I opened up in a cash game for three times the big blind with a King Jack suited and got called by the big blind. This is a solid thinking opponent. I have seen him show down the nuts several times, including quads. I hadn’t seen him bluff yet. I, on the other hand, will bluff with some frequency, as most players know. The flop came down JJ5, Jackpot… now how can I get all my money in? So, I led out as I would on most any board. My deliberating opponent made some “ho-hum” type of noises while he counted out his call. He clearly had a big hand. As he called, I couldn’t help wondering the odds that he had pocket fives, and that this was a very bad flop for me.

The turn came down, a blank, and he made a small bet into me. I am not sure I am good enough to lay down trip Jacks with a King for a bet here, but I was not interested in raising until I filled up. Who knows, if he bet more, I might have laid it down, but this was further evidence that I was drawing, and I would have to lay it down if I didn’t fill up. How quickly my excitement turned to dismay as I gathered more information as the hand progressed.

The turn was the magical case Jack; the last in the deck. Well now, I won’t get any action on that suck out. Quads are great, when you can get action; at least I won’t lose this medium sized pot, even if I won’t win a monster. He checked to me. I thought about it for too long and then bet all in. I figured here, with this large bet, that if he has a big hand he might call. He likely will put me on a pair and fold to any bet I make, but a bet this large might look like a bluff. If I had Aces, I could get called only by a Jack anyway, so why would I make a bet this large?

He made the call and showed down pocket fives for a flopped boat. How and why would he make this call? Is he not as good as I thought? Did I really sell this bluff? Was he drunk and didn’t read the board properly? I will never know what made him call off all his chips. I hope it was some of my bluffs paying back some of my advertising money. Or maybe it was my acting job; it was his acting that tipped me off to the strength of his hand. Whatever the reason, I got my quads paid off with three Jacks on the board, and the chips ended in my stack.

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