Top 5 Spots to Bluff in Poker

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Mike Brady and Gary Blackwood reveal the five most profitable bluffing spots in poker that every serious player should master. Learn how to identify and exploit bluffing opportunities—like paired boards, delayed c-bets, and favorable runouts—to outthink your opponents and win more pots.

View the written version of this episode here.

00:00 Tip 1

05:06 Tip 2

09:15 Tip 3

12:28 Tip 4

16:03 Tip 5

In this episode of the Upswing Poker Level-Up, hosts Mike Brady and Scottish pro Gary Blackwood break down the five most effective bluffing spots that every player can add to their arsenal to win more pots and play with greater confidence. The discussion opens with an emphasis on fundamentals—identifying bluff spots rooted in sound theory rather than intuition or live reads.

The first bluffing spot focuses on check-raising paired flops after defending from the big blind. Gary and Mike explain how solvers recommend surprisingly wide check-raises on boards like Ten-Ten-Deuce or Queen-Deuce-Deuce, creating highly profitable situations since opponents rarely defend correctly. They highlight how these bluffs succeed because most players don't realize how often they should be calling with weaker holdings or backdoor draws.

Next, they explore delayed continuation betting—a powerful bluff when your opponent checks twice. By analyzing real game scenarios, they demonstrate that when a flop and turn go check-check, the opponent's range is "capped," meaning it contains few strong hands. This opens a prime opportunity to apply pressure through wide and aggressive turn bets.