Bluffing

Growing up, we’re all taught that lying is bad. Yet, most of us encounter lying on a daily basis. Whether it’s a small and harmless lie like saying we didn’t eat the last cookie (when we obviously did), or a more significant lie like breaching academic integrity policies, we’ve probably all been the liar and the person who was lied to at one point or another.

Now, consider this situation: while playing a game of poker, you make a large bet despite knowing that you have a poor hand of cards. You didn’t outright claim to have good cards, but your actions suggest it. Is this considered lying?

If you ask economists, game theorists, and poker players, they prefer to call this bluffing. Bluffing is commonly referred to as a strategic move, during which someone deceives another person about their intentions or knowledge.¹ Essentially, bluffing can be thought of as “strategic lying.” Anecdotally, you may act like you have a good hand of cards, when you really have two 2’s and two 7’s. Although bluffing is a specific play in poker, it also refers to studying a more general pattern in human behavior.