What does Bluff Catcher mean in poker?

A Bluff Catcher is a hand that is too weak to value a bet confidently, but still strong enough to beat an opponent’s bluff. It is usually not a hand you want to build a pot with, but sometimes it is good enough to call specifically against a suspected bluff.

How does it work?

Imagine a middle pair on a dangerous board. Against a strong hand, it is probably behind. But if the opponent is bluffing, that pair may already be enough to call. That is the whole point of a Bluff Catcher: the hand catches bluffs instead of dominating the opponent’s range. The term matters because it helps separate “a hand strong enough to call” from “a hand strong enough to apply pressure.”