Jeremy Kottler came over to the World Series of Poker main event feature table on Day 5, sat down, and almost immediately went for an incredible airball bluff with K-2 offsuit that stunned the poker world.
The Ohio native’s bluff was unsuccessful, but it took guts to go for it on the river. In fact, he nearly got Yuchen Chen to fold a full house.
Unfortunately for Kottler, Chen made what was essentially a hero call in an extremely high-pressure situation. Based on the way Kottler played the hand, there were several better hands in his range, and he represented those well.
Not only did Chen call off his stack, but he put his tournament life on the line with about 90 big blinds under the lights of the feature table and in front of legends of the game like original online poker heroes Stephen Chidwick and Isaac Haxton.
Kottler finished in 351st place for $40,000. However, he likely put himself on WSOP main event highlight reels for years, if not decades, to come.
Meanwhile, Chen is still in the hunt for the WSOP Main Event title with 126 players left on Day 6.
WSOP Main Event Bluff Of The Tournament?
The table was nine-handed with blinds of 10,000-25,000 and a 25,000 big blind ante. Chen raised to 50,000 from the hijack with 5♠5♦ and Kottler three-bet to 140,000 from the button with K♦2♠. Action folded back to Chen, who called.
The flop was 3♦J♠5♥. Chen checked, Kottler bet 75,000 and Chen raised to 225,000. Kottler called.
The turn was the A♦. Chen checked and Kottler bet 250,000. Chen called.
The river was the J♣. Kottler moved all in for 1,625,000 effective. Chen tanked for several minutes and called.
You can watch the whole hand in the video below:
Yuchen Chen lays the trap… and Jeremy Kottler walks right into it! 😮
Watch LIVE on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG pic.twitter.com/ZEbC7RkYcn
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) July 11, 2025
