PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas hosted High Stakes Duel 4 Round 2 on Thursday night. Daniel Negreanu won $100,000 in May when he beat Eric Persson in Round 1. Yet, it was the second round's buy-in against Doug Polk.
Brent Hanks and Ali Nejad commentated on the highly anticipated heads-up battles of the duo in 2020 and 2021. Negreanu lost $1.2 million in his 2021 clash with Polk after playing in 30-minute levels and having 100,000 chips when their match kicked off.
The players battled it out for almost three hours as the match mainly consisted of small and medium pots. But Negreanu bagged all of them.
Negreanu can decide to cash out of the Duel now and make a $150,000 profit. Alternatively, he can invite Polk to a poker rematch and compete for $400,000. But Negreanu didn't disclose his next move after Round 2, and here are some of its crucial hands' highlights.
The First Vital Hand
High Stakes Duel 4 Round 2's critical hand played 15 minutes after its action began. Polk used 5♣4♣ to make a 1,000 button raise, and Negreanu used A♠J♦ to make a 4,000 three-bet. The former called, and the latter got the top pair after the flop revealed A♦7♣3♣.
He later placed a 4,000 wager. Polk got a double gutshot straight draw and a club flush draw before making a 12,000 raise as Negreanu called and landed K♠ on the turn.
Negreanu placed a 21,000 check-call bet and landed the 2♣ on the river. He checked, and Polk made a 56,600 all-in move with a flush into the 74,000 pot. Negreanu stated that Polk would get angry if he ended the day's action.
Still, Polk showed his hand and got a 130,000:70,000 chip advantage over Negreanu. They played for small pots for a while before Negreanu used A♣J♣ to make a 1,500 raise, and Polk used K♣3♦ to place a 6,000 three-bet.
Negreanu called and flopped 4♣8♣10♣. Polk got a flush draw and placed a 2,000-continuation wager that Negreanu flatted. Still, 2♠ landed on the turn, and Polk placed an 11,000 wager into the 16,000 pot.
His opponent had nuts that he called with before 7♦ landed on the board. Polk narrowly missed a flush but wagered 26,000.
Polk's move prompted Negreanu to take a short break before going all-in as he snap-folded. This gave Negreanu a vital stack of 125,000:75,000 chip lead.
The Chopped Pot
Polk used A♣2♥ to make a 2,300 button raise at the 500/1,000 blinds level, and Negreanu held A♠3♥. The dealer turned A♥ after the flop revealed 10♣8♣J♦.
The Last Hand
Polk used 9♠7♠ to make a 2,500 button raise at the 600/1,200 level, and Negreanu used A♦10♥ to call before the flop revealed 6♣K♣8♦. The latter called with A♦10♥ and a 6♣K♣8♦ flop occurred.
Negreanu made his third check after Q♣ landed on the river, prompting Polk to make a 54,100 all-in move. The former dominated and bagged $200,000 after sending the latter packing.
