Bluffing Is Not Always the Key

  Most people in the free world (and a big chunk of the non-free part of the planet) are familiar with the comic strip "Dilbert". During a particular situation one of the company's micromanaged serfs was trying to explain something to the PHB (Pointy Haired Boss). He wasn't really paying attention, but after a while of listening to his underling's prattle, he came to the conclusion that he hadn't nodded in a while. Of course when he did eventually decide to nod he had inadvertently agreed to something that would ensure him the sort of job security that Enron employees enjoyed.  A lot of poker players approach bluffing in a manner not unlike the dim witted Pointy Haired Boss. If they haven't bluffed in a while they feel this unspoken pressure to pull a bluff to keep everything is some sort of karmic balance. This is just silly. Bluffing is a situational action that shouldn't have anything to do with a timetable or schedule.  Most of the top players in the world are not frequent bluffers. They will only do it when the situation calls for it. Not only does this lend power and legitimacy to their bluffs, but it saves them from losing money on bluffs that come from the "I haven't nodded in a while" school of thought.