WSOP 2021 Main Event Players Who Won on a Dangerous Bluff or a Big Call
5 minutes
Posted by: Ivan
World Series of Poker is one of the favorite events for gambling enthusiasts as they get to see how pros compete against each other. One of the main appeals of this competition is that players of all ages get to compete.
So, even an experienced pro can lose to a young competitor so long as they know what they are doing.
Much like chess, newer generations need to adapt and master all of the old tricks to increase their odds of winning.
In other words, getting into poker is becoming increasingly difficult, as the pros are really getting better at what they are doing.
WSOP is a big competition for a reason, and all of the fans are pretty hyped as they get to learn new tricks or even see memorable plays.
It’s an amazing event that's been around for over 50 years, and during the latest competition, we got to see some incredible moments. Here we will go over the most dangerous bluffs that went through successfully.
Rigby vs. Jensen
One of the most memorable WSOP Main Event bluffs happened on day 6 when Nicholas Rigby faced Ronald Jensen.
Those players who enjoy visiting a Belgium online casino site or any other gambling platform anywhere else in the world to play a round of online poker know the importance of a good bluff.
Even if you have a losing hand, the most important thing is not to let your actions show it. And that is exactly what happened when these two players sat opposite one another.
To start the hand, Jensen had a little bit over 5 million in chips, whereas Rigby was a few chips shy of having 10 million.
Naturally, Jensen had the confidence to raise to 325,000 since he had a pair of Kings. However, Rigby unexpectedly decided to re-raise, holding only 3-2 off-suite.
Jensen decided to raise again and this time made it 2.1 million. Surprisingly, Rigby opted to call and see the flop.
The flop brought the only card that Jensen didn’t want to see, as the dealer revealed the ace of spades accompanied by two fours.
It was at this point that Jensen began wondering if Rigby had an Ace in his hands that might win over his pair of Kings. So, he decides to check the flop, passing the action over to his opponent.
Without missing a beat, Rigby bet out three million, putting Jensen in a tough spot and forcing him to make a decision for his tournament life.
Given how the hand played out, Jensen makes the decision to fold only to be shown the weakest starting hand one can get in Hold’em.
And even though Rigby didn’t end as the final winner of the event, he got to take home a hefty prize for his extremely good bluffing game.
This World Series of Poker is a great example for the less experienced players who can easily get scared after seeing the bad hand they were dealt.
To begin with, all poker players should learn from this example that they need to remain calm and composed no matter which tournament they are playing.
So, the players' attitude needs to remain the same no matter if they are playing poker online or at a great event like WSOP. Also, they should never pay attention to the amount of money that is on the table.
When the amount of money begins to rise, the players usually get nervous and start making rookie mistakes. And that is something that Rigby was clever enough to take advantage of.
Moneymaker vs. Reyes
Moneymaker is a legend known among poker players from around the world as the guy who started off as a small-stakes online player and made it to the big leagues.
No one can forget 2003 when Chris Moneymaker took home the WSOP Main Event crown. He is a role model for all those who dream of winning a big tournament like WSOP, and he cemented his legend status after his hand against Bryan Reyes.
In the 2021 WSOP Main Event, Chris Moneymaker managed to score a massive pot when he faced off against Reyes. To start with, both of these two amazing players had very strong poker hands.
Moneymaker had Aces while Reyes had a strong but second-best hand in pair of Kings.
After some betting and raising before the flop, Reyes decided to close the action by calling Moneymaker's final raise, and the two proceeded to the flop, which produced a queen and a pair of sixes.
Chris made a small bet of just 25,000, with over 80,000 chips in the pot, and Reyes did the only reasonable thing in that spot – he made a call.
The turn produced an inconsequential 5h, and Chris bet again after Reyes checked to him, this time around making it 65,000 to go.
After considering the situation for a moment, Reyes decided to go all-in for a total of just over 200,000, which left Moneymaker wondering what to do.
If Reyes had Queens in his hand, Moneymaker could lose almost his entire stack. Eventually, though, he decided pocket aces were too strong of a hand to fold and made a call that won him the pot and sent Reyes to the rail in the process.
His example can be beneficial for inexperienced players since it shows the importance of persistence.
Reyes thought he was safe with a pair of Kings, but Moneymaker had enough confidence to make the correct call, and that’s often more valuable than being dealt a good hand.
Conclusion
For new players, poker can seem like another luck-based game in which the outcome only depends on lady luck and the hand that we are dealt with. However, this isn’t the case.
Poker involves a lot of strategy and planning as well as different skills like bluffing and knowing when to recognize a bluff. This is why some of the best players in the world who compete in tournaments like WSOP have some of the best bluffing skills.
These often serve them better than a very strong hand. And, as we have seen from the examples above, sometimes that same bluff can be used to take home the big bucks, no matter if you are playing online or in real life.
