POTD #316 I Bluff My Twin Brother

A hand from the Triton Bahamas Main Event

One of the common hand types I receive when I get Sunday Special submissions is what I’ll call “It was my only bluff” hands. Someone raises the river in a spot where they go, “Well I have the X blockers and I have so many value hands and I am normally a pretty tight poker player, but I have to bluff sometimes and this is my only bluff.” The problem with this logic is, these tight players are often representing a very good hand themselves, and while it’s rare for your hand to be “your one bluffing combo,” it’s also unusual to have a value hand worth raising or reraising the river with. So if “your one bluffing combo” is actually “your twelve bluffing combos” you’ll be in trouble.

An important thing to remember here is when you raise the river, you’re supposed to have the nuts more often than a bluff. If you had a 50/50 mix, your opponent could call with everything and make a fortune. This is especially true on boards where most of your opponent’s bluff-catchers will block your value in some way, shape or form, which is to say, almost every board.

In today’s hand, we go to the Bahamas in 2024 where I played a hand vs. my twin brother Luc. I was confident I had my one bluffing combo and it did win me the pot, but in hindsight, I was over bluffing even if I was fortunate to get this one through.

Triton X WSOP Paradise Event #7 $100K NLH Main Event
(4k/8k/8k) (SB/BB/BBA) Starting Stack 250k. Registration is open. 7-Handed

I (271k/34bbs) I have A♥️K♠️ and make it 17k UTG, it folds to Luc Greenwood (754k/94bbs) who calls.

Flop (46k) J♥️5♣️4♦️: Luc checks, I bet 12k, Luc calls.
Turn (70k) 8♥️: Luc checks, I check.
River (70k): 6♥️: Luc bets 20k, I shove for 241k, Luc folds.