You gotta know when to hold’em, and know when to fold’em!

There’s a lot of truth in that line from the old Kenny Rogers song, but backing off a hand can be a hard skill to master!

Bluffing in online poker can often feel like you are backing away from a fight if your opponent doesn’t seem to want to go away. Even though it’s against your natural instinct to back off, sometimes you just got to do it. A typical situation is when you are the first to enter a pot and decide to raise it up because you have some paint cards. The big blind calls you and the both of you see a ragged flop. Normally, he’s going to check to you, the aggressor in a hand.

If your opposer does, this is a pretty standard play for you to make a continuation bet. Usually this means 1/2 to 3/4 of the pot, and frequently the play will end right there. But not always! Sometimes your antagonist will call your c-bet. He is offering you position with his call, however on a ragged low card flop, you have to constantly keep in mind these are precisely the hands your opponent may have called you with. Of course you don’t know that, as he might’ve called you with an ace king and have your king and queen dominated.

What matters is that he did call you. Now, you can expect a few things from this call such as, he does have a really good hand whether that be from help from the flop or him slow playing you, it really doesn’t matter. He may also think you can be bullied off the hand, to be planning a bet or check raise on the turn or river. He could simply be playing on the assumption that this flop completely missed your high cards, and you cannot afford to make this pot grow with an ace high hand. He may also just be playing with a small pair, or maybe he has a draw.

Now, reckoning on your opponent’s profile, you may want to go over the top if he raises you, but that usually means a really big pot in a very marginal hand. This is something that you truly must consider as to be a pricy situation long term. Simply put, if you don’t have the balls or the cards to bet out on the turn or river, then you may likely be reconciled to saying to yourself, “that’s all I’m going to put into this hand, I’ll have to check it down or give it up”.

It can be hard to handle the feelings of being forced off a hand by an opponent who changes their level of aggression during a hand. This is simply because we are in battle with a human inclination to protect oneself and fight for survival. Folding a hand can feel cowardly and defeatist, but knowing when to back off is a vital skill if you want to be a successful poker player.

So backing away from a bluff never makes you feel good, but for players who realize that it is simply a calculated move and actually has nothing to do with your personality or character, will be able to walk away unscathed – at least emotionally. The good, knowledgeable players will be able to patiently wait for a better opportunity. Denser players, on the other hand may have a chip on their shoulder about having to fold, and may be leaning towards tilt after just a single hand.

So when you have to release your hand as a result of reraising behind you, just know that there will be better times to bluff in less costly situations.

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