Is This A BAD BLUFF?

Caller runs a massive bluff and Bart picks apart his line and explains why it wouldn't work against a good opponent
If you want to submit to be on the call-in show email Bart at [e-mail]. You can also use the coupon code YTA400 at check out for the first 30 days for free at the CrushLivePoker website.

[@CrushlivePoker]

What are your thoughts about jamming the river in this spot as the Hero?

[@jake_villanueva]

I have no idea what he’s representing. The jam reads as a bluff imo. But he only had ace high. Regardless villain called down with 10’s.. ouch.

[@supremeleaderarmy9164]

@@jake_villanueva I read your comment before watching the entire video and i have now spoiled the ending, im depressed! Maybe watching a few KZbin videos of Dnegs tilting by JokeBro may turn around my day!

[@GotoyourhomeBall]

Yolo

[@tassv5909]

he does not want Ac to bluff as it blocks villains AK AJ AT river folds. Flop, turn donk is not too bad as you have more J+ and sets. Maybe with 45s it is ok.

[@cedriclenners3737]

The problem occurs at the turn. He shouldn't have bet this turn. If you bet the turn, what will you do on a missed draw river? That's the real question I think.

[@Skoobzify]

Kudos to the caller. Explain his (somewhat flawed) reasoning and was humble in accepting criticism. Didn't try to justify mistakes with unquantifiable variables like table image or the type of player he was against. Enjoyed this one

[@DavidWilson-mi3uk]

Exactly, just nice to hear the conversation and being rational about what is probably quite a painful memory. It's great when people are calling in and just trying to get a more objective view on the hand!

[@williamzagarella8066]

These are the kinds of calls we need. A guy who is willing to put himself out there, admit his mistakes, take all the advice given as well as appreciating Barts input and insight. These mistakes happen to us all. I greatly appreciate this channel it has helped my game immensly.

[@bbtb05]

This is a slam dunk fold preflop. People get to caught up in the "well it's a suited wheel hand so I can win in two ways" but forget they are also likely just going to be dominated a lot. Also pips matter, there is a dramatic drop in equity going from A5s to A4s and it drops again going to A3s. Most people recognize A2s as trash, well A3s is a lot closer to A2s than A5s. If you look at a GTO preflop chart A3s is a call ~25% of the time and a fold 75% of the time, but you should over fold in this spot because GTO is assuming a GTO 3 bet range and the simple fact of the matter is that in live poker the vast majority of the player pool is not 3 betting a GTO range, they are much more value heavy than that. Compounding the problem is that the hands they tend to be looser with is very Ax dominant. A second problem is the sizing. GTO assumes a 3x to 3.5x where the button raised 5x. A larger sizing means more upfront folding. Post flop I can get behind the check raise on the flop, it isn't exactly printing but it is fine. But here is where preflop mistakes reverberate throughout the hand. Imagine if the caller had correctly folded A8s and worse and flatted A9s and better, well that does two things to his flop check raise range. First it cuts the number of nut flush draws in half thus strengthening his overall range significantly (because he has just as many sets and maybe QQ, but not as many bluffs) but also because he has the upper end Ax hands he has a greater chance of having two over cards to an opponents pair. I don't want to go much in to the rest of the hand because I think the greatest mistake was made preflop but will say this when we are constructing triple barrel bluffs it is worth keeping in mind that busted front door nut flush draws are some of the worst candidates for tripling it off, and also boards where the top card pairs the turn are basically the worst boards for it.

[@markusxd5653]

Thank you, great comment. Just realized how much less potential you have for making a four card straight with A2 than A5 and you can never flop top two pair with A2 and you will also make a lower two pair more often forcing you to put chips in. Also I think from a psychological stand point, if villain makes it 5x pre he is more likely to call down in marginal spots if he perceives that hero is capable of bluffing him off a hand. Making it 5x pre sounds like something that at least I would do to someone that plays too many hands / never folds pre when I have a strong/very strong hand.

