How to Bluff

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: February 11, 2023

Bluffing is a way of telling a lie in order to overstate your position and make yourself seem stronger or more decisive than you really are. People often bluff in games like poker, Mafia, Avalon, and Coup. Bluffing is also frequently used in certain kinds of daily conversations. Be cautious about bluffing too much, though. Some of your friends may start to see you as a liar or start to distrust you if they get the sense that you’re bluffing more often than you’re telling the truth! You could also start to seem cocky or arrogant.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Bluffing in Conversations

1
Pretend to have expertise in a subject about which you’re ignorant. In some situations, you might feel exposed or embarrassed if the people you’re conversing with find out that you’re not well-versed on a certain subject. In these cases, try to act more confidently than you feel and you’ll come across as if you have knowledge that you don’t. As long as your conversation partners don’t grill you too hard, you should be able to pull off the bluff.^{[1]
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- For example, if you’re talking with friends who are classical music buffs, one may say, “I’ve always found Beethoven’s melodies a bit dry; Bach is more to my liking.” If the speaker turns to you, try bluffing by saying, “I agree; Bach’s music has wonderful melodies!”
- Or, say you’re at a wine tasting with wine-enthusiast friends. If you don’t know much about wine, listen to what others are saying about the different varieties and characteristics. Then rephrase their observations or opinions so you sound like you know what you're talking about.
2
Generalize to cover up something that you’d like to hide from others. Part of being a skilled bluffer situation is knowing when to tell partial truths. While you’re not directly lying to someone when you do this, you are using partial information and misdirection to steer the conversation away from a potentially uncomfortable discussion.^{[2]
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- Let’s say you live at home and ate a couple of raisin oatmeal cookies before dinner. If your parents ask, “Why don’t you have much of an appetite?” you could answer, “I snacked on some oatmeal an hour ago.”
3
Overstate the strength of your position to gain more bargaining power. This is a great way to bluff if, for example, you’re buying a car. Say that you’ve found a car dealership close to your home, and would like to buy a car there. Don’t give this fact away! If the dealer says something like, “We might have to raise the price for some of the extras you want on the vehicle,” respond with, “There are plenty of other dealerships around here, and we’re happy to visit one of those if they can give us a cheaper price.”
- Bluffing like this gives you plenty of bargaining power and should motivate the car salesperson to lower the vehicle’s price.
4
Bluff to smooth over an unpleasant exchange in a group situation. While it’s often best to be honest and openly express your opinions, sometimes social settings require a bit of bluffing. Bluffing by saying that you’re having fun (when in fact you’re ready to go home) or that you like how your date looks (if you don’t actually care for their outfit) can save you from embarrassment and keep everybody happy.^{[3]
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- For example, say that you’re meeting your partner’s parents for the first time. If they serve a meatloaf (which you normally dislike) and then ask your opinion, it would be wise to bluff. Say something like, “It was delicious! I don’t eat meatloaf often, but this was one of the best I’ve had.”
5
Don’t bluff too much, or you’ll expose your ignorance. If you’re doing some bluffing in a conversation, it’s a good idea to bluff only when necessary. Keep quiet and listen during the conversation. That way, you’ll soak up information that could come in handy later when you decide to bluff. When you bluff, you want to come across as knowledgeable, not cocky and ignorant. If someone calls your bluff, you may find yourself in trouble!^{[4]
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- Let’s return to the Bach example. If you were to say to your friend, “I think that Mozart has sublime melodies, especially when he writes for the saxophone,” your friend would immediately point out that Mozart never wrote for the saxophone, and your bluff would be exposed.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Bluffing in Group Games

1
Deflect attention from yourself and try to implicate others. In group games that rely on bluffing as a major strategy component, it’s important to maintain your own appearance of innocence while calling others’ into question. The guiltier others look, the more innocent you’ll look by comparison. So, try to bluff by questioning others’ motives (making them look guilty) and deflect any suspicion away from yourself.
- For example, in a game of Mafia you might say, “I heard Matt making a lot of noise while everyone’s eyes were closed … my guess is that he’s the mafia and was pointing out who to kill! Everybody else seemed pretty quiet.”
2
Defend yourself by bluffing about your character’s identity. If you’re guilty, the best way to avoid being found out is by bluffing! Try directly lying about what character you’re playing (e.g., Mordred in Avalon or the police in Mafia) by pointing out reasons why you couldn’t be that character that relate to your real-life actions or positioning in the room.
- For example, in a game of Mafia, you could bluff by saying you were in the bathroom when a player was “killed,” and so you couldn’t be the mafia character. Or say that, had you been the doctor in Mafia, you would’ve saved your boyfriend from being “killed” off.
- Say that you’re playing Avalon, and the evil characters accuse you of being the wizard Merlin. Bluff your way out by saying, “There’s no way I could be Merlin! If I were, I would have already convinced you guys of who all the evil players are. I’m a great Merlin when I get the chance. Whoever is the real Merlin is doing a lousy job.”
3
Deny any accusation of guilt by relying on the in-game narrative. Say that you’re on the mafia in a game of Mafia, or that you’re Mordred in a game of Avalon. If the other players start to suspect that you’re the “evil” character, you can rely on bluffing to confuse them and hopefully win the game. Bluff by pointing out facts that could indicate your innocence from the in-game narrative that the game’s narrator has established.^{[5]
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- For example, you could draw on your in-game including your relationship to the person who was “murdered.”
- Or, you could say, “There’s no way I could be the mafia killer. We’ve already established that I’m the village priest, so there’s no way I’d kill somebody. I’m a pacifist!”
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Bluffing in Poker

