Bluffing is to poker what tackling is to football.
This
holds true in both Lucky Hog online poker and face-to-face poker. Other players note tendencies
and tactics and proceed accordingly. Chances are, if you keep ‘em guessing you’ll
keep on winning.
No better is this illustrated than in a recent game account
shared by by player and writer Phil Hellmuth on
cardplayer.com.
Enjoy:
No guts, no glory If you spend enough time in life on one
activity - like golf, for example - you're bound to occasionally witness
something amazing, like a hole-in-one. I've played a lot of poker in my life,
and here's one of those moments, one of the more incredible and more entertaining
hands in which I've ever been involved.
First, it didn't occur on television or at some other
star-studded event, but at one of my favorite home games, the Wisconsin
Homeboys Holiday Poker Game, recently. The blinds were $5-$5, the buy-in was
$1,000, and the rebuys were at least $500 a pop. The game got under way at Jon
Ferraro's house in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, at noon, and by
midnight there was more than $70,000 on the table.
After 14 hours of play, I had carved out a reputation for
playing extemely tight. I made a lot of early folds, but many times during
play, I called a bet or a raise with A-K or better, only to have another player
raise or reraise. And when the action came back to me, I made a huge reraise
myself. I watched Paul Clements lay down A-Q immediately in one of those spots,
whereupon I showed my A-K. Let's sum it up this way: I was playing solid poker,
sometimes trapping with big hands.
Now, are you ready for this? Here's how that amazing hand
came down. Ferraro had the $40 "Mississippi Straddle" on the button,
meaning that Craig "Spa Man" Hueffner, who was in the small blind,
had to act first, which he did by calling the $40 with J-9 offsuit.
I called with 6-3 offsuit, Jon Green called, and Clements
made it $210 to go with A-K. Eric Behling then called $210 with his own A-K -
and Spa Man called. Then, I announced, "I raise the size of the pot,"
which meant that I called $160 and raised it $880 more. Clements pondered
awhile, and when I said, "I have nothing," he folded, probably
because he had heard me saying that all day long when in fact I was holding big
timber.
Then, Behling folded his A-K, too! So, I turned to my last
remaining opponent and said, "Those guys just folded big hands. C'mon Spa
Man, just $880 more to play with the champ!" Spa Man called the $880, and
when the flop came down A-K-9 - pairing his 9 - he bet out $400. (The folded
players must have died a quiet death, seeing how the board came down!) I
thought to myself, I've been playing patiently here all night, and it's time to
put my hard-earned reputation to work. So, I again said, "I raise the
pot." I called the $400 bet and made it $3,340 more to go.
Spa-Man: Js, 9d Phil: 6c, 3s Board: Ad, Kh, 9s, 2h
At that point, Spa Man did something rarely seen in any
game: He flipped his holecards faceup! I knew that his hand was not dead yet,
not in this game, and after a full minute passed, I feared that he was actually
going to call me down. I was afraid of that for three reasons: First, I had
already seen him make some tough calls; second, I knew that he wasn't afraid to
put his chips into the pot; and finally, he just looked like he didn't believe
me. Sensing that I was sunk, I wondered, how can I get out of this jam? My
cards won't help, so I have to rely on something else.
So, I decided to match Spa Man's craziness with a little of
my own. Confidently, I made a ridiculous offer: "Spa Man, if you call the
$3,340, I'll put in $1,000 of it for you." I waited another 45 seconds,
and then said, "That offer is valid for another five seconds - five, four,
three, two …"
Spa Man quickly said, "I call. Here's $2,340. Please
add your $1,000." So, I contributed one of my own $1,000 chips to my
opponent's bet against me!
By now, other observers from around the room had gathered
around us, amid much excitement, and than they saw that the turn card was the
2h. I knew that I had to man up and follow through with my bluff, so I bet
$3,000, and to my enormous relief, Spa Man folded. I was psyched, and pushed my
cards facedown toward the dealer.