[@keeponkeepinon1280]

4bet like 5-10% of the time w/o bringing 3bet size into consideration? I agree with you but 400bbs deep is kind of a live thing IMHO. It does get like that online but few and far between (zoom mainly) but hey Ho what do I know I'm a PLO 🐠

[@hymnofashes]

I agree that against this preflop sizing, you should over-fold a lot. If you think the guy is 3-betting you light because he's a zoom grinder, he's not going to be using a 5x sizing, he's going to 2.5 you because he wants to keep you in, get you cap your range, and then put the screws on you postflop. He's not going to take a hand with potential and risk putting in ten big blinds and then having to fold when you 4-bet him. It would take a real sicko to fork his BTN vs CO 3-bet sizes such that he's 5xing you with 32o expecting you to fold everything and then 2.5xing you with queens, and then reverting to a standard size if you ever figure it out. And if he was that sicko, you should probably start turning a hand like this into a 4-bet, not flatting with it. As played I would X/R flop and then X turn.

[@brandondorsey7204]

Suited aces are terrifible to play OOP. You rarely realize your equity. The way that this was played was just confusing to me.

[@keeponkeepinon1280]

@@hymnofashes I'd never raise the flop with this specific and stack size online. (live not my thing).. Like watching and to hear opinions and study views.

[@salidproducts]

Great call in. This cat was not only open to criticism and advise but obviously has a solid poker head on his shoulders. These missed draw spots and nothing but sausage in the hand river cards are some of the trickiest to sort out but as usual I think Bart helped us all define them a bit more. Cudos for the shot take. This play works Hella in smaller stakes

[@nicks210684]

I’m just folding A3s preflop to a 5X 3-bet. Especially to a new player at the table.

[@ashleymartin6521]

I think it’s a 4 bet or fold to be honest if he 4 bets he will take this pot even if they see the flop at he will semi bluff and his story is much more convincing

[@Gizziiusa]

yep. villain isnt pot committed, but sure is invested into it.

[@adampryor9964]

For normal raises/stacks upswing charts say 25% call 75% fold A3s

[@pappav77]

This was a good one. I appreciate the caller sharing this. It's not easy to humble ourselves sometimes. I def don't agree with the bluff here. The hero's story is not congruent and doesn't make sense. While this may likely work at lower stakes, not a play for higher stakes. The villain sniffed it out and made a good call. ♠️♠️

[@drfunkinstein1]

I often bluff way too often and this helps me understand how people can find calls with hands that seem pretty marginal against me.

[@justinhart7172]

That one way to give props to a cs

[@DavidWilson-mi3uk]

Thanks to the caller for sharing this, it's a great hand to learn from, and the sort of hand that's never nice to think back over!

[@hymnofashes]

Good call, kudos to caller for confessing how he donked off his stack. Since he's getting called this light, this makes me wonder if you couldn't do this for thin value. Although it's hard to think of a value hand you could have here that isn't a boat, given that you would 4-bet off AA, QQ, KK pre.

[@pot_kivach160]

Confessing matters in here? Is this some kind of church for poker players…and Bart a priest? 🤦‍♀️😂

[@hymnofashes]

@@pot_kivach160 Look to your own poker sins. Tell Bart the river raises you have called... the times you checked back two pair because you were worried your drunk opponent somehow was trapping you with a four after he checks to you... the times you opened 75s in a nine-handed game over 3 limpers because you thought your opponents noticed how tight you were so you would have postflop fold equity... the double barrels you made into a nit who never would have called the flop with less than an over pair. Confess, my child, to the Great Bart in the sky. He will release you from your guilt. You may sleep under the overpass in peace as we sing all a requiem for your poker career. Silent donk, holy donk, all is call, all is check.

[@MrLuvmusl]

Don’t love the bluff with this particular hand, but I think in villains shoes in my typical game (2/5 MGM Natl Harbor), I’d most likely fold TT w/o a very opponent specific read because the vast majority of the player pool is not triple barreling a missed flush draw for $2K. I’d expect to be shown 66, 77 or very occasionally AJ

[@tassv5909]

I agree. Even with JT, dare I say KJ, it gets scary on the river.

