Play that bluff like you mean it

Bluffing is about telling a story of a hand that you don’t really hold, so make sure your betting is convincing. Darrell Dicken didn’t, and it cost him.

At the World Poker Tour’s $15,000-buy-in Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Las Vegas’ Bellagio in 2007, Dicken drew 7-5 offsuit in the hijack seat. With blinds at $100-$200, a tight player raised to $600 under the gun.

“I’m thinking he probably has two aces or two kings, and I knew if I flop big, I can bust him with 7-5 offsuit,” said Dicken, known online as “Gigabet.” “I don’t really care about too many people re-raising me because I have $60,000 in chips. I can afford to throw $600 away for a chance to win $40,000” if he could take his opponent’s stack.

The big blind also called, so three players took a flop of J-J-Q. “I’m thinking this is a perfect board for me to take the pot down,” Dicken said. “The under-the-gun guy checks, just like I knew he’d do with two aces.” The big blind also had checked.

Dicken bet $2,000. The big blind check-raised to $4,000. The original raiser folded. “I was thinking that he had a queen or maybe a jack, but the board is so draw-heavy that if he flopped a boat, there’s no way he’s going to raise there,” Dicken said. “I was thinking that all I had to do was wait for cards to come and blow him off the pot.”

The turn came the 9 of clubs. “That’s a very good card for me,” Dicken said. “I needed cards that connect. It also made a flush draw possible, so now I have 27 outs – 27 imaginary outs.”

The big blind checked. Dicken bet $7,500, about three-quarters of the pot.

“When he called, I figured he has a jack,” said Dicken, who won the World Series of Poker Circuit Championship in San Diego in 2006. “But I still have a ton of outs. If a scare card comes off, he cannot call.”

The river came the 10 of diamonds. “Perfect,” Dicken said. “If he bets, I’m going to shove, but he checked again. I didn’t even think. I just bet double what I bet on the previous street, almost $15,000. He has about $37,000. If he has a jack there, he’s calling every time just on the off chance that I’m bluffing.”

The big blind called with A-J offsuit (clubs, hearts) and took the pot. “I tried to represent a real hand, but on the river I failed,” Dicken said. “I should’ve bet $30,000. I should be thinking – now, remember, this is me with a real hand – he called the turn, so he’s going to call anything unless I moved all in. If I take five more seconds and think about that and shove in, then I win the pot. That’s just me making a mistake.”

Table Talk

Hijack seat: One seat to the right of the cutoff seat, which is one to the right of the button.

Contact Rosenbloom srosenbloom@tribune.com.