of my value hands can beat a random Ax, but here he has to call.

So that's bluffing sorted, then: Pretend you're George Clooney for  couple of streets, but then actually be George Clooney on the river.