Poker Pro Justin Smith Recalls $100K River Bluff On Boxing Star Manny Pacquiao

Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is no stranger to the game of poker. He’s played in poker tournaments in Asia, in addition to having been seen playing $100-$200 no-limit hold’em at the Commerce in Los Angeles. Last week, high-stakes poker player Justin Smith shared his favorite Pacquiao poker moment.

Pacquiao has been grabbing headlines most recently for the new documentary film about his life and career. Last year, Smith received two years probation for his role in an underground gambling ring that catered to celebrities.

Below is Smith’s full Instagram post on the Pacquiao bluff. Smith, who resides in Hollywood, California, didn’t reveal when or where the hand took place.

Story time: One day, Manny and I were playing poker for the first time ever together. I ran one of the most aggressive bluffs ever in my career against him and I bet over $100k on the river, he thought for almost five minutes, and finally showed me that he had folded top pair of aces. He started to beg me to show him my hand. I had one of the most nothing possible hands I’ve ever ended up having, but I had a read on him and decided to go with it. Naturally, I don’t usually like to show my hands, and didn’t want to rub it in his face that I had outplayed or “fooled” him. I also didn’t want to make him upset since he was asking me to do something. So, I asked him three times “are you sure you want to see my hand?” And he nodded his head energetically and saying yes while anticipating me to show my cards. I showed him an absolute stone cold bluff and when his eyes compared my cards to the board to find the correlation that didn’t exist, his eyes darted back up to meet my eyes and his fists clenched up. I realized I had pissed off not someone only I had been a big fan of, but someone who happened to be an 8 different weight division championship boxer. He abruptly stood up and charged walking over to me, I stood up, and he started roaring with laughter and shook my hand and gave me a back pat hug. He respected the move I had made because he loves competitiveness. Manny is an international symbol and at the very top of the list of people I’ve been in absolute awe by when in his presence. You can feel there is something truly special about him. I’m sure most of any danger including death itself would be thwarted by his perpetual, iconic smile that is so relaxed and cool, that it’s haunting. This man is a legend and one of the biggest inspirations to not only myself, but to many people across the planet. I’m so thankful that I’ve had the chance to take in how he handles himself and how he approaches life with my own eyeballs.

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