Bluffing in a dead pot assumes you already know what a dead pot is.

Bluffing in a dead pot is often said to be bad play; at times criticism is heaped upon the bluffer and may put some players on tilt.

Just as many players will adopt subtle strategy differences for cash tables and tournament play, they will also consider the dissimilar effects of bluffing in a dead pot on a cash table and in a tournament.

Cash table

Just like any pot you are active in; when a player moves all-in and you do not have the stone cold nuts, you should consider whether or not you have the best hand.

In a multi-way pot with the main pot dead, if you are behind to the all-in player the side pot may give you a return or profit on the hand. If you have a high degree of confidence that your hand will win the side pot, betting to entice more bets from other players may at times be an economic play.

However, if you are bluffing you must be confident that the remaining active players will call your initial bet and fold to a later one. If not, not only will your bluff have been uneconomic, because your hand will be seen by all at the showdown, it may be more costly in the long term as you will be giving away free information about your play.

Tournament play

Bluffing in a tournament dead pot often has different connotations; at those important times when a player moves all-in for their tournament life, consideration of that should come into the mix. Because, when a player exits a tournament everyone benefits by either moving one place nearer to the money or one place higher in the paying places. Bluffing in a tournament dead pot may have the effect of keeping the all-in player alive if you push other players off the hand and don’t go on to win the main pot.

But I’ll be generous and say there are situations that may justify the play.

Take the extreme, say a tournament dead pot is worth 50 chips with blinds at 2k/4k. The all-in player survived because the hand wasn’t checked down in a gentlemanly manner; so what, there is a 10k side pot to play for and the ante alone will put the survivor all-in again on the next hand (and who said poker was supposed to be gentlemanly anyway).

However that occurrence is rare. More often, experienced poker players avoid bluffing in a dead pot as it is simply uneconomical.

Split pot tournaments

When playing split pot games (Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo etc) with a multi-way pot and the main pot dead; if you only have good options for winning the High or Low hand (not both), betting to increase the value of the side pot will nearly always be a mistake (because you are betting on one half and bluffing at the other). For example; if you have the High hand covered, a bet designed to increase your winnings from the High half of the side pot, could push a player off of what may have been a winning Low hand allowing the all-in player to stay alive.

What you do when someone bluffs in a tournament dead pot

If you are the all-in player and you benefit from their action, thank them for their ignorance. If you weren’t the beneficiary and see an all-in player survive, well… bide your time, the bubble will burst soon enough and you will all be paid. But that isn’t the end of it, there is much to be gained here; you get to see both hands at the showdown. You will learn more about both players in the hand and it hopefully won’t have cost you many chips (if any). Free information at the poker table is priceless.

Afterwards, other players at the table may debate (or rant endlessly) about the bluff, don’t be one of them. Listen and learn; but don’t let the chat distract you from the next hand, because the past cannot be changed and the next hand is far more important.