Two opponents of huge repute defeated, both the $50,000 and $100,000 entry rounds done and Daniel Negreanu is keeping the belt. After beating Eric Persson last time out in High Stakes Duel, ‘Kid Poker’ returned to the PokerGO felt on Thursday and promptly defeated Doug Polk to claim $200,000 and take the Championship Belt home to add to his trophy collection.
Mutual Respect Shown Pre-Match Between Frenemies
Before the match kicked off, being screened worldwide on subscription at PokerGO, Negreanu and Polk met at the felt to speak with the lead presenter Ali Nejad. Despite a previous clash at the online felt and much bad blood in the past, it was clear that the two men are now friends in the industry.
“People are like, ‘Why are you playing him again?’ and it’s because I have no choice!” said Negreanu when asked why he was taking on Polk. The Texas-based co-owner was, of course, the challenger to Negreanu, and over that, Kid Poker had no control. The pair spoke briefly about the previous battle at the online felt that cost Negreanu $1.2 million.
“I have a lot of respect for Daniel for taking that challenge,” Polk told Nejad when he asked about the feelings remaining from that infamously fractious bout. “Obviously, it was a format I was very familiar with.”
Both men were friendly coming into the match, but early on, Negreanu had the best of it. An early top pair of a king put him in the lead. Having explained to Nejad before the match that his inspiration was the opportunity to win a new event, to take home a new trophy, this match was clearly going to be his last in the format for now… if he was able to beat Doug at the live felt.
A Huge Fold from Negreanu Saves His Life
“I WAS CALLING ALL THE WAY AND I THOUGHT FOR PRODUCTION’S SAKE, I’D JUST FOLD.” ~ DANIEL NEGREANU
Polk wasn’t behind for long, but while he went ahead in a huge hand, it was Negreanu’s fold which saved money rather than Polk’s win that made it which stood out. A three-bet pot saw Negreanu flop top pair with ace-jack, but Polk was up to tricks with 5♣4♣ and with the 7♣ and 3♣ both landing on the flop too, the pot swelled to 74,000 chips by the river, with each man having started on 100,000 chips to reflect the $100,00 each had invested.
Polk made his flush as the 2♣ landed on 5th street and shoved. A call from Negreanu would have given Polk a chip lead of 13 to 1, virtually ending the contest.
“They’ll be annoyed if I pay [you] off and we’re done for the day,” laughed Negreanu, while Polk was stoney-faced. “Fold.” Negreanu uttered and Polk showed him the hand.
“Ohhh! I woulda called non-clubs. I’m a team player. You got screwed because it came too early. I was calling all the way and I thought for production’s sake, I’d just fold.”
“I almost started laughing when you said if you called you go home. That’s a wrap everyone!” joked Polk. Down 2:1, Negreanu got down to his smallball betting methods that served him so well over his career. Betting minimum value on several different streets in a variety of hands, he chipped away at Polk’s lead, getting himself back up to 75,000. Some way short of Polk’s 125,000 chips, but not so bad as it had been. After the first hour of three that would transpire and two levels, Negreanu was down but very much not out of it.
Negreanu Flops the Nuts
“NOW I CAN CUT LOOSE!” ~ DOUG POLK
In a pot that pre-flop was raised to 12,000, Negreanu had the button and A♣J♣ as the dealer fanned a flop of 10♣8♣4♣. It wasn’t just perfect for the Canadian’s hand, giving him the nut flush, but Polk’s chasing hand of K♣3♦ as he could legitimately believe that he had flopped the best flush draw of the two men. Polk c-bet 2,000 and Negreanu called to the turn.
A 2♠ on the turn saw Polk continue again, this time for 11,000. Negreanu was loving life and again he made the call. An ineffectual 7♦ on the river saw Negreanu know he had the nuts, only hoping that Polk would fire a “third shell” as commentator Brent Hanks said. Polk indeed did bet, laying out 26,000. Negreanu raised all-in and got a snap-fold from Polk, as the lead crucially changed hand, Negreanu now having 127,000 to Polk’s 73,000.
By the end of the second hour, Negreanu’s lead was still healthy, his stack of 118,500 ahead of Polk’s 81,500.
“Now I can cut loose!” said Polk, as Negreanu smiled. The match was moving into its third and final act.
Kid Poker Claims the Belt
“I WIN THE BELT, RIGHT? I DON’T WANT TO PUT THE BELT ON THE LINE!” ~ DANIEL NEGREANU
Play continued in a back-and-forth style for some time before a fun chopped pot where both men missed the flush with queen-six led to smiles all round and seemed to loosen up both competitors. Calling it an “insane chop pot”, Polk raised it up two hands later with 9♠7♠ on the button and Negreanu called with A♦10♥. Negreanu called, and with 5,000 in the middle, the flop of K♣8♦6♣ saw a small c-bet from Polk and a call from Negreanu.
The A♥ turn led to Polk representing it, betting out 8,400, the whole of the pot. Negreanu made the call, and on the river of Q♣, completing the imagined flush, the pot stood at 25,200. Polk bet his entire remaining 54,100. Kid Poker slid into the tank.
“Ah, the clubs got there. How much is it?” said Negreanu. A call would win the event, but a losing call would drop him down to 66,000 and with blinds escalating, it was a crucial call. Negreanu didn’t take too long, and weighing it up, made the call.
“See, the live poker realm, that’s it!” Negreanu. “I couldn’t believe you always had clubs. You had them way too often. In spots where it was a good spot for you, I just always had it, every time.”
“The hard thing about playing against Doug is that he isn’t one of those people that are afraid to put you in really tough spot,” Negreanu said on his opponent after the event. Sometimes you’re going to have to dig deep and make the call with marginal hands like that last hand.”
Negreanu was adamant that after taking the belt, he was done. No-one was about to take that trophy away from him.
“I’m done. I win the belt, right? I don’t want to put the belt on the line! But they can come back and get it in Round 1 if they want it, and I [can] defend it that way.”
After previously losing 3-0 to Phil Hellmuth in the High Stakes Duel format, Daniel Negreanu has now beaten both Eric ‘Maverick’ Persson and Doug Polk, winning $200,000 in the process… and that all-important High Stakes Duel Championship Belt!
If you’re a PokerGO subscriber, you can watch the full three-hour play-out of Daniel Negreanu’s triumphant victory against Doug Polk.
This article originally appeared on PokerStake.com
