Negreanu Makes the Perfect Read, Eriquezzo Makes Better Bluff

A hand just went down that thrilled the railbirds, and it gave Ryan Eriquezzo's heart a little jolt too.

Playing a heads-up pot against Daniel Negreanu, Eriquezzo responded to an opening raise of 4,300 by "Kid Poker" with a three-bet to 12,200.

"How much more does he want?," Negreanu asked the dealer, before plunking his calling chips into the pot.

Negreanu quickly checked when the flop hit the board, and Eriquezzo opted for a bet of 11,100. Negreanu was not impressed, however, and he raised it up to 27,100. After Eriquezzo called, the turn came , and that's when things became interesting.

With the straight and flush draws both getting there on the turn, Negreanu elected to lead out for 31,000, and Eriquezzo immediately moved all in over the top.

"What a dirty card," shot Negreanu, as he clapped the cushion on the table. "That's a pretty sick turn."

Negreanu then asked for a count, and after determining that he would need to risk 65,300 more, he went into the tank to calculate all of the factors evident only to a player like Daniel Negreanu.

"This is so stupid, I might fold the best hand here," he said while mulling his options. "You seem like the type to do that with aces, and the ace of spades."

Eriquezzo sat still as a stone during Negreanu's interrogation, even as a massage attendant dutifully rubbed his back and shoulders, trying his best to avoid giving the hand reading master any additional information.

"I don't think I'm folding here," said Negreanu, continuing an internal monologue but delivering it to an audience of spectators and fellow players. "But, you could have ace-king with a spade, and you'll still get there some of the time."

Eventually, despite it appearing to all the world that Negreanu was poised to call, his hand went soaring into the muck.

"Whew!," said Eriquezzo, exhaling in relief while showing the for a perfectly executed semi-bluff. "It looked like you were never folding there."

"Nice hand," offered Negreanu, shaking his head seemingly to confirm his initial suspicions, and to chide himself for not pulling the trigger. "I thought you might have something like that."