So what are some useful methods? I’ve tried them all, and they’ve all been tried on me. And sometimes being aware of that, and consciously trying to stay stone-faced and stoic actually hurts you more than answering them back.

One of my favorites is when you get asked how many Full Tilt Rakeback chips you have left? Most of the time these guys aren’t even going all-in, they’re just testing you and watching your reaction? Are you quick to check? Have you been keeping track already because you’re losing and want to know how much you have left before you’re done? Do your movements to count the chips reveal defeat? Be careful how you respond to this question, it’s a great one and can work magic on an unsuspecting target.

Many people can tell strength better than weaknesses by betting patterns, so they’ll use tactics like this to try to get you to talk. They’ll listen to your voice and see if they can detect fear, uncertainty, hesitancy or anxiety. The good ones will dissect even a couple words and use the information to their advantage.

Some will crack jokes, tell crazy stories, act drunk when they’re really not. All this is to do one of two things. Either get a reaction out of you and/or to throw you off your game. So even if they can’t read you, maybe you’ll do something stupid and hurt yourself anyway.

What you as the one receiving the bait should understand is that these methods can backfire if you know how to turn them around on them. Whether someone jokes or stares at his hand is just as much of a tell as your reaction to either one. Look for patterns. Watch the level of a drink with a lot of ice to see if that “drunk” person is even drinking.

You’ll run into this in any poker rakeback no-limit or higher stakes game, whether it’s in a basement somewhere or in a casino. But if you’re prepared for it, you’ll be the one with the edge at the end.

Such was the case during a 2008 WSOP hand between players 27-year-old Justin Phillips and Mabuchi. We enter the game with the hand already fully dealt. Community cards are Ace hearts, nine clubs, Queen diamonds, 10 diamonds and Ace diamonds.

In this game for some reason, we don’t get to see the players hidden cards, and thus aren’t able to follow along with full knowledge of the outcome. Sometimes a little surprise can be pretty sweet.

After a little back and forth, Mabuchi splashes the pot worse than I’ve ever seen on his forceful, statement all-in bet. Phillips calls, and just as quickly as the cards are flipped you see the check mark appear onscreen next to Phillips name. He’s holding a royal flush and in dramatic form took down Mabuchi’s four aces.

Mabuchi is beyond disgusted, as I would be, throwing his cards and shaking his head in disbelief and unimaginable frustration.

I think it was so frustrating for him because he played it exactly how he was supposed to. Even with a full house instead of four aces, you have to commit everything. Doesn’t matter what round, doesn’t matter how high-profile the tournament, those are the hands to win big on an all-in. It just so happened that his opponent had a better big-time hand, and after winning he certainly let him know it.

I’m not super familiar with Phillips, but he set up with headphones, a wife beater, and after the hand was mugging for the cameras with fist pumps and muscle shots. Nothing like adding insult to injury.

There’s something to be said for etiquette, especially if you’re not an established star. A reputation like that can stick with you. You also shouldn’t celebrate like it’s the winning table that early in the tournament – him and everyone else could be shaking hands and walking out within the hour themselves. That’s not to say poker can’t benefit from a little infusion of NASCAR, I just found it off-putting. And, as we all know, he didn’t win the tournament, so the celebration was, in fact, obviously premature.

The challenge for the Full Tilt Poker players competing in this challenge is that they have 30 days starting from March 1st to turn a $200 bankroll into as much as they can. Players competing in the challenge aren’t allowed to reload there $200 starting bankroll at anytime throughout the 30 days and they also can’t play ring table games. The players in the Bluff Online Poker Challenge will only be allowed to participate in sit and go tournaments and multi table tournaments throughout the 30 days.

The field of confirmed poker star players is already growing and there are some of the most well known online poker players ever that will be competing in this challenge. Many of the players have finished in top positions in WSOP events previously and thus should be well versed for the tournament action that they need to play. I suspect that the players with the most experience playing in large multi-table tournaments will do the best whereas the cash players won’t do as well.

Your playing style changes based on whether you’re playing a tournament or cash game and for those who don’t use both styles often I don’t see them doing so well. If you’re wondering how you can get a chance to become the next cover for Bluff Magazine then read the below paragraph carefully as it’s got the information you need.

Starting February at PokerStars.com all the players are having there FPP’s tracked by the poker room. The player on LockPoker at the end of this month with the most FPP’s will win the chance to enter this challenge with Bluff Magazine. The reason they chose LockPoker is because the room has very minimal traffic and new players who sign-up there will have a good shot at making the top of the FPP leaderboard.

It’s a shame that anyone interested couldn’t compete in the challenge but that would take much more organizing and wouldn’t work nearly as seamlessly as this challenge will. There are only about 2 dozen confirmed players at this point for the challenge and we’re already under one month away from the launch of the event. If you’ve been playing online poker or you read any of the popular poker forums then you’ve probably seen some of the names who will be in the challenge as some are very recognizable players to some of the online poker world.

Not everyday does the opportunity arise where you could battle it out with some of the top online poker players in the world. Not only do you get to battle it out with these players on PokerStar, but if you win you get to be featured on the cover of Bluff Magazine. Bluff Magazine is a highly recognized and reputable magazine which serves the poker community. You’ll become the talk of the poker world if you landed the cover and you still have a chance. Head on over to LockPoker and start earning those FPP’s so that you can enter this legendary Bluff Online Poker Challenge.