Here was a pivotal hand from the end of a SNG:

POKERSTARS GAME #5136996562: TOURNAMENT #25825423, $10+$1 HOLD'EM NO LIMIT - LEVEL VIII (200/400) - 2006/06/03 - 04:53:16 (ET)

Table '25825423 1' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 3: mxp2004 (7932 in chips)
Seat 9: Karlwojo (5568 in chips)

mxp2004: posts the ante 25
Karlwojo: posts the ante 25
mxp2004: posts small blind 200
Karlwojo: posts big blind 400

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to mxp2004
mxp2004: calls 200
Karlwojo: raises 400 to 800
mxp2004: calls 400

*** FLOP ***
Karlwojo: bets 400
mxp2004: raises 1200 to 1600
Karlwojo: calls 1200

*** TURN ***
Karlwojo: bets 400
mxp2004: raises 2100 to 2500
Karlwojo: calls 2100

*** RIVER ***
Karlwojo: checks
mxp2004: checks

*** SHOW DOWN ***
Karlwojo: shows (a pair of Nines)
mxp2004: mucks hand (a pair of Nines, lower kicker)
Karlwojo collected 9850 from pot


A little bit of information: my opponent was generally passive. He was capable of laying down hands, but he sometimes got stubborn (as he was here). His minimum raise usually meant that he held something like Kx or Ax, i.e., a decent hand heads up, but not a monster. He had seen me bluff on pots he checked, but I was not overdoing it.

Why do you think this bluff failed and my opponent put almost all his chips in with King high and no draws? Do you think there was something about my betting pattern that smelled like a bluff? Finally, do you think I could have sold the bluff better by smooth calling the turn and moving all in on the river (in other words, is that a more believable way to play top trips)?

Thanks for any insights.

well i dont think theres much room for bluffing here, given the stack sizes and the amount of chips each of you have relative to the blinds. you yourself have a lil over 19BBs and a M of 6.3 right? Your opponent has less, with about 14BBs.
With this little BBs, its either fold or all-in pf imo. Reason being that any failed postflop bluff at this point will cripple you to the point of no return.

Yea, Im not thinkin this isnt the best spot. But *if* your going to do it, I think smooth calling the turn and pushing the river would have gotten a fold, unless he a huge calling station. In which case you should know by now and shouldnt be bluffing him. Nm you said he wasnt, k.

i think this is a great attempt to steal the pot, u just had an idiot that wouldnt let go of his hand

the raising and reraising represents a strong hand if not ace high even. i would of folded on the turn i f not the flop


u might of tried to push all in on the turn he might of thought about folding then.

It's tough to make a bluff here with the amount of chips you have.

Smooth calling the turn and betting on the river is, IMO, probably a better bluff. Your raise on the turn says "go away" . . . if you're going to make that raise, at least raise all in.

Also consider that no matter how well executed a bluff is, it's going to fail a fairly significant portion of the time. If you go in with the attitude this bluff must succeed every time in order for it to be worthwhile, you're not bluffing enough.

Or perhaps better put: If you don't get caught bluffing once in a while, you're not bluffing enough.

Thanks for all the input. Several posters have commented that it is difficult to bluff here because of the amount of chips left. But put yourself in my opponent's place: after the flop, you've got 4300 chips left when the raise comes. The raise requires you to put a 30% of your remaining chips in the pot. You have only two overcards and no other draws, and the only hand you can beat is a bluff that does not involve an Ace.

Are the posters who have said that this is a bad spot for a bluff also saying that, if they were in the situation that I just described, they are calling no matter what?