Why do solvers bluff?

The longer version

What each scene is saying, spelled out. Tap a note to jump to its scene.

1. 0:00Why do solvers bluff?
2. 0:03Never bluff, and nobody pays you. If every bet you make is a strong hand, your opponent’s best reply is simply to fold. Your best hands win the pot that is already there and nothing more.
3. 0:08Bluffs buy calls. Add just enough bluffs that folding becomes a mistake too. With a pot-sized bet that means two value hands for every bluff. Now your opponent is stuck: fold, and the bluffs win; call, and the value hands get paid.
4. 0:13The bet size sets the ratio. A half-pot bet can carry 25% bluffs, a pot-sized bet 33%, a bet of twice the pot 40%. The share is the bet divided by the pot plus twice the bet.
5. 0:17Which hands bluff? On the flop, draws go first: a flush draw or a straight draw can bet now and still win later. A medium pair usually checks, because it can win at showdown without betting.
6. 0:20That is the pattern, not a rule. On the river there are no draws left, and solvers pick bluffs that block the hands their opponent would call with.
7. 0:24Bluffing isn’t a gamble. It is what gets your value bets paid.