In every form of poker you are essentially telling a story by means of how and when you bet. Some stories are true and others are complete bluffs. The fact of the matter is that you need to be cognizant of when you are bluffing and telling the truth at all times. You also need to be sure that when you are bluffing to at least make it a believable story. Therein lies the key to powerful betting and selling it to your opponent.

There are many ways to tell a story. Part of your poker strategy is to tell stories that are convincing even when you are on a complete bluff. Take a look at the examples below:

Play has just begun in a 9 player sit n go online tournament. Player A opens the betting with a raise to $100. Both players B and C call the bet. The flop comes down

Player A makes a continuation bet of $125 despite missing the flop completely. Player B reluctantly folds and player C mucks his hand.

Result: Player a wins the $425 pot. By making a convincing continuation bet player A is given credit for a big hand and takes down the pot. However, as the poker tournament plays on and images are portrayed he may or may not be able to make the same play.

In the example above we see how the story is told. Player A showed strength and he also opened from early position which likely indicated he had a fairly strong hand. Players B and C, knowing it’s early in the tournament, are not likely to call with mediocre holdings without more information about this player so they respect the play. In other words his story “adds up” despite being on a complete bluff in the hand. Had Player A bet less he may not have been “believable” and may have been called or even re-raised off the hand by Player B.

Play has just begun in a 9 player sit n go online tournament. Player A opens the betting with a raise to $60. Both players B and C call the bet. The flop comes down

Player A makes a minimum raise to $40. Player B immediately re-raises to $175 thinking Player A did not show much strength pre-flop and is on a flush draw. Player C folds his hand. Clearly Player A has his opponent trapped. He is telling the “truth” in his story but making it appear as though he is on a complete bluff or a draw based on how he bet his hand.

Now heads-up in the hand Player A decides to slow play the hand to maximize value.

Result: Player A wins the $450 pot. By playing the hand as though he was on a draw Player A extracted as much value as possible from the hand. Had the board not had a flush draw he may have been able to get all the chips in the middle on the turn.

Poker strategy means different things to different people but we can all agree that how we bet is one of the most important tactics poker players employ. How you measure your bets can determine whether you win a large pot or a small one. It can also determine whether you get called on a bluff or re-raised off the hand. Your story has to be believable or good players will call you down knowing your story just doesn’t add up.

So tell a good story. Even when you're not telling the truth.