Being a liar is a negative trait in almost all aspects of life. However, there is one situation where it might be beneficial. If you’re playing a game of cards, suddenly being a liar is something to be applauded.
In some card games, you may be rewarded for being a “skilled bluffer”. Of course, this isn’t quite the same as being a liar. Lying is easy. You can say you took the garbage out when you didn’t without blinking an eye. In many ways, it’s second nature, even if it is still wrong.
That’s not quite the case regarding bluffing in card or casino games. Bluffing is one of the most complex skills to master, not least because everyone around the table is trying to do exactly the same thing. If your opponent is bluffing, that means they know how to bluff, and if they know how to bluff, they’ll likely know a bluffer when they’re staring them in the face.
If you’re an enthusiastic gamer and you want to master the art of bluffing, you’ll need to get some solid practice. Below, we’ve listed three of the best card games to test out and hone your bluffing skills, ensuring that you can out-bluff all of your fellow bluffers.
Poker
When you’re testing out your bluffing skills, it’s important to do so during a fairly simple game in which you can focus entirely on bluffing without worrying about all the rules you might be forgetting.
One of the common misconceptions about Poker is that it’s complicated, but it’s no different from any other card game. There’s a deck of cards, a few basic rules to understand, and the rest is just skill and perseverance. Moreover, bluffing in poker gives you two ways to win. You have the best hand, or you make everyone believe you have the best hand!
Cheat
Bluffing is about confidence. To do it properly, not only should you learn how to develop confidence, but you need to bring that confidence into whatever game you’re playing. One of the best games for confident bluffers is Cheat, mostly because it’s all you will do!
Cheat was designed for the bluffers. If you haven’t come across this game before, all you have to do is get rid of your cards to win. If you’re placing down two Aces, for example, you announce that you’re playing two Aces, and the next player has to match your cards. If the other player doesn’t have any Aces or wants to get rid of more than one card, they can bluff and play non-Aces while announcing that they are Aces.
Therefore, everyone in this game is bluffing nearly all the time. This gives you a perfect opportunity to test out your bluffing skills, build them up and get some helpful hints on how to bluff well from your companions. The other good thing is that this is a game that can be played with just three players and one deck of cards. This means you can test it out with your friends before trying your hand at an online or traditional casino experience.
Rummy
Rummy is one of the most popular card games out there, and it’s also perfect for the aspiring master bluffer. This is because Rummy requires close observation of the way your opponents are playing, much in the same way that Poker does. Unlike Cheat, where you focus on getting your bluff right, you have to be able to tell what other people are doing if you want to bluff effectively in Rummy. Keep track of what your opponents are picking, what they are discarding, and what they drop.
Once you have understood their patterns, you can begin bluffing them. However, your style of bluffing will depend on who you are playing against – tight or loose opponents – so every time you play Rummy, your bluffing tactics are going to have to be different. This is just one of the reasons it’s a great card game to practice and test out everything you have learned. After just a few rounds, not only will you be a master bluffer, but you’ll also be a flexible bluffer – and that is perhaps the most important quality of all!
