Top 5 Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk Hands

09:20
19 Jan

Image courtesy of PokerGO.com

Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu have both led prolific, and very profitable, poker careers by having success across many facets of the game. Here’s a look at five notable hands from the two poker pro’s careers.

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You Have Aces

This first hand is a classic example of Negreanu showcasing his poker voodoo in a World Series of Poker Main Event. At the 600/1200 blind level, Negreanu opens the pot to 3,000 with QTo. The action folds over to Negreanu’s countrymen, Ryan McClean, who three-bets to 9,000 with AA.

Negreanu flopped top pair on Q54, but he wasn’t exactly fist pumping. He told the table, “You know what I think he’s got? Aces.” Negreanu checked to McClean who bet 12,000 into the 21,000 chip pot, and he called.

In an odd turn of events, McClean checked both the turn and river, missing obvious value, and Negreanu got to a cheap showdown. Now that’s black magic.

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Daniel Negreanu vs. David Williams

The PokerStars Big Game was very aptly named given the amount of action we saw on this classic poker show, and Negreanu’s experience playing the Big Game is no different. In this pot, Negreanu opens J4s to $2,500 and gets a call from David Williams and that episode’s “loose cannon.”

The flop comes J62, Williams and Davis checked to Negreanu who bets his top pair to the tune of $5,500, and Williams raises to $15,500. Negreanu calls and spikes a 4 on the turn. Williams continues for $27,000, and with the pot at $66,300, Negreanu decides to jam and try and get maximum value. Williams calls, they run it twice, and Negreanu holds to win a $261,100 pot.

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Daniel Negreanu vs. Tony G

In this hand, Negreanu opened the pot to $3,600 with QJs and got a call from Tony G with AKo. Negreanu flops huge on QJ6 and Tony G checks the action to him. Negreanu bets $5,500 and Tony G floats with his two overs and a gut-shot to the nuts. Like it was written in a movie script, Tony G drills a 10 on the turn to make the nuts.

He check-raised Negreanu’s $14,00 turn bet to $50,000, and Negreanu made the call, thinking Tony G was bluffing. Ultimately, Negreanu drills a queen on the river to make a full house. With the pot at $118,200, he bet $80,000 to which Tony G called and Negreanu scooped a $278,200 pot.

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Doug Polk vs. Isildur1

During Polk’s online high-stakes heads-up days, he clashed with the legendary Viktor “Isildur1” Blom numerous times. In this clash, the two were playing $400/$800, and Blom opened to $2,400. Polk three-bet to $8,800 and got the call.

On a T74 flop, Polk continued for $12,000 and faced a $32,000 raise. After some thought, Polk made the call. When a 5 comes on the turn and completes a number of Blom’s draws, Polk checks and faces a $43,200 bet and ends up calling. The river comes an even worse 3, and Blom jams for $149,350. Polk ends up calling, and is rewarded a $467,000 pot when Blom shows 89o.

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Doug Polk vs. Isildur1 (2)

Sometimes you just flop the nuts and get paid. Here, Polk opens AKs to $2,400 and Blom three-bets to $8,800 with pocket tens. Polk four-bets to $21,600 and his opponent just calls. Polk flops the nut flush on T52 and bets a little less than half pot before Blom jams. Polk holds and wins a $490,096 pot, his biggest ever.