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Daniel Negreanu has won High Stakes Duel Round 2, defeating his nemesis Doug Polk and gaining some revenge for the defeat he experienced three years ago.
Round 1 of High Stakes Duel was between Negreanu and Eric Persson, but after a convincing defeat Persson wanted nothing to do with any rematch, surprisingly perhaps.
As good for TV poker as Eric Persson is, this was a great opportunity for Doug Polk to step in and give the fans another chance to see him and Negreanu square off once again.
Sadly, this latest fight only lasted for three hours with very few big pots cropping up. The match was really characterised by a series of small and medium sized pots until it was all over.
The first major hand on the match saw Doug Polk river a flush to beat Negreanu’s top pair, but Negreanu shows the viewers that his hand reading ability is still second to none and gets away on the river without paying Polk off.
Soon after, Negreanu is back in charge after flopping the nut flush in a monster pot. Polk finds completely the wrong time to be three-betting K3o and firing off on flop, turn, and river with the second nut blocker.
The final hand of the match was a similar affair. Polk had a draw and fired all three streets only for Negreanu to make the call with top pair.
The blinds were 600/1,200 and Polk raises to 2,500 on the button with 9s7s. Negreanu calls with AdTh.
The flop is 6c Kc 8d and Negreanu check/calls 1,700.
The turn is the Ah, giving Negreanu top pair and Polk fires again, this time for 8,700. The Canadian calls.
The river is the Qc—a complete blank. Polk now fires the third barrel with his missed draw and Negreanu makes the call to seal victory.
So, now the question is what happens next? Will Daniel Negreanu withdraw and claim his $150,000 profit or will he offer Doug Polk the opportunity to face him a third time in a $400,000 match?
We’d love to see this one again, as we’re sure most of you also would.
