Big bluffs are one of the most attractive things about live poker streams. These are the moments that bring viewers to the edges of their seats in the anticipation, making up for any previous lack of action at the table.
Without any doubt, the Hustler Casino Live brought us a fair number of big, interesting, and even funny bluffs over the course of the year.
We picked the three below as some of the craziest / funniest that were caught on camera, although there are quite a few more that deserve to be included in an article like this.
An Inexplicable 6-2 Bluff in a $176K Pot
Most bluffs in poker make sense. Players will force the issue with a non-made hand that has a fair bit of equity, or will sometimes turn hands containing key cards into bluffs. Usually, there is an explanation for a bluff.
Sometimes, however, the only reason we can think of is that they simply felt like bluffing and exact cards had nothing to do with the decision.
This hand from the HCL certainly belongs to the latter category. To begin with, David, holding 6♥2♣ in the big blind, decides to cold-call a 3-bet after Linglin opens for $1,000 and Han makes it $3,200 to go with Q♥Q♦.
Han hits the flop very hard as it comes Q♣7♣10♠, giving him the top set, and, for the time being, the nuts. It is a draw heavy board, though, so when the action is checked to him, he c-bets for $5,000 into a $10k pot.
Linglin gets out, but then David decides to get creative and bumps it up to $21,000. Han thinks about his options, but eventually decides to just call. They proceed to the turn with over $50,000 in the middle, and the turn is the J♥.
David has no pair, no draw, and no significant blockers to speak of, but he still continues betting, firing out $25,000. Han calls once again, and there is now just over $100,000 in the pot.
The river is the unpleasant 8♣, completing the front-door flush draw and putting four to a straight on the board. David now fires the third barrel, making it $75,000 to go!
Han is in a really tough spot as all obvious (and some not-so-obvious) draws got there, so after a few agonizing minutes, he decides to let this one go, and David’s persistence pays off. He rakes in the pot and gets to show his rags for the ultimate needle.
Alan Keating Firing on All Cylinders ($2,000,000 Pot)
Alan Keating is known for his wild and aggressive style, which sometimes makes him a very tricky opponent to play against. Sometimes, however, his aggression goes too far and results in massive swings.
A hand Keating played a few months ago on the Hustler Casino Live stream against Peter is a great example of the aforementioned scenario.
It was actually Stanley in the hijack who opened the action to $6,000 with K♣Q♣. Alan found a monster on the button in A♥K♥, but for some reason, decided to just call. This incentivized Santhosh in the big blind to call as well with 10♠9♣.
Peter was in the straddle and with a fair bit of action in front of him, he looked down at two red queens. So, naturally, he went for a raise, and he made it a sizable one, putting out $42,000. All three opponents found this to be a fair price, though, and called.
With $170,000 in the middle, the flop came 7♠7♥6♠. After Santhosh checked, Peter fired a continuation bet of $45,000 and Keating called with his overcards and a backdoor flush draw. Santhosh called as well with his gutshot, while Stanley decided to get out of dodge.
The turn came the 4♥, giving Alan his flush draw. So, after both Santhosh and Peter checked, he decided to fire $140,000 into the $300k pot. Peter didn’t spend much time before tossing calling chips into the middle.
The river was the brutal Q♠, improving Peter to a top full house. Aware of his opponent’s aggressive tendencies, though, Peter checked once again, and Alan quickly moved all in for $715,000. Peter snap-called, and just like that, Alan dusted off a cool million on a really sick bluff attempt.
To be fair, on a different river card, Peter might struggle to call and Alan’s bluff would get through, but poker gods were particularly cruel to Mr. Keating on this occasion.
Ryan Feldman Goes for It Against Nick Vertucci
This is certainly not one of the biggest bluffs we saw at the HCL this year, but it is among funniest ones as it features Ryan Feldman and Nick Vertucci. Ryan and Nick started and co-owned Hustler Casino Live, but Vertucci dropped out of picture recently due to reasons that we won’t get into in this article.
The hand in question happened before all the controversy, and Ryan was really determined to win a hand against Nick, as he started off by calling Vertucci’s 3-bet from the small blind with K♣J♦. Vertucci, of course, had a better hand in Q♥Q♦.
The flop came 7♦6♣2♦, and Nick decided to check as this isn’t the kind of board to favor a 3-bettor. Feldman did not miss the beat and he bet out for $1,000. Vertucci quickly called, and they proceeded to the 5♦ turn.
After Nick checked, Ryan fired again, this time for $3,000, and Nick called again.
Finally, the river paired the board as it came 5♣. Vertucci checked for one last time, and now Feldman decided to really go for it, betting $23,000 into a $11,000 pot. It was a massive overbet, but after a few minutes, Nick did make the call to win a nice pot, and for one reason or another, Feldman was really not happy about this one!