There are very few things that make me really angry at the poker table. Sure, I get frustrated when I take a bad beat, but that’s poker – that happens. The thing that really makes me steam is players bluffing at a dry side pot during a tournament.
First, so there’s no confusion, let me explain what this term means. Let’s say you are one of six players left at a final table. Just to make this example crystal clear, let’s say the tournament pays five places – one more player gets knocked out and everyone’s in the money. One of the six (we’ll call him “Short stack”) goes all in. Another player calls (let’s name him Alan), and you call. Now we have a main pot, the only money that Short stack can possibly win. If his hand hits, or holds up, as the case may be, he can’t do any more damage. If any bets are made after the flop by me or Alan, we will create a side pot. Right now, the side pot is “dry,” or empty.
The flop comes Alan makes a big bet you now presume you are behind in the hand and fold, I make my normal comment of “betting into a dry side pot you had better have him beat” Only to discover when Alan turns over his hand he has nothing absolutely nothing!!!! The only thing achieved by this bluff is he has got me out of the hand – Short stack isn’t going anywhere. My hand was JT, and the board flopped A-K-2., It’s possible I could hit my straight, but it’s a gut shot and not worth calling Alans big bet with. I fold and the hand proceeds. The turn is another 2 and the river is a Q. Short stack's AK takes down the pot.
If Alan had checked, I would have stayed to the river and caught my straight, which would have beaten Short stack’s two pair. He would have been knocked out and the rest of us (including Alan) would be in the money. Alans bluff at the dry side pot not only prevented a player from being knocked out, but it also tripled up Short stack, who I guess we are now forced to re-christen “Mid stack.” Why, I ask you, would anyone want to do this? Remember dangerous players become short stacked too.
Don’t misunderstand and think I just wanted Alan to check so I could catch my hand and rake in all the chips. If our hands had been reversed, I would have checked all the way to the river and happily watched Alan’s straight knock Short stack out. I didn’t lose any more chips on the hand and I’m in the money now. The world is good.
I’m not saying you should never bet when a player is all in. If you think you have the best hand, by all means, go ahead and protect it. But if you can’t beat the all-in guy, and there’s no money in the side pot to bluff at, just check and let the other players catch up. Maybe one of them will be able to knock him out. There is absolutely no point in bluffing. You’re not going to be able to win the money in the main pot, so why not let someone else make a hand and make sure Short stack gets eliminated?
When I see a player make this mistake at a final table or at any table for that matter it drives me absolutely insane. The bottom line is there is no point; You will not gain anything except perhaps making everyone else on the table angry at you and the risk of that player who has just tripled up knocking you out resulting in no money for you. There always has to be a clown somewhere just make sure the next time you go to bluff in to a dry side pot you stop and think of this article and use your intelligence and say “NO!” I will check it down unless I have the Nuts. By the way short stack that became mid stack went on to win the tournament so keep this in mind.
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Ref:- http://sappa.roadkil.net/index.php?REQ_Action=Article&REQ_ArticleID=29&Title=Bluffing%20into%20dry%20side%20pots
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