1
Make a bluff when there are only 2 or 3 opponents still playing. Bluffing when you’re facing down a large number of opponents (e.g., a full poker table of 8 players) rarely works. Even if 1 or 2 players are intimidated by your large bet and fold, there will likely be at least 2 or 3 that keep playing. So, save your bluffing for later in the poker game when there are only 3 or 4 players at the table.
- If you’re only playing against 2 people from the beginning, you can begin bluffing right away.
2
Bluff when you’re playing for small to middling pots of money. Most poker players get excited when they see a large pot of money and are less inclined to fold their cards. So, your bluff will be ineffective and you’ll end up losing the hand if you try to bluff on a huge pot of money.
- For example, say you’re playing in a game with a $5 buy-in and a $2 minimum bet. Don’t bluff on a $75 pot; most players will want the money and will be disinclined to fold.
3
Plan to bluff when you have 1 high card even without a strong hand. Most bets in poker revolve around the strength of a player’s overall hand. However, it’s possible (and not necessarily uncommon) to win on the strength of a high card alone if none of the players have at least 1 pair. So, bluff when you have a high card in your hand, even if you’re nowhere near to having any pairs, a straight, a flush, etc.
- For example, say you’re playing Texas Hold-Em. Depending on the flop (the 5 cards turned over by the dealer), a hand of Q♥ 9♣ isn’t particularly good. However, your queen could end up winning the pot as a high card. So, you may as well bluff, since in a way you have nothing to lose.
4
Bluff only 4–5 times throughout a long game of poker. Poker players are good at noting their opponents’ frequent strategies, and may figure out when you’re bluffing if you do it too often. So, don’t bluff just because you haven’t done it in 20 minutes or because you’re bored. Only bluff in instances when you think you’ll win.
- The idea is to keep your opponents on their toes. Bluffing works best if your opponents don’t know when you are or are not doing it.
5
Start with a small bluff rather than betting a huge amount of money. It’s not always necessary to drop a $100 bluff into the pot in order to cause your opponents to fold. Often a bluff that’s only slightly too large for the opponents to comfortably call will make them fold just as successfully as a massive bluff would. If you try making a small bluff once or twice and notice that you’re not scaring off any players, then you can start making larger bluffs.^{[6]
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- Dropping a huge bet—e.g., $100 in a game with a $10 buy-in and $5 minimum bet—may alert skilled players that you’re bluffing. If they don’t fold, you’ll lose a lot of money.
- As a rule of thumb, try to bluff an amount that’s roughly consistent with previous bets. If your bets are all within $20 of each other whether you’re bluffing or not, your opponents will have a hard time calling your bluffs, and will likely fall for the bluff.
6
Try a semi-bluff when you have a decent hand. A semi-bluff is a strategy commonly used by poker players when they have a decent hand but not one that’s guaranteed to win. When you make a semi-bluff, you’re essentially suggesting that your hand is much stronger than it is. A semi-bluff is often enough to make inexperienced players fold. Even if players stay in the game, you’ll still have a pretty decent hand that may win on its own.^{[7]
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- For example, say you are holding 6♥ A♣ and there’s a 7♥ on the table. This isn’t a great hand, since you’re not guaranteed a heart straight (you’d need 3 more consecutive hearts) and a flush isn’t likely (you’d need 3 more red cards). But, the hand is not awful either. So, make a moderate bet of $35 and try to semi-bluff your opponents.
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If a poker player sighs or rolls their eyes before making a bet, they’re unlikely to be bluffing. They probably don’t have a great hand, either.^{[8]
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If poker players are extremely fatigued or have been playing for hours on end, they usually don’t bluff. Players who bluff are typically wide awake and have their wits about them.^{[9]
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Bluffing at a cocktail party, a meeting with your boss, or a chat with a professor can help improve their opinion of you or help you move up in the workplace.

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