14 Mar
The High Stakes Feud served up plenty of exciting action from session to session—we had it all. We were spoilt rotten during many of the sessions, and for much of the match we were not even sure who would ultimately win such was Daniel Negreanu’s incredible improvement rate.
If there’s one thing that really stands out during heads-up play it is the necessity of a high bluff rate. If you don’t bluff enough you will simply get steamrolled by any competent opponent. So, let’s take a look at some of the best bluffs from the match.
#1
This first hand is a great example of high stakes play where onlookers are wincing as the pot grows huge and then we see that one of the players was bluffing with air.
Doug Polk opens to $948 holding [cardsmall:c:A][cardsmall:c:3] and Negreanu 3-bets to $3,720 with [cardsmall:h:A][cardsmall:h:J]. Polk pauses and then makes a 4-bet of $11,160. Negreanu calls.
The flop comes down [cardsmall:d:J][cardsmall:c:K][cardsmall:s:6] and Negreanu checks. Polk makes a standard c-bet on a board that favours him and Negreanu calls $7,364.78.
The turn is the [cardsmall:s:7]. Negreanu checks and Polk continues firing with his airball bluff betting $17,472.48 into $37,047.06. Negreanu calls once again.
The river is the [cardsmall:d:6] and after Negreanu checks Polk Hollywoods for 25 seconds and then jams for $33,953.56 effective stacks. Negreanu barely thinks any longer than a couple of seconds before snapping off Polk’s bluff with only middle pair. A fantastic read by the Canadian who collected a $139,899.14 pot.
#2
This next hand was the biggest pot played in the entire match. It serves as a gentle reminder of how badly things can go wrong even when you pick your bluff spots well.
Negreanu open raises to $1,000 with [cardsmall:s:10][cardsmall:s:8] and Polk flat calls with [cardsmall:s:Q][cardsmall:h:8].
The flop is [cardsmall:c:J][cardsmall:s:9][cardsmall:h:5]. Polk checks and Negreanu c-bets $799. Polk calls.
The turn is the [cardsmall:d:7] giving Negreanu the nut straight and Polk a one card open-ended straight draw. Polk checks and Negreanu c-bets $3,598. Polk thinks for 10 seconds and then puts in a monster raise of $20,675.28. Negreanu decides to slowplay and just calls with his straight.
The river is the [cardsmall:c:2] and the pot is now $44,946.06. Polk continues with his hyper-aggro line and jams for an effective $71,126.04—an eye-watering 178 big blinds into a pot of 112 big blinds.
This is what the fans really wanted to see in a high stakes match: big balls bluffs for huge sums of money. And we weren’t disappointed.
Negreanu obviously calls with the nuts and picks up a tasty pot.
#3
This final bluff shows how well Doug Polk is able to read his opponent because although it may be a GTO call there’s nothing value-wise that Negreanu is betting with.
Polk raises to $948 with [cardsmall:c:K][cardsmall:c:J] and Negreanu 3-bets to $4,000 with [cardsmall:d:8][cardsmall:d:7]. Polk calls.
The flop is [cardsmall:c:3][cardsmall:d:5][cardsmall:h:Q]. Negreanu c-bets $2153.33 and Polk calls with his backdoor draws.
The turn is the [cardsmall:s:K] and Negreanu follows up with a bet of $8,251.83. Polk calls.
The river is the [cardsmall:c:10]. Negreanu sees this as a perfect board for him to bluff on and goes for the overbet for maximum effect. $46,182.99 into a pot of $28,819.82.
On the face of it, it is really tough for Polk to call here. Top pair or not. There are tons of better hands Negreanu can have, so when he finally makes the call he definitely deserves some praise for his read here.
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