Anyone who's played Hold 'Em knows the feeling. You've been dealt a middling hand, the flop is against you, your opponents around the table are looking cocky, and there you are, either by accident or by design, right in the middle of the betting. There's only one way you're going to win the hand - with some guts, some courage and a pair of massive cajones. Yet if you watch videos of the masters at work, there's proof that bluffing, dangerous and stressful as it may be, can be especially lucrative. Here are three of our favourite-ever bluffs on youtube.
Ivey v Jackson
This is an amazing bluff video. It's essentially a double bluff. Neither Ivey nor Jackson have anything, neither made a serious bet off the flop, but after the three cards are revealed, they go back and forth - reraise after reraise - until Ivey has no choice but going all-in. Jackson, who got himself into this mess, must have been feeling pretty clever in the middle of this video, but when Ivey pushes everything in, he knows he's been beaten by a master.
Dwan vs Greenstein and Eastgate
You wonder how Dwan got himself into this mess. He seemed to be asleep at the wheel when everyone around him was pounding the flop, yet in the face of the likelihood of three deuces and with nothing but a pair of tens, Dwan gambled like a pro and created just enough doubt in first Eastgate's and then Greenstein's mind that even a pair of aces and a pair of twos seemed like a liability. Sometimes the only way out of a sticky situation is a big, nasty bluff.
Marcello v Dwan
And poker being poker, here's Dwan having the tables turned on him by Marcello Marigliano. Marcello, with nothing but a King high and a pair of 8's on the table calls one of the ballsier all-in's you'll ever see, throwing nearly million on a table. You can see the bewilderment on the face of Dwan. He's been bluffed by the master. As you can see from these videos, There may be nothing better feeling in poker than a bluff coming good.
Thanks to our friends at IntenseGambling.com for recommending these videos. Seen any better? Why not leave a comment below."
