The Art Of Bluffing

Playing a fun few games of rummy may be your favourite hobby. With the popularity of online rummy, it is easy for you to master the game. But one of the most important tactics of winning at an Indian Rummy game is bluffing. Learning how to bluff in Rummy can be the game changer, it’s a fine line between bluffing and cheating so be mindful and keep the game clean.

Understanding How to bluff in rummy

Bluffing, at its core, is simply deception. Deception in any game is used to manipulate your opponent in order to extract an outcome that benefits you.

When you learn how to play rummy, you must also learn how to bluff in rummy. Bluffing allows you to come closer to winning at every stage of attaining the objective of the game. The objective of Indian rummy is to make sequences and sets while discarding cards from your hand and picking up cards from the closed deck or the discard pile. 

How to Bluff in Rummy

The basic idea of bluffing in rummy is to make your opponent believe you have a stronger or different hand than the one that you actually do. 

When you are looking at creating a sequence, one way to bluff is to discard a card from the suit that you need to make the sequence. This may be a card that is not closely connected to the sequence you want to make. This misleads your opponent into thinking that you may not need a card from that suit. Which means if you discard a 10♠️, your opponent is likely to think that you do not need a 9♠️ or a J♠️ but you could have a 6♠️ 7♠️ 8♠️ and if your opponent discards a 9♠️ it would help you complete your sequence.

How to Develop a Good Bluffing Strategy

1. Begin by carefully observing your opponent. Remember that if you are bluffing, so is your opponent. You need to carefully calculate how good your opponent is at bluffing and how they tend to respond to bluffing. Do they give in easily and fold? Are they a step ahead and let you bluff while themselves playing an aggressive game? See if your bluff is working. Pay close attention to their bluffs by reading carefully and memorising the cards that they discard and pick up. This will help you evaluate which discard was a bluff and which was not. 
2. Learn that timing is key, and it is always important to pick the right time to bluff. Right at the start of the game, you are also unaware of how your game will proceed, as is your opponent. It may not be at all beneficial for you to bluff right at the beginning when a discard in bluff could actually hamper your entire game. It would also not make sense to bluff too late into the game when there may be no card of use to you that your opponent could discard or your opponent’s game could have progressed so much so that they may be already on the brink of winning and your bluff may not adversely affect their game at all.
3. When you start learning how to bluff in rummy, you may suffer from overusing the same strategies. It is important to adapt frequently during the game and be flexible. If you try to bluff at every turn, your tactics will become predictable, and you may also not be able to stay in control of your cards.

Play a Game of Rummy Strategically on A23

Learn how to play rummy and increase your confidence by mastering the skill of bluffing to gain advantage over your opponents. Turn yourself into a frequent winner and become an expert by refining your techniques. Download the A23 app to stay sharp and keep playing.