Poker's Biggest Bluffs That Changed History
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Nothing feels better to a poker player than getting a bluff through, especially in a massive pot, whether it be a tournament or cash game.
Bluffs are never easy to pull off, and when they fail, it's one of the worst feelings in poker. We've seen thousands of epic successful bluffs over the years in major events like the World Series of Poker (WSOP), or on cash game shows like High Stakes Poker and Hustler Casino Live.
Argentinian freestyle rapper Alejandro Lococo, aka "Papo MC," a PokerStars ambassador, pulled off an epic bluff deep in the 2022 WSOP Main Event when he risked his entire stack with ace-high. That was an impressive bluff, no doubt, but it won't go down in the history books like the five bluffs on this list that changed poker.
'The Bluff of the Century'
Chris Moneymaker entered the 2003 WSOP Main Event as a nobody in poker — an accountant from Tennessee. A week later and he not only won the biggest world championship event at the time — 839 players-- for $2.5 million. He became a top ambassador for the game and is widely credited with sparking a massive poker boom that brought in millions of new players.
But there was one hand during heads-up play against Sammy Farha, a grizzled and respected veteran pro, that could have sent poker in a different direction. If one bluff dubbed the "bluff of the century" didn't get through, who knows just how popular poker would have gone on to become.
That bluff started with Moneymaker raising to 100,000 with K♠7♥ and Farha calling from the big blind with Q♠9♥. The flop came out 9♠2♦6♠, nothing for Moneymaker who was drawing thin against top pair. Both players checked to the 8♠ turn, which opened up some drawing possibilities.
Farha, still with the best hand, fired out a bet of 300,000. Moneymaker, who picked up flush and straight draws, raised to 800,000 on a semi-bluff. The raise didn't convince his opponent to fold, however, and both players would then see the uneventful 3♥ on the river.
Neither player hit their draw, so it appeared Farha, the smaller stack, was about to win a crucial pot. He went for a check, and then faced an all-in bet from the young accountant who was stuck on king-high. The bluff of his life would get through, as Farha folded his hand after a lengthy tank.
"And considering the situation, I know we're early in the century, but that's the bluff of the century," ESPN commentator Norman Chad proclaimed.
It's impossible to predict where the game of poker would be today had that bluff not gotten through. After all, Moneymaker still could have pulled off a comeback to win the tournament even if Farha had called. But there's no doubt that Moneymaker's win impacted the game in a positive way as much as any other event in history.
Another WSOP Main Event Heads-Up Bluff
Our second hand on the list bears a striking resemblance to our first hand. This one features heads-up play in the WSOP Main Event (2016), involves a player holding queen-nine and flopping top pair, and the tournament's winner was a previously unknown low-stakes player.
Qui Nguyen, who held a sizable chip lead, raised to 6,700,000 with J♦5♦. Gordon Vayo called with Q♥9♦ in the big blind before hitting top pair on the 9♣4♣2♦ flop. He checked it back to the preflop raiser.
Nguyen, who often played $1/$3 no-limit hold'em games at Aria in Las Vegas, made a large continuation bet of 9,700,000 with jack-high.
Vayo called and then the 10♥ appeared on the turn. The big blind checked, but Nguyen wasn't ready to give up despite drawing to just three outs. He bet 27,700,000 million this time and again received a call.
The river was the 5♠, ensuring Vayo would win the hand if it made it to showdown. He checked it back a third time only to face an all-in bet worth 73,200,000. If he were to call, he would have moved into about a 2.5:1 chip lead. Instead, he folded, fell behind nearly 4:1 in chips and went on to finish in second place for $4,661,228. Nguyen, on the other hand, became the 2016 world champion and took home $8,005,310, thanks in large part to pulling off one of the best bluffs ever.
Who Says You Can't Bluff Phil Ivey?
Brad Booth, who is attempting a comeback after more than a decade away from the high-stakes scene, was a big star in the biggest cash games during the poker boom era. He once spent an entire summer grinding the nosebleed games at Bellagio, and he even appeared on some popular televised poker shows in the 2000s.
