Is there bluffing in Pokemon TCG?

C

CCGer

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Is there any bluffing element in the Pokemon TCG? In theory, any game with hidden information should have some form of bluffing. But, that is only in theory. When I talk about bluffing, I don't mean trying to lie to your opponent or to cheat. Bluffing is simply a kind of skill where you try to conceal your intentions while trying to know what your opponent intend to do.

I choose to make this thread in this section so that it receives attention from people who are competitive in Pokemon TCG. I am not a good player, so I can't really judge it from myself. I would need some help here... Try answering some of my questions below to help me visualize if there is any bluffing in the game.

While playing the game, you probably need to predict what your opponent might do. However, are there times where your opponent surprise you with a move that you don't see coming?

Are there times where your opponent has a few options and that you are not sure which option he will choose?

Are there times where you get away with risky moves most likely because your opponent decide to play it safe?

Please do give examples to help illustrate those situations. For example, my opponent has card A in play and I had card B in my hand and..... Remember to state how often those situations happen.

Another thing to take note is that, these examples should NOT include situations where your opponent does not know the contents of your deck. What I mean is, if you use an eels deck, your opponent should know the cards in your deck or at least reasonably know of them. I don't consider playing an unknown or rogue deck as bluffing.

Please also exclude bluffing examples which includes Power Spray because this is the only card which you can play during your opponents turn. Most cards in this game can only be played on your turn.

Thanks
 
I might not be able to go into great detail as to whether or not bluffing is a major part of the game, or even give universal examples of bluffing in the first place, but I can give a one example where I managed to "Bluff" for the benefit.

I'm playing Empoleon/Terrakion and my opponent's playing Darkrai/Hydreigon. I have Emolga active and 2 Piplup on my bench. I have a rather bad hand except for an N. I opted to not play N, even if it meant I missed Calling for family and getting my bench full for a T2 Empoleon (should it happen). This forced my opponent to think 2 options because of my actions:

1. I had Candy+Empoleon
2. My hand was trash

Well, he had to act upon #1, for fear of me getting an early empoleon start was too big for the matchup, so he played his own N to refresh my hand. Doing this, I got my intended result (Hand refreshing w/o using my own N and strengthening my late-game stance), and even pulled into candy+empoleon. I won because of the N helping in the end allowing me to avoid deckout.
 
Any time you can avoid playing a supporter, don't play one. It conserves your resources for later, and will make your opponent think you have a much weaker hand than you do.
 
These situations happened _extremely_ frequently when SP came out and Power Spray was huge. Playing certain Pokemon-Powers to bait Power Spray was a key skill to have in the metagame and ended up making the SP vs SP matches very skill intensive. Nowadays, it's not as prevalent, but there can always be a small element of bluffing in almost any card game just because you can play your cards and make your opponent think one thing when you usually have some other play that can benefit you further.

dmaster out.
 
When ever I have a bad hand and am in desperate need of an N to be used, Pokemon Communication is sometimes what helps me trick my opponent. I use it and get a Mewtwo ex. That way I can hope s/he tries using an N next turn so I can lose it back into my deck. It usually works. :p
 
^ or better yet, get a stage 2 with it's basic form on the bench (you played thee basic down that turn) but no rare candy in hand. Not only will your opponent scramble for a N to save you (unknowingly) but they'll think your a noob making a misplay grabbing a stage two the turn you played down a basic, little do they know your playing them into saving your hand :p
 
Here's another trollish bluff: Play Terrakion in Darkrai/Hydreigon without any Prism or Fighting. YOur opponent gets freaked when you drop it and they try to KO it :p It keeps your other Pokemon safe for a turn
 
Fluttershy said:
Here's another trollish bluff: Play Terrakion in Darkrai/Hydreigon without any Prism or Fighting. YOur opponent gets freaked when you drop it and they try to KO it :p It keeps your other Pokemon safe for a turn
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picard-facepalm.jpg


This is worse than a single Trubbish in decks not running Garbo. Please stop.

