No limit Texas Hold’em is the “Cadillac of Poker,” for a reason. And the reason is the bluffing opportunities. Often the flop is disconnected, and there is a good chance that no one hit. I am pretty selective about who I bluff against, mostly after losing substantial amounts of money bluffing at the wrong person. The two main types of people it is imperative NOT to bluff against are weak player who will call with any hand – “calling stations,” and drunk players. Drunk players will make a mistake and call for all their money, so you better show them a hand.

The best players to bluff against are players who have won some large hands, and have become protective of their money. You can spot them quite easily – they usually tighten up visibly, stack their chips carefully, and if you are lucky, start counting their money. This is why I love no limit texas hold'em. This is an example.

I was playing in a no limit cash game in the Wynne in Vegas – nice poker room by the way. The blinds were $5/$10 and there was no limit to the amount of money you could sit down with. I had around $5,000 in front of me and was playing at a short handed table, having taken out quite a few of the tourists. There were five of us left if I remember correctly. The player on my target list had around $4,000 in front of him, and he had sat down with $1,500, so was beginning to think of leaving the table. He already had his chips in the trays. He was on the button, and raised pre-flop to $100. I called his bet with 10/K suited and the two of us saw the flop, which was all low cards. I bet $200 into him on the flop and he called. The turn was another low card and I bet $600 – which he also called after a long deliberation.

The river was yet another low card, and I decided I could move him off with a large bet so I went all-in, which didn’t actually put me all-in, but it would have done him. He eventually folded and I showed him my cards, which annoyed the life out of him, because he folded a pair of Jacks.

The very next hand, we are once again heads up, and he was the aggressor this time. By the turn I had an ace high flush and he was betting in much the same fashion as I had done the previous hand, going all in on the river. I called, and he lost his entire stack with a bluff.

You should never bluff the guy with the ace high flush either.