Final answer:
The 'bluff and re-bluff' between John Gutfreund and John Meriwether was a metaphorical high-stakes game of 'Liar's Poker' at Salomon Brothers, where Meriwether's counter of a $10 million bet to Gut Freund's $1 million demonstrated his fearlessness and dominated the interaction.
Step-by-step explanation:
The 'classic bluff and re-bluff' refers to an infamous incident involving Wall Street traders John Gutfreund and John Meriwether that occurred at Salomon Brothers in the 1980s. It was never a real game of poker, but instead, it's a metaphor used to describe a high-stakes challenge during a trading session. The story goes that Gutfreund, then CEO of Salomon Brothers, challenged Meriwether, a bond trader, to a game of 'Liar's Poker,' a game that involves bluffing and betting on the serial numbers of dollar bills. The challenge was for $1 million, and instead of accepting or declining the bet directly, Meriwether surprised Gutfreund by countering with a proposal to increase the wager to $10 million. This counter was Meriwether's way of signaling that he was not intimidated and would up the ante. Gutfreund declined, indicating that Meriwether had bested him in this game of bravado. This interaction is often cited as emblematic of the macho culture and risk-taking environment that pervaded Wall Street during that era.