Top Five Best Poker Traps

Being able to “trap” your opponent in poker is a seriously potent tactic. 

It allows you to lure the other player into a false sense of security, and ultimately take a large chunk of their cash, or even knock them out of the game.

Trapping takes mental strength, and most importantly patience. It’s quite easy to get excited when you have a good hand, and you don’t want to give away your position of power by raising too early. 

Knowing when to fold is also significant in this too, as you can easily be caught out if you try and play on a weak deal.

The idea is that a player with a strong hand either checks or bets quite weakly. 

As the round progresses, the hope is that the opponent will fold to a raise bet, or bet more aggressively to build the cash pot. 

In order for this method to be effective, the pot has to be relatively small at the start, and the cards on the Flop have to give an opponent a chance at a decent hand so they will stay in play. 

Also, having the knowledge to raise when necessary or stay passive and check is key. 

We’ve compiled a list of our top five traps set out by professional poker players, and you can watch below as their rivals squirm after realising they’ve been played:

5. Sam Trickett vs Matthew Frankland

What a great play this is by Sam Trickett, as he gets Matthew Frankland to fall completely into this trap.

Trickett has Pocket Aces against Frankland's 2 and 7, immediately giving him an 85% chance of winning.

And the hand is sewn up when the Flop is produced, as Trickett has Three of a Kind Aces.

Despite this, he checks and causes Frankland to bluff and bet $65,000, which is called.

Trickett checks once again when a 3 is added by the Turn, and this time Frankland bets a massive $145,000.

After making the call, Trickett continues to check even after the River card, which provokes Frankland yet again.

This time, the bet is an incredible bluff, going all in with $1,375,000.

Trickett immediately calls, and you can see the life drain out of Frankland when the cards are turned over.

4. Alec Torelli vs Jonathan Duhamel

This is a textbook trap set by Alec Torelli, as he takes a nice pot away from Jonathan Duhamel.

Both players are dealt an Ace to start with; Torelli couples that with a 6, both of Spades, while Duhamel has a 9.

Duhamel is actually in a relatively strong position from the Flop, at least in his own mind, as he completes Two Pair. However, Torelli is just one more Spade away from a Flush.

Torelli begins the trap by checking, and his opponent then bets $2,000 which he calls.

Unfortunately for Duhamel, the Flush is completed on the Turn, and Torelli again checks. This time, Duhamel bets $5,725, which is called once more.

The 7 of Clubs comes up on the River, but Torelli continues to trap Duhamel by checking, and the bet increases again; this time, it's $12,400.

Torelli instantly goes all-in and although Duhamel knows his fate at this point, he makes the call and creates a pot worth $86,850.

3. Patrik Antonius vs Tony G 

Thanks to an unbelievable stroke of luck on the Flop, Patrik Antonius managed to defeat Tony G’s Pocket Kings and take a six-figure sum off him to boot.

Tony G immediately raises to $30,000 at the start, and Antonius is the only player to call him, holding an Ace and 4.

His judgement is instantly rewarded in stunning style, getting a Full House from the Flop with two more Aces and a 4, guaranteeing him victory.

Here is where the trap is laid. Antonius chooses to check on the Turn and the River instead of betting, and with Tony G holding a Two Pair of Aces and Kings, he is inclined to raise the stakes by $40,000. 

As soon as Antonius responds by raising to $170,000, Tony G knows the game is up, and you can even hear him say “I’m trapped.”

Despite realising he’s been played, Tony G calls to take the pot to $407,000, resulting in a huge win for Antonius.

2. Tom Dwan vs Sandor Demjan

Though Dwan doesn’t win as much as Antonius did in the previous clip, this is just a prime example of textbook trapping.

He got billionaire Sandor Demjan to fall for his tactic with an incredible hand at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship.

Demjan pulls Pocket Jacks initially, and he tries to lay a trap by only calling the $4,000 stake, as Dwan holds an Ace and a 5.

Two more Aces appear in the Flop to put Dwan in the driving seat, though his opponent thinks he is in command with Two Pair, and bets a further $9,000.

When a 5 comes up on the Turn, Dwan has a Full House, and though he could blow Demjan out of the water with a big raise when he checks, he cleverly follows suit.

Incredibly, an Ace is pulled on the River, and suddenly he has Four of a Kind. Demjar bets an extra $25,000 as he believes his full house is enough to win.

He has ultimately fallen hook, line and sinker though, and when Dwan raises to $50,000 he realises he’s been played, losing out on a pot of $131,200.

1. Phil Laak vs Luke Schwartz

Phil Laak brilliantly sets up Luke Schwartz after a ridiculous Flop goes his way, and while it isn't the biggest pot ever, it is textbook poker play.

With a King and 7 against Schwartz's Pocket Queens, Laak only has a 28% chance of winning the hand.

That soon changes though as two Kings and a 7 drop on the Flop, giving Laak a Full House and making him invincible in this hand.

Understandably, Schwartz thinks he is in a good position, so when a $40,000 bet comes in he doesn't hesitate to call.

However, the trap is laid after the Turn, with Laak only following his opponent's check.

This makes Schwartz believe that Laak doesn't hold anything of note, but makes an error by betting $137,000, when he should've gone in with a lower amount.

Laak instantly goes all-in, and despite his thinking out loud, Schwartz knows he is in trouble and has to fold eventually.