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The point of a bluff is to scare your opponent into thinking you’re holding something much better than you are. This is only a truly effective poker strategy if you’ve won hands in the past. If you’ve recently made it to the river with high trips, your opponent is going to be afraid that you’ve done it again. If you haven’t already proven that you have what it takes to make it to the river, no one is going to trust your bluff. Alternately, if you’ve won a hand and your bluff is getting away from you, fold before showing your cards. It can be as damaging to your credibility as never winning.

This is the scenario if you’re holding next to nothing. It’s recommended that you bluff with a hand that has at least a slim chance of winning on a call—i.e. don’t bluff garbage. You only want to fold when there is little chance that your hand could be on top. If you make the decision to bluff, you should have something to back it up or else you’ll have no confidence about continuing with the bluff, whether we’re talking brick-and-mortar or online poker.

Obviously, folding your cards is forfeiting what you’ve already thrown down, so you’ll want to do this as early as possible. At the same time, you can’t fold hand after hand or your opponent will know you’re waiting for a good hand. If you’re suddenly betting high after folding early ten games in a row, it’s a pretty clear signal that you are confident with your hand. Instead of winning big, your opponent might fold—unless he’s holding something spectacular or bluffing. More often than not he won’t bluff if he sees you raising after a line of folds.

On some bluff hands, you may be waiting for your card to hit at the turn. You’ve got to play the odds of this occurring. If it does not, you should think about folding, unless your current hand, pre-turn, has a decent shot of winning. If it doesn’t, you should think about folding. It’s a last resort, but it will do a lot for your standing at the table if you are continually exposed with weak hands.