Polar codes may be generated with a variable block length utilizing puncturing. Some puncturing schemes consider punctured bits as unknown bits, and set the log likelihood ratio (LLR) for those bits to zero; while other puncturing schemes consider punctured bits as known bits, and set the LLR for those bits to infinity. Each of these puncturing schemes has been observed to provide benefits over the other under different circumstances, especially corresponding to different coding rates or different signal to noise ratio (SNR). According to aspects of the present disclosure, both puncturing schemes are compared, and the puncturing scheme resulting in the better performance is utilized for transmission.