Tagline: "You gotta know when to hold 'em."

Genre: Feature

Cast: Cassidey, Celeste Starr, Rielly Evans (aka Riley Evans), Kimberly Kane, Faith Leon, Madison Young, Eric Masterson, Jean Von Jean, Marcos Leon, Justice Young, Nick Manning

Director/Writer: Dcypher

Length: 1:23:07

First Impressions: With box art and a title that harkens to old Vegas, poker, and a timeless Kenny Rogers song, Hard Bluff held a lot of promise. The premise? Five guys gather around a poker table to play cards and share stories of wild sexual encounters. Not content with just bragging rights, however, our studs make a little wager with "the most outrageous and believable sex adventure [winning] the pot."

Special Features: There are only a handful of extras, including seven trailers (including Brea's Prowl, Janine Loves Jenna, La Femme Chanel, Chanel Illustrated, Jenna Justin, Rossi's Revenge, and Jenna's Provocateur), a short photo gallery, a list of Club Jenna-centric websites, and a seven minute behind the scenes feature. The behind the scenes segment is interesting (I'm a geek for the technical, behind-the-camera stuff), but at just under seven minutes, it's way too short. You'll spend 10 minutes on these extras and never visit them again.

Audio/Visual Quality: The film is presented in letterbox format. Picture quality is excellent. My only gripe (albeit a significant one), are the lazy errors that creep up occasionally in the video, which pulled me out of the fantasy a few times. But this is probably more a pet peeve of mine than it will be an annoyance to you. If glimpses of boom mic shadows or second cameras appearing at the edge of the screen don't bother you, then you will be satisfied with the quality of video here. Audio-wise, the only major issue I made note of is the horrid unique-to-porn music that plays throughout each scene. There's some scratching (the rap kind), and what sounds like a guy slooooooooooowly tapping the keys of a synthesizer. I've heard great music in porn (see Stuffin' Young Muffins #7), so why do some studios still insist on using Casio-esque keyboard instrumentals? Go acoustic, y'all!

Chapter 1 (Cassidey and Jean Val Jean; Length: 16:25): "Without saying a word, we just fucked right there." And thus begins Val Jean's attempt to collect on the my-fucking-was-hotter-than-yours wager. The action begins with Cassidey almost sprinting into the frame, obviously eager to get manhandled by our French stud. Val Jean (a fine actor, really) first probes her cunt with his tongue, then has the favor returned when Cassidey treats him to a wet, sensual blowjob. The two kiss, fuck in a variety of positions (including cowgirl, doggie, and spooning), and wrap up the fantasy with Val Jean shooting cum missiles into Cassidey's gaping mouth. The scene has a lot of appeal with its two hot leads (Cassidey's huge green eyes are hypnotic), a little bit of squirting during the spooning, and the outrageously powerful load Van Jean shoots onto Cassidey's gloriously long tongue. However, despite some skilled editing, a few technical gaffes somewhat dampen the scene's heat. For example, a camera suddenly appears to the left of the screen at one point, and later, the flash bulbs of the set photographer erupt mid-scene. A super-annoying typical-to-porn song plays throughout, further sucking the sexiness out of it. Because I enjoy buying into the fantasy we're being sold in these story-driven features, technical glitches like these serve as unfortunate reminders that I'm watching low-budget porn.

Chapter 2 (Madison Young and Nick Manning; Length: 15:41): So now we have Nick Manning trying to one up Val Jean by telling his story of a delivery job that leads to savage fucking with gorgeous Madison Young. The scene begins with Manning jamming his cock into the back of Madison's throat, resulting in a handful of those awful gag reflex croaks that usually precede explosions of vomit. Mercifully, Madison keeps her shit together and merely pauses, winces, and goes right back to work on Manning's pole which she completely slathers in saliva (a major turn-off for me). Manning then finger fucks our girl before ramming her pussy in the usual positions: doggie, reverse cowgirl, and finally, missionary. Another production gaffe slightly mars the scene, this time with the reflection of a boom microphone visible on the black marble wall. It's not a huge deal (I mean, I didn't lose my erection at the sight of an errant mic), but coupled with another hideous song (scratching!), an irritating amount of close-ups of the actor's mugs (I want to see tits and penetrated cunts, dammit!) and the awful retches from Madison, it adds up to a less-than-satisfying scene.

Chapter 3 (Rielly Evans, Kimberly Kane, and Justice Young; Length: 16:00): Young certainly ups the ante with his tale of a construction job that leads him to the window of Kimberly and Rielly's two-girl lingerie party (of course!). Naturally, the two girls spot Young peering through their window and invite him in to join the fun. And fun it is, with the three engaging in some very hot sucking, fucking, kissing, and stroking. And although Young spends the first 12 minutes of the scene flat on his back being ridden by one girl and eating out the other, the action is fast-paced, varied, and never dull. The two girls are hot, although I preferred big-breasted Rielly whose tits bounce fantastically during the missionary pounding Young treats her to. There are more exciting three-ways out there, but this one packs plenty of heat. (And the music? Yeah, still sucks.)

Chapter 4 (Faith Leon, Marcos Leon, and Eric Masterson; Length: ): Leon's turn. His "tall tale" involves a visit to Young's house so he can grab some spare beers. Unfortunately, Young isn't home. But Mom is. Recently widowed, she abates her loneliness by devouring Leon's cock, letting him lick her clit, and riding him reverse cowgirl-style. Then, the weirdest thing occurs: during mid-reverse cowgirl, Leon has apparently been switched out and Eric Masterson is now fucking Faith. It's a giant WTF moment because there's absolutely no explanation for the switcheroo. I'm guessing the filmmakers are simply having a little fun with their audience, but...I don't know. The scene ends when Masterson dribbles a weak load onto Faith's waiting tongue.

Chapter 5 (Celeste Starr, Cassidey; Length: Length: 12:16): This fantastic scene involves Leon's wife's attempt to one-up the guys with her own sordid tale. Apparently, she met a stripper or something somewhere and the two of them ended up back at...one of their place's. I think. Anyway, it's easily the best segment on the DVD, and not only because it features two awesome looking girls. The action is hot and intense and includes a wild assortment of dildo play, clit sucking, fingering, and kissing. It's fairly well filmed (although we get a glimpse of another camera in the corner of our screen), lively, incredibly erotic, and definitely stroke worthy.

"For a taste of your whiskey, I'll give you some advice...": Surprisingly, I think what I was most disappointed by in Hard Bluff was the brevity of the set-up scenes featuring the five guys sitting around the table and talking. The dialogue is decent and the performances are actually quite good (particularly Val Jean's). Instead, we get a little more than an hour's worth of decent sex in error plagued (albeit well edited) scenes spoiled by an atrocious soundtrack. It's unfortunate, because with extended banter between the men, fewer technical glitches, better filming of the segments (fewer close-ups, please!), and a cooler soundtrack, Hard Bluff might have been one of my all-time favorites. But until a 2-disc special edition comes out that addresses these issues (and includes more special features), I can only suggest that you rent this latest offering from Club Jenna before settling on a purchase.