Also don't not play cards that could help you because your opponent won't think you have them very often unless your opponent is reaching a very critical point and needs to think a lot (which is rare). If you bluff, let it be in your actions and appearance, but don't make bad plays on the off chance it might hurt your opponent more than you.
 
You guys gave some rather interesting situations.

Do any of you guys make a very risky play and manage to get away with it because your opponent try to play it safe?

Please keep in mind that the opponent must know or at least reasonably informed about the contents of your deck. So, surprises from unusual techs you put in your deck doesn't count.
 
CCGer said:
While playing the game, you probably need to predict what your opponent might do. However, are there times where your opponent surprise you with a move that you don't see coming?
Click to expand...
Of course! It's virtually impossible to know the contents of your opponent's hand, deck, and prizes, so it's impossible to be sure of the move your opponent will make. There are too many situations to name, but for example, most Darkrai/Hydreigon lists only play one Shaymin-EX, so it's a major surprise if one ever drops another after you kill one.

Are there times where your opponent has a few options and that you are not sure which option he will choose?
Click to expand...
Yes, for the same reason I explained above. It's usually clear which move it would be most beneficial for your opponent to make because you know what your hand is and what you'll be able to respond to. However, your opponent doesn't always have the information to know that's the right play, or (more frequently) doesn't have the cards to make that play. So, it can be very hard to predict the exact play your opponent will make. It's best to assume your opponent will make the play that is least beneficial to you unless that play would directly win them the game, in which case you might as well assume they don't have it and see where you can go from there.

Are there times where you get away with risky moves most likely because your opponent decide to play it safe?
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Sure. It's best to avoid risks when possible, but they are often necessary. It's more common, however, to get away with them because your opponent doesn't have the cards to respond to the play. After all, that's why you make a risky play; it has a big payoff if your opponent lacks the cards to respond to it.
 
Celebi23 said:
Are there times where you get away with risky moves most likely because your opponent decide to play it safe?
Click to expand...
Sure. It's best to avoid risks when possible, but they are often necessary. It's more common, however, to get away with them because your opponent doesn't have the cards to respond to the play. After all, that's why you make a risky play; it has a big payoff if your opponent lacks the cards to respond to it.
Click to expand...

like when someone super loads a mewtwo then N's their opponent down to 1-2 cards, if they have no way to respond to that, you'll be at a huge advantage :D
 
Yes, there is a lot of bluffing in pokemon TCG. You want to know what your opponent thinks you have in your hand, bluff or not. For example,if you send up a Zekrom EX and hit your opponent's Kyurem EX that has 300 HP for 150 they're going to assume that you have the ability to KO it next turn. Another way to bluff is to flip around cards if your opponent is about to take a KO with an EX. They may be unnecessarily caustious because they think you can KO them the following turn. This can be a huge factor in the game and can determine the winner. You also have to be aware of opponents who bluff. You can do this by checking their discard and gow ith probability rather than trusting your gut. Also, always assume they have exactly what they need (unless they were recently N'd to few cards or didn't play a supporter last turn.
 
Sometimes, when I sit down to play a round, I'll pile shuffle, present cuts, and then mulligan, showing my opponent an all reverse Luxchomp deck. That way, not only do they get psyched by the fact that I owned that deck in all reverse at one point, at the height of it's value/power, but I also am willing to take it into a new format, largely untested.

Then I actually shuffle my real deck and play. In actuality, bluffing with energy types is also kinda useful. Instead of playing Prism in a deck, you could run like, a Blend, even though that covers the same types, 'cuz then no 1 'spects it.
 
When I play Garchomp/Altaria and have a rather bad hand ill dragon call an ALtaria or Garchomp the turn before I can evolve and my opponents tend to N me to get rid of it. Another thing I like to do is look at their bench and ask for HP, I then hold a card and look like I want to play it badly then just pass. This makes them think I have a catcher and theyll try to get rid of it. Its worked a lot.
EVEN another thing, Ill act satisfied when my opponent Ns me, I think this brings down their morale or gets them intimidated, clouding their judgement.

Not ALL this always works, the more experienced players are harder to psyche out
 
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