Not everybody wants to bluff when playing free online poker or any other type of poker, but in my opinion it is imperative at one point or another if you want to progress your poker play.

In poker, there are many ways to bluff, depending what situation you are in. Once you have mastered the very basics then being able to pull a good bluff will be simple.

Firstly, and very importantly, knowing your table image is a key factor to consider before bluffing. A tight player is more likely to succeed with a bluff as opposed to a loose player. It is worth bearing in mind what you are trying to achieve by bluffing, and that is that you are trying to convince another player that you have a hand that you don't, hence table image. A loose player will probably get called after the flop with a medium pair or even ace high, a tight player would not.

I would add a note of caution when considering bluffing in free online poker in accordance with how you see your table image. You also need to know your opponents. By this I mean you need to know their standard. Are they good enough to recognise table image? Have they been following betting patterns? If they are of a basic level of poker, they are unlikely to show table image any respect, and will probably call post flop with a gut shot.

After mastering how you want your image to appear, you then need to look at pre flop action.
Let's say your 45 minutes into a tournament, you are playing pretty tight but the dealer is not being kind and nothing much is happening. The blinds have just increased and you feel a big bluff is required.

You have queen/ten off suit, not a bad bluffing hand. If you want to bluff this off as a high hand, I advise you raise preflop. 'How much?' I hear you say. Well remember that you are attempting the bluff in order to win chips, so you need to raise an amount that will get called by at least one player or maybe two. Lets assume two players call your raise and the flop comes two/nine/king, rainbow.

Even though you have a good chance of getting a straight with your ten and queen, you still have an opportunity to carry on your bluff with the king. Now is the time to figure out if one of your opponents has a king, so its time to place a bet to find out. Let's say one player calls and the other folds. The turn comes a six, still a rainbow.

You now need to fire your second bullet. This has to be a fairly big bet but crucially it has to be bigger than your first. Now if your opponent has the nuts he will probably raise you, in which case you can Hollywood for a while before folding. If however he just calls, he more than likely just has a king.

So let's say he calls and the river comes a four. The next bet is always the hardest, but the most important, you have to fire the third bullet, and again it has to be more than the second. A check at this stage will result in one followed or a big bet which you have to fold. Whatever happens here you must be prepared to fold your hand and do not allow your third bullet to become an all-in. Remember if your bluff does reach the river, your raise pre-flop will have left your opponent feeling like he was behind throughout the hand.

Another important thing to bear in mind when bluffing is not to go all in at any point. Never bet everything you have. You must remember that you are bluffing because you have to, it is likely that another player has better cards and need to bear in mind you might need to fold at some point.

Before I talk about my final point on bluffing, a few quick fire things to consider are, your position on the table in relation to the button, the type of game your playing (by this I mean tournament, heads-up, cash table, etc), and small 'bluff' raises in order to still blinds from weaker players.

The last point I want to make about bluffing is 'post-flop bluffing'. This normally happens when players are chasing a hand, like a flush or straight. The best way to illustrate this, is to again use a scenario situation.

You get dealt 9c/10c. You limp in with three others and the flop comes, 3c/jc/Ah. You're the small blind and you check, the next two players check and the button bets. You call and the other two fold. The turn card comes 3d. Now if you check the button is probably going to bet and maybe fairly big as you suspect he has the ace. You need to make a minimum bet first.

After making this bet, the button wont have a clue as to what cards you are holding. There are chances you are holding a 3, but he wont be sure and hopefully wont want to take the risk. Chances are he will probably just call. You are now able to see the river for as little as possible.

If the river is a club then I am sure you know what to do, but let's say the river comes 10d. Due to your defensive bet on the turn you are now in a fairly good position. A hefty bet now has a fairly good chance of taking the pot.

If your opponent has what you think he has, that being a weak ace, he has to think you have either a stronger ace or a set of threes. There is also the possibility that he was also chasing the flush and will therefore fold. Just remember my earlier point, do not go all-in and be prepared to fold if he raises (but not without forgetting a dose of Hollywood)

Bluffing doesn't come easily to many people and it takes a lot of time to master the art of it. Practice by playing lots of free online poker before putting any of your own cash in to a game!