A bluff on Hustler Casino Live? Not this again surely…
Well no, not this time, because this bluff is 100% legit and also 100% surprising given that the player landing it is one not known for taking the greatest of risks.
Part time high stakes poker ace and businessman Bill Klein has fostered a very tight reputation at the tables, playing a generally small range of hands and keeping the odds in his favour whenever he can.
And it may well have been that perception of him as an rock that allowed him to pull off a monster bluff against Brian Kim in a recent stream of the Hustler Casino Live high stakes game.
Life Of Brian
The hand began with Brian Kim, who had enjoyed the benefit of some very good hands being dealt to him in the session, finding himself with pocket kings (K♣ K♥), which he raised to $1,000 from the $200/$400 blinds.
Bill was in early position after the big blind so he wasn’t in a great position when Kim made his move, but whether it was because Kim had enjoyed some good hands earlier in the evening, or whether Bill just liked his A♣ K♠ offsuit, Bill called.
He may have regretted that call when the flop landed with 10♣ 5♥ 4♥ offering neither player any solace, although Brian still had top pair and was now very much the 84% favourite to win the hand after Bill missed the ace.
Kim bet $1,600 into the pot, which Klein called, moving the action onto the turn.
Bill Takes The Brakes Off And Ditches The Seatbelt
The turn card came down as the 5♦, which gave Brian two pair, but opened up the possibility that Bill could be sitting on a hand, perhaps a pair of tens, or a pair of fives.
Brian then made his move, a $4,000 bet which Klein called and then the river card came down with a 5♠.
Klein decided it was now time to try and push home the strong position and he surprised many by making a strong opening bet of $13,000.
The problem was that Kim still felt his pocket kings were holding well here, so he raised the stakes, putting $50,000 into the pot, leaving him with around $77,000.
Klein, who had a bigger stack and his very tight reputation then used that to his advantage by re-raising to $127,000.
It was a very clever move, one that surprised his opponent who now had the seeds of doubt sewn in his mind as to whether Bill did indeed have quad fives which would beat the full house that Brian held and which actually were the stronger hand by a considerable margin.
It also left the commentator on the hand Marc Goone shocked when he realised what Bill Klein was doing.
Brian Makes The Decision
Brian Kim now faced a decision. On the face of it, he was getting almost 2.5/1 on his cash in the pot and his hand was only able to be beaten by a small number of other hands which his opponent was, perhaps, unlikely to hold.
However, you know that the fact Klein has an image of being such a tight, careful almost by-the-book poker player, and one with a bankroll that can put even solid poker professionals into uncomfortable positions, played a massive part in Brian’s thinking.
Why would Klein bluff now? Why would he change the habits that have made him so successful at the poker table? Why would Klein decide to three-bet when he did not hold the nuts?
Kim had a lot to consider and tanked for a couple of minutes before discretion took hold and he decided the best move was to lay down his cards.
Klein then showed Kim the bluff, which clearly shocked him and the losing player sat in stunned silence while other players at the table commented on the hand, one calling it “the most ridiculous hand I’ve ever seen”.
You can check out the hand in full below. What do you think? Is this great play by Bill, or did Brian do something wrong to put himself in this position?
The Importance Of Reputation & Stack Size
What this hand shows more clearly than any other is the value of having a well-founded reputation as a specific type of player and then how using that by acting out of character can be.
Bill used his reputation to call Brian to fold from the strongest position and you know that if Brian was playing against a player who did not have that solid reputation, he would have made the call.
The players at the table were amazed that Bill had landed the bluff, fist-bumping him and then one of the players said it was one of the best “gangster plays” he had seen at the table.
Bill took the win in his stride, but poor Brian folded his next hand before heading away from the table to try and repair his fragile mental state!
By the end of the six-hour stream, Bill was well up at the table making a superb $280,000 in profit, while Bill didn’t have too bad a night, only making a $6,800 loss on the evening.
Brian did return to the table a little later on and was man enough to admit with a smile that he had been beaten in that hand by some stellar play.
Do you think you could bluff as well as Bill Klein? Then why not try your luck by joining a site like bet365 Poker to put your skills to the test!
Just don’t think it is quite so easy to bluff some of the best players in the world as Bill makes it appear in this particular hand from Hustler Casino Live!
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