The Canadian former high roller played many massive pots back in the day, but none as memorable as a bluff he pulled off against Phil Ivey, arguably the greatest poker player ever.
The legendary hand took place on High Stakes Poker during Season 3 in 2007 on the Game Show Network. David Williams had opened the action with a raise to $1,800 with J♠9♣. Booth, who appeared on PokerNews' Life Outside Poker podcast last year, decided to get a bit adventurous and three-bet to $5,800 with 4♠2♠. That raise was untimely because Ivey, the big blind, had K♥K♦ and made it $14,000 to go.
Ivey's raise wasn't enough to get Booth to fold, but Williams did muck his cards. The flop showed 3♦7♠6♦, and the Poker Hall of Famer continued for $23,000 with his over pair. Booth, who had nothing but a gutshot straight draw and backdoor spades, moved all in for $300,000 against the poker legend.
Ivey, always tough to bluff, tanked for quite some time before folding the best hand. Booth would pull off arguably the most memorable bluff in High Stakes Poker history, but he'd go on to rack up massive debts to fellow poker players, which drove him out of the game for years.
Honorable Mention Poker Bluffs
The three bluffs above will forever be remembered by any true poker enthusiast. But there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other bluffs worthy of recognition. We, of course, couldn't possibly mention them all.
But we'll briefly touch on some of the best of the rest, starting with another High Stakes Poker hand from the Game Show Network era involving Tom Dwan, who had queen-high but used agression to force Barry Greenstein to fold pocket aces and WSOP Main Event champ Peter Eastgate to fold trips.
As for tournament bluffs, there are few more epic than the hand in the video above involving Ivey. This hand took place during heads-up play against Paul "Action" Jackson at the 2005 Monte Carlo Million. Both players were after the $1 million first-place prize, while the runner-up would go home with $600,000.
Jackson limped from the button with 6♠5♦ and then called a raise from Ivey, who had Q♥8♥ and a commanding chip lead. The flop was 7♠J♠J♥, missing both players. Ivey continued with queen-high for 80,000 chips, about half the size of the pot. Jackson, with six-high, raised to 170,000.
That raise didn't convince his opponent to fold, as Ivey came back over the top to 320,000. Jackson still wasn't done with the hand, and he re-raised to 470,000. Ivey wasn't buying it, and he moved all in, bluffing with the best hand. Jackson couldn't call and was forced to fold his hand, leaving himself with crumbs. He would lose the heads-up match soon after.
The Bluff That Went Wrong and Changed Lives
Not every bluff that changed history was successful. Take, for example, the most controversial hand ever played on Hustler Casino Live on Sept. 29, 2022 between Robbi Jade Lew and Garrett Adelstein.
Outside of the Moneymaker-Farha hand, there probably isn't a bluff that changed lives more than the 2022 HCL hand dubbed "The Robbi." But, unlike the Moneymaker bluff, this one didn't change the player's lives in a positive way.
Lew, an inexperienced player on the show, called off a six-figure bet on the turn with nothing but jack-high — not even a draw. And she was correct in the call because Adelstein, perhaps the best high-stakes cash game player ever in Southern California, was semi-bluffing with eight-high and a draw.
The river was a brick and Lew took it down, leading Adelstein to accuse his opponent of cheating. Poker fans are still debating to this day whether or not she cheated, although she has always denied the accusations.
Adelstein took heavy criticism for the way he handled the situation. Many felt he didn't have enough to prove cheating occurred, and a large portion of the poker community doesn't think she even cheated. Neither player has returned to Hustler Casino Live since. Adelstein, who had few haters before the infamous hand and was among the most popular poker players in the world, rarely pops up in public poker games anymore. He went from livestream regular to playing on stream once or twice a year.
Lew, however, gained notoriety within the poker community from the hand. While she received plenty of hate from those who believe she cheated, she built up a fan base from those who don't think she cheated. Both lives were changed for different reasons, all from one semi-bluff gone wrong.