[@hymnofashes]

@@tassv5909 You wouldn't deserve any applause. Anyway it's okay to over-fold versus triple barrels, and also not run them yourself, because you're not supposed to project on to your opponent. He probably calls too much and doesn't bluff 'enough.' So, you should value bet him thin, and fold when he piles it in. I think some guys get it into their heads that "because no one bluff-raises rivers, I should work that into my game" because they are contrarian and want to be that guy who has bluff raises there. But maybe the reason no one does it is because people are ALSO not betting rivers enough, so once they bet the river, and you raise them, their range is full of nut hands so they call.

[@tassv5909]

@@hymnofashes agreed. i am in poker for the money not the applause :)

[@Mathemagical55]

If hero had had 77 and the villain had called the hand into the show I guarantee that the same people saying it's a terrible bluff would be telling him he made a terrible call.

[@nicks210684]

Kind of just goes to show that the whole GTO balance and having enough bluffs etc can be an overrated concept. Sometimes you can find a good spot to bluff but generally (especially against unknowns) just stick to value betting.

[@cedriclenners3737]

Very nice phone call, interesting hand!

[@justinhart7172]

If hero just check calls flop, he prob gets a check check on turn and loses hand with minimal damage

[@Samscoinsandheavymetal]

Hey that’s great hindsight analysis . Callers just another new age over thinker way over complicating game in a live setting. Simple as that. Unless you play at the same tables on a very regular basis with the same crowd of people are very regular basis you don’t have to worry about being balanced. You can over fold play too tight and virtually guarantee yourself to be a winning player, albeit boring. However, the term slow and steady wins the race hasn’t been around for centuries for no reason While you’re not going to have big swings and monster winning sessions all that often but you also won’t have anywhere near as many down swings and it will be much more consistent

[@MoSoDope]

That definitely helps me better understand the questions I should be asking when structuring a bluff

[@jasonwright2291]

I’m a huge fan of this style of intro. It’s not spoiled and gives a nice teaser into the feel of the call.

[@shaunmcloughlin8451]

Great call and very interesting break down. Personally I learn loads from this kind of hand as avoiding pitfalls is often not as obvious as extracting value. Big respect from the UK 🇬🇧

[@Gizziiusa]

has 2 pair, and no flushes nor str8's to worry about. if villain is beat by trips or a higher 2 pair so be it, but his 2 pair is decent enough for show down value/ bluff catch. which is what happened.

[@shaunmcloughlin8451]

@@Gizziiusa I meant great phone in not poker call

[@paulpena5040]

This reminds me of the debate between Phil Galfond and Doug polk where Phil tweeted "A lot of people think they always need to bluff the bottom of their range but it's not true. It's a matter of whether the bluff is +ev or not" And Doug polk responded "Terrible advice if you're always afraid to bluff the bottom of your range you'll forever being a weak losing player". I personally wouldn't have bluffed because it's just not a scary enough bluff. Any J is snap calling and even pairs like 10s or even 8s only have to hold 25% of the time because of the pot odds.

[@DescartesRenegade]

This is why people call in, cause they need to learn and willing to be criticized by the internet. Takes courage to willfully put your bad plays out there.

[@ballerlarva4214]

This was an especially good hand, damn Hero really got owned here.

[@shadowsmessage]

Nothing to get owned , Villain 3-b pre to know Hero’s hand , hero has QQ, KK, AA , he is always 4-b those hands . Once Hero check raises on that flop it’s always a flush draw . U should watch a video where Gal on Live at the Bike calls Art Papaziyan’s bluff with bottom pair of 3s , flop is 379 with 2 clubs, Art check raises on that flop with A8cc & 3-barrell bluffs all 3- streets with a flush draw & bricks , jams river & Gal calls with bottom pair like 43o as he puts Art exactly on a flush draw ,I think it’s the greatest call in Poker History any other hand won’t play so wild , it’s always a flush draw .

[@ballerlarva4214]

@@shadowsmessage I agree that Hero is pushed towards a flush draw when the J comes on the turn. His 76s hands are counterfeited and JJ loses 2 combos. As Bart says, that's why the J is an awful card, but Hero still has 6 combos of boats and one of quads. He doesn't 'always' have to have a missed flush draw here just because he had it this time

[@shadowsmessage]

@@ballerlarva4214 Yeah most people love calling with blockers but calling with 2nd pair on flush draw driven flops heads up is more profitable to be honest , all u need is a pair , u lose to very few combos & beat all other hands .

