Doug Polk Breaks Down the TOP 5 Hands of the Heads-Up Match vs. Daniel Negreanu in His Latest Video

Yesterday, Doug Polk went through some of the biggest pots in his high-stakes grudge match against Daniel Negreanu and gave his opinion on how it is going. The American is currently enjoying a brief stint out of retirement and comfortably winning the battle.

Doug Polk Says it’s All About the River

Poker can be a cruel mistress. And two of the hands that Polk chooses to dissect certainly show that. It’s probably true that he did want to stick the knife in a little here as well.

In the first hand Polk raises 6s 4s to $928 from the button and Negreanu three-bets to $4,182. Polk calls

Polk talks about how Negreanu has been inconsistent with his three-bet sizes during the match so far. Possibly this is more aimed at confusing him than any kind of strategic adjustment.

The flop comes down Tc 6h Js and Negreanu checks.

Polk thinks that there are strong arguments for checking behind and betting here. Obviously the hand isn’t worth that much but it is solid showdown value and a vulnerable pair. On the other hand Negreanu’s range has all of the nutted hands and Polk has only 66 and two combos of JTs in his range.

Polk bets $2,341 and Negreanu calls. The pot is now $13,044.

The turn is the Qs. Negreanu checks again and Polk follows up with a $12,285 bet. Negreanu calls.

The river is the 7s giving Polk a flush.

“This is just a skillfully manoeuvred, masterclass of a river. Honestly guys, if you’re going to play high-stakes one day you’re going to  really need to harness this skill,”

Negreanu checks and Polk jams his remaining $35,426. Negreanu calls and shows As Kc for a sick bad beat. The final pot size was $108,467.

Doug Polk Does it Again

The next hand was more of the same, and was the third largest pot played so far.

Polk opens Qh 6h to $928 and Negreanu three-bets to $4,182. Polk calls but says a four-bet is fine too.

The flop is Kh 2h 2s. Negreanu c bets $2,000 and Polks calls. Polk says on dry boards with few draws you should have a smaller number of flop raises here.

The turn is the Ac. Negreanu fires a $9,273 follow up and Polk says he was surprised at the bet size given both player’s ranges. Polk calls.

“If he’s bluffing I’m crushing him. And Obviously have a draw to a very strong hand,”

The river is the 4h and Negreanu jams $40,274 into a  $30,907 pot. Polk obviously calls with his flush and Negreanu shows down Jc 4c for a loose bluff.

Rivering the effective nuts is a sure fire way to success in this game.