In poker online, bluffing can win pots or make a player go broke. It’s a tough tactic to pull off, and generally there has to be a scare card on board to make it work. This principle was neatly illustrated in the 2009 World Series of Poker when two champion bracelet holders each got big pocket online pokerhands. One champ was dealt Queens, while the other held Kings. A younger newcomer to the game had 4-8 off suit and was first to bet under the gun. Not knowing he was up against two big poker online hands, he opened with raise, which was called by both champs and created a sizeable pot. The flop brought 4-Ace-rag. The pocket Kings were still best, but the player with the rag hand, which had completed to the low pair of fours, again put out a raise. This raise caused consternation to the other players holding the pocket faces, since when an Ace materializes in this situation, those pocket face cards shrivel. The Queens folded immediately to the bet, making the assumption that the raiser had an Ace. The player holding the Kings paused, not knowing if the Kings were good or trounced by the Ace on the board. After a moment of agonizing decision making, the player laid down the Kings and the best hand, allowing the bluffer to steal a big pot.