[@mikelong2756]

@@shadowsmessage getting called by Gal is getting Galled🤣 calls you super light with a hand you'd scratch your head at his decision making, but he just happens to be right

[@shadowsmessage]

@@mikelong2756 Yeah he might feel it’s so hard to make a pair & runs good as well. Have u watched last weekend Hustler Casino Poker High Stakes Stream , Gal crushed it won 160K & made so many correct calls .

[@SydBaron]

How about you fold to the pre-flop raise next time?

[@swg2002]

Poker's hard. People have no idea how much thought goes into every single action and this hand highlights that. Great analysis Bart.

[@calfan8838]

If I arrive at the river with 10/10 I’d at least consider a fold to that jam. I’d actually be more worried that Hero had been bluffing with a spade combo that contained a Qs (AsQs and KsQs), but I think I’d have to make a reluctant call as well.

[@keithmorreale1243]

The thing is i dont think Hero jams at the end with those hands, i really dont.

[@fabioyukiowatanabe8014]

I think he miscalculated the sizes, like if he raises a little smaller on the flop then bets a 3rd pot on the turn he woul've had around a pot size bet to jam the river, which would make the villain's life to call much harder

[@fabioyukiowatanabe8014]

anyway on that flop the hands I raise are 6/7s 6s, 7s and flush draws, so when my oponent makes that call he isn't sure if I have a mosnter or a good equity hand

[@GeneticallyEngineeredCatgirls]

My advice would be to size down the turn bet to 25% of the pot, so called block bet, then on the river the spr isnt so low and your bluff goes through way more often.

[@kshuburner]

not sure villain wanted to fold at all. we didn’t get any numbers on villain stack. but whether he was even stacked or had him coveted by $2k I think he still calls. bad call.

[@Michaelperry1985]

Great video Bart! I think in theory land, facing a 5x 3bet oop, I think you mainly 4bet/fold your range at 100-150 deep. At 400 blinds deep, I have no idea

[@GeneticallyEngineeredCatgirls]

You should judge by the SPR on the flop, and here its going to be 10:1 which is not good enough with these marginal hands. Suited connectors, especially broadway, would be more of a call.

[@cjmcdonald9577]

I am fine with the call preflop as long as it is about 25% of the time. Pio is doesn't like the raise on the flop. It does prefer to use A4 and A5 of spades. The solver hates the turn lead it checks 100% after the Jc rolls off. It does have some Js in the range but they are KJ, QJ, J10 of spades. The solver plays the turn as check-jam or check fold. It does check-jam with 50% of the A4 spades. Still gets called by red 10s. So pretty much just a cooler for hero if he does raise. Solver line with A3 of spades is 100% call flop, 100% call turn, 100% fold river. Loses about 400$. Solver line for 10 10 was bet 1/3 bet 1/2 bet 75% 100% of the time.

[@PatrickA1]

Playing out of position vs a 5x 3bet is never a good idea with ax suited. I would 4 bet this "sometimes" vs a smaller 3bet. Vs 5x oop always folding.

[@connman8d617]

Check/raising the flop represents 12 combos of thick value which is fine. But the jack on the turn cuts that down to only 7 combos of thick value. In addition, we need to cut down on our ratio of bluffs to value on the turn anyway. So I think this is a spot where we can have as many as 25ish bluffs on the flop but should be shutting it down with basically all of them on the turn.

[@patrick_kyker]

People chase random over cards VS me all the time.

[@markstevens3078]

I LOVE villians who call my check raises, bet, shove, w a pair. Thank you very much for your stack! Two red tens here is the definition of a calling station ATM. On the other hand villain was new to hero so he didnt know he was a CS. Probably shouldnt run 3 bullet bluff vs unknown player.

[@justinhart7172]

Yeah, but also if you didn’t notice, you don’t bluff by your own admission, you love villains who call your checkraises??? Ohh cuz you only chexk raise if you have it I get it.

[@pot_kivach160]

@@justinhart7172 this villain calls your x/r only when you missed it.

