There are some differences between online and live poker in regards to bluffing. As
a general rule, players tend to bluff a little more often on the Interns than they do in
a live game. The virtual environment of the Internet makes many players play a little
more deceptively than they would against a live opponent. The virtual environment
also makes it easier to commit your chips since you only have to click your mouse.
Compare this to a live game where you have to physically move your chips into the
center of the table while your opponents are watching you. Therefore, you may
need to keep your opponents honest a little more online than you would in a live
game.
On the other hand, your opponents will tend to call your bluffs a little more often
than they would in a live game since they also recognize that players tend to bluff
quite often on the Internet. Calling is also easier online since they only have to click
their mouse. For these reasons, you need to choose your bluffing opportunities a
little more carefully online than you would in a live game.
One final note about bluffing. As we discussed before, some of the value in bluffing
comes from the advertising value of bluffs to get your opponents to call more often
in the future when you have a good hand. Bluffs do not have the same advertising
value online as they do in a live game. First, many players may not notice your
bluffs since they might be playing two tables, watching television, or reading email.
In addition, you rarely play with the same opponents as long as you would in a live
game to take advantage of your “loose’ image. These are a couple of other reasons
why you should tend to bluff a little less often on the Internet. Of course, if you are
playing in a game where the players don’t move in and out of the game a lot or you
are against regular opponents, your bluffs can still derive some future value when
used in good situations.