It happens to all of us, somebody bets into you out of left field, or raises your bet. If you are holding a hand that you believe may only be the second best hand at the table, most players’ natural inclination is to fold. Before you surrender the hand to your opponent take a good look at his stack. This will often be able to tell you more about whether or not they are bluffing than any facial tick or profuse sweating.
If this is a cash game, and you see somebody with a small stack displaying this sudden flash of aggression, you can believe you are now facing a legit, formidable hand. Chances are your opponent has been just waiting for this opportunity to replenish their supply of chips and they are going to make the most of it.
Those who make it their business to be familiar with obscure, theoretical laws not only need to get out more and find a nice girl, but they will also be aware of the law of diminishing returns. Basically this concept supports the idea that there can be too much of a good thing and that eventually the whole thing will eventually blow up in your face. A lot of players who see a pair of Aces or two Kings show up as their hole cards immediately start slowplaying in order to keep as many people as possible in the hand in order to help the pot grow.
Usually when the term "faking it" is tossed around there is an unsatisfied wife and a marriage counselor involved in the mix somewhere. Besides this rather uncomfortable reality, faking it is also a way to make money when playing poker. As we all know, faking it is called bluffing in poker, and it is something everyone of us do: some better than others. There is an art to carrying off a bluff, and you see it employed by professionals time and again on national television and in some of the sport’s biggest tournaments.