[@justinhart7172]

@@pot_kivach160 wow he’s a beast

[@pot_kivach160]

@@justinhart7172 😂

[@raimanyuh]

At lower stakes if I’m the villain in this spot and call the river shove I feel like I’m getting shown a full house 9/10 times. Anyone else also think that lower stakes players check raise top pair or lead top pair pretty often into you even when you have a range advantage?

[@grimaceburgers4491]

Yes even in 3 bet pots I’ve had villain donk into me on all 3 streets burning 75% of stack and folding to a raise on the river where I thought they might be pot committed at that time.

[@jeremyhahn3612]

Nobody really check raises top pair at lower stakes. I was surprised to hear them say they continue with 88s+, I mean I guess there are backdoors, but most people don't check raise without a really strong draw or a good made hand (2 pair, etc.). And even then, very few check raise as a bluff.

[@joshuan1991]

fold pre

[@kennethdick1998]

100% this call should have been 30 seconds

[@DarkTruth1]

If villian 3b jams flop we feel pretty sad and fold? Wouldn't we be happier check raising a weaker flush draw?

[@DescartesRenegade]

I bet made to look like for tiny value would've been better than a jam.

[@patrick_kyker]

I wonder how hand would have played out if H bet flop and turn?

[@lijia716]

One thing I didn't get is, if we were the btn, are we gonna never give our op the credit and always call the TT on the river and pay our op off if they got a boat?

[@StreetSoulLover]

The thing is, if villain has 88-TT then he should bet for some protection, but that said, there arent any hands villain should bet here that then simply fold to a raise on the flop, so by extension should we not be betting with 88-TT without a spade?

[@joshuan1991]

Villain definitely has some airball c-bets that bet and then fold to a raise. AK without a spade, AQ without a spade, etc.

[@mikeob6325]

Turn bet and call says it all....when V calls on turn give it up on river

[@stanvinken2786]

Could villain not have a hand like 8-9s or worse spades that folds on the turn? I know you're ahead of those but you don't want them to start bluffing. Still prefer a check on the turn though hahah

[@LTdrumma]

You would´ve bluffed my ass, but then again I guess I´m not a good opponent, hahaha

[@1982funky]

If Turn and River card had been reversed, bluff more likely to have worked given two non-spade overs on the board.

[@imonlyheretoarguewithidiots]

Is it just me or are the bad players getting worse, and the good players getting better? Poker is getting really polarized.

[@adamlanar9435]

I dont like raising this flop because u get yourself into tricky situations on all non spade turns. As your example if the the turn is a J now you have to decide between barrling in a big pot or check calling/ check folding. Once you check turn your hand is pretty face up. If you just flat flop your keeping the pot smaller and can more easily navigate the turn and river.

[@kingpin6172]

What does hero think villain is repping with that big a raise pre-flop? Seems like an obvious pair, be it 10+ or low pairs... maybe A-K... I just don't see how you can jam as a bluff.... you have a shit kicker... honestly, maybe I'm a nit but outside of making the nut flush, I'm not jamming, if only bc villain most likely has poc pair & we have nada... just my opinion.

[@kingpin6172]

@@eva-tw6pjI love AC/DC, but besides that, it's an inside joke for another channel I view bc they constantly try to sell BON the product... but thanks, man

[@nicks210684]

What relevance is the kicker to whether you can bluff? The fact we have nada is a reason to bluff.

[@kemillionaire2]

Lol haven’t finished watching but I expect the opponent to snap call with a J

[@mothhater5134]

Bart, in Theory, isn't it better for Villain to continue on flop with 88-TT combos w/o a spade?

[@shadowsmessage]

88 only blocks & beats only one hand 109 spades or 109 suited as it blocks all gut-shots so easy fold , 1010 blocks all draws on that board . 1010 should call with or without a spade in his hand

[@mothhater5134]

@@shadowsmessage makes a bit more sense, thanks. was thinking squarely from villain POV in the sense that if he doesnt have spades, its more likely hero has them...hence he is semi okay with not having the 8,9 or Ts in his hand, right?

