The Best Bluffs in the Recorded History of the World Pt. 1

By: Nick Laurrell

Bluffing is sexy. I was doing a bunch of interviews for an article about a month ago and almost 90% of the women who responded said that if anything was sexy about poker (other than the money) it was bluffing.

And taking what isn't yours is not just an attractive quality to females either - almost 75% of men said that a successful bluff is the best feeling a poker player can have at the table. As if you needed any further proof that humans love nothing more than a liar, I would point you to every leader of every government in history. The proof is in the pudding - people dig cheats.

So in honor of that most basic joy of human existence (and the rapidly approaching May 30 start to the World Series of Poker) let's go over the top 5 bluffs in the history of poker.

5. Bobby Baldwin takes $92,000 from Crandall Addington in the 1978 WSOP Main Event

The 1978 WSOP Main Event pitted real-estate mogul Crandall Addington against pro Bobby Baldwin (who is now the President of the Bellagio in Las Vegas.) Keep in mind that this is 30 years ago, so there are no pocket cams or definitive chip counts. They are heads up, Crandall has about $275,000 to Baldwin's $145,000 or so. Blinds are $3,000/$6,000 and Baldwin raises to $10,000 pre-flop. Crandall calls and the flop comes QD 4D 3C. Crandall checks and Baldwin bets out $30,000 - Crandall quickly calls. The turn brings the AD putting a possible flush and straight on the board. Crandall checks and Baldwin goes all in for another $95,000. Crandall Addington (what a great name for a poker player!) thinks for a second, decides to hold on to his cheap lead and folds. Baldwin, then widely considered to be the best NL Hold'em player in the world, chortled as he raked in his winnings and flipped over the 10 and 9 of Hearts - he had won on a stone cold bluff. That hand signaled the beginning of the end for Addington as Baldwin would storm back to take the championship.

4. Todd Brunson takes $56,600 from Daniel Negreanu on High Stakes Poker

God bless High Stakes Poker for giving poker fans more high quality cash game poker than any other show on TV. In this hand, Todd Brunson raises to $1600 pre-flop holding JC 8C and is called by Sammy Farha (KC 5D) and Daniel Negreanu (AS 9H) The flop comes 5C JS 5S giving Farha a set of fives, Brunson top pair and Negreanu nothing but a backdoor flush draw. But everyone checks, with Farha setting a trap and Brunson thinking that he is setting a trap. The turn comes the 9S leaving the board at 5C JS 5S 9S. Farha bets out $10,000 with his set, Negreanu calls with his nut flush draw and inexplicably, Brunson calls. In fairness to the laydown that Negreanu is about to make, Brunson has no business calling a bet from last position with nothing but top pair on a paired board with 3 Spades. Well, he has no business calling unless he has a full house or better. The river comes QS and Negreanu has the Ace High flush. Sammy checks, Daniel checks and Todd bets out $21,000 (remember that this is a real $21,000 not just tournament chips.) Sammy slaps his set, angry that the board has brought two more Spades, and throws it away. Daniel, meanwhile, is baffled. He has the Ace High flush but the board has paired and Todd Brunson merely called on the turn after two other people had called with 3 Spades on the board. Daniel thinks for just a little too long, gives Brunson credit for a full house and throws the Ace of Spades face up into the muck. Brunson smiles and turns over the 8 of Clubs. While Negreanu is less than pleased, the rest of the table is all smiles and laughs. After all, a multiple WSOP bracelet winner had just laid down an Ace High flush.

4. Jack Strauss

Rather than point to one hand, let's just go through the legend of Jack Strauss. Jack was the guy who most epitomized the chip and a chair slogan as he won the 1982 WSOP Main Event while possessing, at one point in the tournament, nothing but a single chip. In terms of bluffing, he's legendary. Here's a great story:

So Jack's opponent is about to bet out onto a board that reads 7H 3C 3D 2S. There has been some betting up to this point so Jack is thinking that he at least an overpair, if not a set. Jack is holding 7-2 to give him that most dreaded of hands, 3 pair. So he's beat and he knows it. But before his opponent can bet out, Jack says, "I'll tell you what, just gimme one of those $25 chips of yours and you can see either one of my cards - whichever one you choose." The opponent thinks, then coughs up a chip to see what turned out to be Jack's deuce. He studies Jack's face for a minute, then concludes that he must have a full house and throws away his pocket Kings, face up. Jack shows nothing else.

For the top 3 bluffs in recorded history, check out part 2 of The Best Bluffs in the Recorded History of the World.

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