One of the things that really fascinates casual fans of poker is the art of bluffing.  It’s what all the movies on poker come down to, it’s what is talked about years after a major event, and it probably involves the most psychology out of any poker move.  But the problem with bluffing is that many people don’t take the time to learn all the different forms of it.  And this is a very crucial thing to learn if one wants to put money on the line.

And the best bluff move to start off with is probably the semi-bluff.  It is the most commonly used and probably the best for beginning and intermediate players to utilize.  The semi-bluff involves betting before the river in hopes of forcing people out.  However, the “semi” part comes in because you still have a hand capable of winning if your hand hits after the river is shown.  This is great because you still have a chance to take the pot even if players don’t fold.

The cold bluff involves betting out, raising, or going all-in with the sole purpose of getting others to fold.  In a cold bluff, the player has nothing truly capable of winning the hand but thinks that the sheer act of making big bets will cause others to jump out of the hand.  This is typically only useful if people at the table are playing really tight.

The all-in bet is another good one to use at No Limit Hold’em tables where the play is very tight.  With an all-in bet, a player may not have the best hand, or outs to win the hand.  But making other players risk calling an all-in bet can often force many (if not all) people out of a hand.

The continuation bluff is one that is a little more advanced.  It involves aggressive pre-flop play by betting out before the flop is shown.  Then, after the flop is turned over, another bet or raise shows that one is still in command of the hand and their hole cards are very strong.  However, the bluff part comes in when the player has actually missed the flop but is still trying to sell that their hand is strong post-flop.
 
The last bluff that is of major importance is the check-raise bluff.  This might require the most nerve of any of the bluffs (besides a crazy cold one) and is normally used by highly advanced poker players.  It involves the typical strategy of checking and then raising in the same betting round after someone else opened the betting.  However, it is done with the intention of forcing the other player to think you’re simply trying to suck them in for more money and thus they fold.  If you can pull this one off, you are truly a bluffing master.