[@shadowsmessage]

@@mothhater5134 yeah having no spades with 88,99,1010 is much better , but 1010 should call on that board especially with or without spades as it blocks all draws on J67 flop , 88 I think is an easy fold unless u think the player bluffs at a very higher frequency, if turn comes K & river A , now 88 beats nothing but 45 suited or 910 suited , those are the only 2 hands it beats , it’s tough to make calls with those hands as if board texture changes to 2 more overs to your hands u beat nothing but missed A-high flush, if player has AK spades or AQ spades , he has 6 AA+KK & 9 spade outs which is like 15 outs twice so u are hero calling on a flip basically & it will be very tough to make those calls as u beat like 2 or 3 bad combos & an aggressive player if he makes a pair on river especially top pair to the board & bricks flush will jam river making it look like a missed flush when he has top-pair , I think 88 is an easy fold , 99 may be , and 1010 100% call all day. Oops just looked on Poker Odds Calculator , AK spades & AQ spades are like 56% fav on that flop against 88 & 99 , A10spades is 54% & 88, 99 are a 43 & 44% underdog , so mathematically it’s an easy fold unless u think the player is a wild air bluffer & u need such a clean run out.

[@shadowsmessage]

@@mothhater5134 I’m a wild player with flush draws , I won my biggest pot in 5/10 last month , starting stack 8500, I 3-b KQhh & got called by BB & UTg+ 1 opener. Flop J83 2 hearts , BB lead out , UTG raised , I called , BB called . Turn K , BB checked , UTG bet , I went all in with top pair & K-flush draw , BB rejammed UTG said “ I know both u guys are on flush draws / straight draws I can’t fold” & UTG called with AJ diamonds , river heart ❤️. I made K-flush , UTG had J10 hearts , he flopped top pair flush draw & UTG had AJ diamonds . Some times all u need is 1 pair to win massive pot(21K pot) lol 😂

[@daneleblanc4636]

Equity > blockers

[@cerealmilk6877]

You’re image had to be terrible for him to call. Period.

[@nathanielmorgan3592]

Sorry but I gotta be that guy... fold pre

[@lananavan1885]

Do you study poker every day,,,,,

[@tomprice4016]

Who doesn't?

[@lananavan1885]

True I think that’s all the poker players do think about,,

[@evrenturan5632]

Bart is a 🐐

[@lukegtv]

Every caller thinks theyre an expert

[@ballerlarva4214]

This one was easily in the top 20% of callers in terms of his game knowledge.

[@lukegtv]

@@ballerlarva4214 still the overuse of poker terminology is annoying, and people use it to sound like they have a better game then they actually do

[@Lekiamh]

@@lukegtv A bit like know-it-all KZbin commenters

[@ballerlarva4214]

@@lukegtv Agreed, i just don't think this particular guy was guilty of that. I didn't notice him using a lot of jargon, and he didn't try overly hard to justify his turn play when Bart started explaining why it was too ambitious.

[@justinhart7172]

Every caller? You must be a self pronounced dedicated astute loyal listener of the show.

[@TheDjcarter1966]

Just waaaay over thought this...people just watch to much poker on TV...was actually the bottom of the range I had this villain on....he four bet your open pre flop. Only thing you are getting to fold in this guy's range was AK.

[@ashleymartin6521]

He 3 bet not 4 bet fella

[@Kurtiskurtical]

Video starts at :10 seconds

[@kshuburner]

not so sure this hand was poorly played. anything that was beating the villain when he made the call of checkraise improved on every street... AJ improved to trips... KJs improved to trips... QJs improved to trips...then a boat on the river 66 is a boat on turn 77 is a boat on turn QQ is a boat on the river... most decent players don’t bluff into full house boards on busted flush draws. you bluff on boards when someone can’t have a nutted hand. so my point is the villain shouldn’t have considered flush draw if hero has solid image. bad call.

[@justinhart7172]

I think your in an alternate dimension. Who calls a 3bet and then check raises AJ KJ QJ on J high board. You would just check call wouldn’t you. It’s too polarized to check raise that flop for value, you 66s and 77s are accurate but sets tough to hit

[@kshuburner]

@@justinhart7172 someone who puts villain on AK or the exact hand he had 1010...nothing alternate dimensional about that. I never said the check raise was a good play but it happened. it was info the villain had...period.