But, everyone shouted, "Show the hand, show the
hand!" In a normal Las Vegas poker game, the
cards already would have hit the muck, but the dealer (Wayne "Tilly" Tyler) kept the cards
separated as the chorus grew louder. Finally, I thought to myself, why not? So,
I flipped up my cards and the railbirds were stunned to see my 6-3 offsuit! And
then everyone applauded!
What was amazing about this hand? Two players were dealt
A-K, and both folded before the flop! The flop, amazingly enough, was A-K-9.
Spa Man flipped a "live hand" faceup for all to see, and then called
a big bet. And, most incredibly, under the guise of projecting confidence, I
contributed a $1,000 chip to his bet against me! (I'm not sure how I thought of
this move; I guess that it just popped into my head.) Thus, the worst hand
finished first while the best hands finished last!
Sometimes a guy doesn't get a hole-in-one because he has the
best swing, but because he has the guts to go for it in the first place. And in
poker, as in life, oftentimes a big pot is won not by the guy with the best
cards, but by the guy who plays with the most confidence.
Everyone in the online poker industry is aware of the circumstances around networks such as Future Bet and DGS. Look no further than the former licensees to see that both networks left their client licensees – and players - in precarious situations.
Some companies have folded, re-opened or have opened new companies under different names, trying to carry on business-as-usual, promoting their new brands to unsuspecting players. Many clients, we know, are unwittingly signing up with the same operators who have simply rebranded.
We at LuckyHog.com are standing behind our brand and our clients. We recognize that this is a situation that has hurt them, due to no fault of there own.
To set the record straight; Future Bet and DGS were responsible for taking player deposits, collecting rake, not paying/processing player withdrawals and not paying out the licensee there monies owed. Not only were licencees, such as Luckyhog.com, not paid out, but the networks took the players’ money as well. Luckyhog.com, and others, were left holding the bag and with a bad reputation. Most licensees have closed their doors or tried to hide from former clients under new brand names.
WE, LuckyHog.com’s owners and management, vow not to slam the door in our clients’ faces. Instead, we have made it clear that we will go into our own pockets to pay out the money that our clients are owed.
Towards this end:
On January 16, 2008, LuckyHog.com launched on the MERGE GAMING NETWORK, the same network as Carbon Poker. We trust that this is a safe and secure platform for our valued players to be on. With thousands of player’s online everyday and countless tournaments, ring games and styles of poker, we are sure that our old and new players will be more than satisfied.
In the interest of fair comment and to dispel rumours and allegations about LuckyHog.com:
• LuckyHog.com does not and will not have anything to do with Strip Poker.
• LuckyHog.com does not currently operate a sports betting entity on its own or on its site and has no plans to do so in the near future
• LuckyHog.com does not currently operate casino games and has no plans to do so in the near future
LuckyHog.com is a POKER ONLY site.
Currently all players who sign up to www.luckyhog.com will get a $3.00 sign up bonus. (Some restrictions apply) We have had countless people from the old LuckyHog.com system sign up new accounts and be credited there full balance from the old system. The accounts we cannot transfer is any promotional money or monies won on free rolls from the Future Bet network. When that network shut us out we were unable to obtain reliable information on promotional money balances.
All affiliates have been or will be paid out upon sign-up to the new system. Again: all a player or affiliate needs to do is contact us at info@luckyhog.com with their old/new information as well as outstanding balances. Once we confirm the balance, the money will be placed in the new accounts within 24-48 hours. Also, we have increased our deposit bonuses to all of our valued players to 200% up to $1,000.
In an industry where online poker companies seem to go down as fast as they are set up – often making off with player balances and rake money - it should be refreshing to know that there is an online company that will continue to treat its customers with the fair play and integrity they deserve.
LuckyHog.com will continue to do whatever it takes to be the world most trusted and secure online poker system.
Thank you
Management
www.luckyhog.com
info@luckyhog.com