Poker at the Lodge is not one of the most popular live poker streams in existence for no reason. It’s the place of wild action, huge pots, and insane bluffs, all of which makes for a great viewing experience.
This hand shows all of this quite vividly, and to add some spice, it features the poker legend and the Lodge Poker Club co-owner Doug Polk himself. Doug sets on a very risky mission to pull a big bluff against Alex, one of the Lodge regulars.
Polk Empties the Clip
The game in question is $200/$400 with the $400 big blind ante. After Taras opens to $2,000, Polk decides to 3-bet with A♠4♠, sitting with a stack of almost $750,000. Alex, to his immediate right, looks down at pocket Jacks and 4-bets to $20,000.
Alex starts the hand with $350k, so when everyone folds and the action gets back to Polk, he opts for a rare 5-bet, making it $60,000 to go. After some deliberation, Alex makes the call, and the wheels are already starting to fall off from this $120k pot.
The flop comes 9♦3♣2♣, so Polk flops a gutshot but not much else. Still he continues with his preflop story and bets out for $28,000. It is certainly too early for Alex to give up on his overpair, so he makes the call.
The turn is a magical J♥, giving Alex stone cold nuts. Doug remains undeterred though, betting $78,000. With the nuts and in position, Alex decides not to complicate things and allow Polk to keep barreling if he is bluffing. He calls and the pot balloons to over $330,000.
The river is 8♥ a pretty inconsequential card that fills in a couple of backdoor straight draws, but given the action, these hands are pretty much never in Polk’s range.
Alex has $186,000 in front of him, and having arrived to this point, Doug decides there is no turning back now. He fires one last bullet and moves all-in. You don’t have to be a poker expert to figure out what Alex did and how long it took him to make the decision!
