Polk quickly building cushion
- Daniel Negreanu is easily the most recognizable poker player on the planet. It's also safe to say he has already earned the status of a true Poker Legend. GGPoker proudly calls him one of our own. It is within the live poker sphere where Daniel is best known for his table exploits.
- Daniel Negreanu: Player Profile. Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian who has been known as a well-decorated professional poker player.While he initially had dreams of becoming a professional snooker player, Negreanu still found success on at a different kind of table – the poker table.
Professional poker player Daniel Negreanu has always found tournament poker to be more exciting than cash games, because in tournaments you can actually win a trophy or a big prize while still playing your chosen style of poker, like hold'em. Crushing losses in poker tournaments happen to even the greatest of pros, and that includes Daniel Negreanu. This week, while playing in a GG Poker World Series of Poker event, he was streaming.
One-fifth of the way through his heads-up poker challenge against Daniel Negreanu, Doug Polk has much for which to be thankful. After Wednesday's session, the last before Thanksgiving, Polk has built his lead to over a quarter-million dollars.
Tweeting about the match afterward, Polk called it a 'quiet day,' as there were no all-in pots. The 'small-mid pots' hit for Polk, however, as he profited $120,023.59 in Session 11 to take his overall positive total to $264,019.75.
I don't know how I only lost 3 buy ins in today's session but I'm thankful for it!'
Negreanu was a bit frustrated that he had pocket Aces four times, only to not get any action from Polk with any of them. He was still pleasantly upbeat after the bad day, getting into the holiday spirit by tweeting: 'I don't know how I only lost 3 buy ins in today's session but I'm thankful for it!'
The two men have now played 5,067 hands, more than 20% to the 25,000 goal. Whichever player is losing at the halfway point can call it quits. Alternatively, the two players can decide to up the stakes after 12,500 hands if they so choose. The next bout on WSOP.com will take place on Saturday, November 28.
Negreanu had been rolling
In our last update, Polk was leading by about $75,000 after six sessions. Despite his current lead, however, it hasn't been all bad for Negreanu. The Poker Hall of Famer had a massive Session 7, winning $222,832.70 over 591 hands. It was the second-longest session of the challenge to that point and the winningest day either player had enjoyed.
Polk called Negreanu's pre-flop strategy 'insane'
Negreanu won again the next session, banking another $24,156.82 to go up by $179,363.71. He was clearly annoying Polk, as Polk called Negreanu's pre-flop strategy 'insane.' Polk said his opponent had either found the 'holy grail' of pre-flop solutions or he was simply just playing poorly and getting away with it.
Daniel Negreanu was on a roll, winning five of six sessions, but Polk finally got back on track in Session 9 late last week. In 377 hands, he profited $205,521.74 to take a slight lead of $26,371.78. For almost every person on the planet, that would not qualify as a 'slight' lead, but in this game, that's less than a single buy-in. Both players said they felt they played well, regardless of the results, with Polk happy that he came out on the winning end in some 'cooler spots.'
Negreanu Poker Net Worth
Monday's Session 10 was the longest in terms of hands, as the two blew through 852 hands. Polk had another big day, ending about $117,000 in the black to up his overall lead at the time to over $143,000. Negreanu commented later that he got caught with his hand 'in the cookie jar' a few times, getting picked off on some ill-timed bluffs.
Feels like Polk's game to lose
Doug Polk was considered the heavy favorite going into the heads-up challenge and still very much is now that his lead has grown with a fifth of the challenge in the rear-view. PokerShares has the current odds to win at 1.08 for Polk and 8.50 for Negreanu. That's the equivalent of Polk as a -1,250 favorite and Negreanu as a +750 underdog. In other words, PokerShares is saying Polk is all but a lock to win, even with 20,000 hands remaining. Daily free coins coin master.
This heads-up challenge has its origins in 2014, when Negreanu said that he believed he could beat high stakes online games with some practice. The internet poker world laughed at the notion and Polk specifically called him naïve. Since then, the two have engaged in various poker spats, leading up to this opportunity to settle things on the felt.
After a three-month battle that, for some, was never in doubt, the 'Heads Up Challenge' between Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu and online legend Doug Polk has come to an end. More than 25,000 hands of poker were played and, in the end, both players were complimentary of the other. Compliments aren't the scoreboard, however, and that read out that Polk had won the Challenge, finishing with a $1.2 million victory in the event.
Tweeting about the match afterward, Polk called it a 'quiet day,' as there were no all-in pots. The 'small-mid pots' hit for Polk, however, as he profited $120,023.59 in Session 11 to take his overall positive total to $264,019.75.
I don't know how I only lost 3 buy ins in today's session but I'm thankful for it!'
Negreanu was a bit frustrated that he had pocket Aces four times, only to not get any action from Polk with any of them. He was still pleasantly upbeat after the bad day, getting into the holiday spirit by tweeting: 'I don't know how I only lost 3 buy ins in today's session but I'm thankful for it!'
The two men have now played 5,067 hands, more than 20% to the 25,000 goal. Whichever player is losing at the halfway point can call it quits. Alternatively, the two players can decide to up the stakes after 12,500 hands if they so choose. The next bout on WSOP.com will take place on Saturday, November 28.
Negreanu had been rolling
In our last update, Polk was leading by about $75,000 after six sessions. Despite his current lead, however, it hasn't been all bad for Negreanu. The Poker Hall of Famer had a massive Session 7, winning $222,832.70 over 591 hands. It was the second-longest session of the challenge to that point and the winningest day either player had enjoyed.
Polk called Negreanu's pre-flop strategy 'insane'
Negreanu won again the next session, banking another $24,156.82 to go up by $179,363.71. He was clearly annoying Polk, as Polk called Negreanu's pre-flop strategy 'insane.' Polk said his opponent had either found the 'holy grail' of pre-flop solutions or he was simply just playing poorly and getting away with it.
Daniel Negreanu was on a roll, winning five of six sessions, but Polk finally got back on track in Session 9 late last week. In 377 hands, he profited $205,521.74 to take a slight lead of $26,371.78. For almost every person on the planet, that would not qualify as a 'slight' lead, but in this game, that's less than a single buy-in. Both players said they felt they played well, regardless of the results, with Polk happy that he came out on the winning end in some 'cooler spots.'
Negreanu Poker Net Worth
Monday's Session 10 was the longest in terms of hands, as the two blew through 852 hands. Polk had another big day, ending about $117,000 in the black to up his overall lead at the time to over $143,000. Negreanu commented later that he got caught with his hand 'in the cookie jar' a few times, getting picked off on some ill-timed bluffs.
Feels like Polk's game to lose
Doug Polk was considered the heavy favorite going into the heads-up challenge and still very much is now that his lead has grown with a fifth of the challenge in the rear-view. PokerShares has the current odds to win at 1.08 for Polk and 8.50 for Negreanu. That's the equivalent of Polk as a -1,250 favorite and Negreanu as a +750 underdog. In other words, PokerShares is saying Polk is all but a lock to win, even with 20,000 hands remaining. Daily free coins coin master.
This heads-up challenge has its origins in 2014, when Negreanu said that he believed he could beat high stakes online games with some practice. The internet poker world laughed at the notion and Polk specifically called him naïve. Since then, the two have engaged in various poker spats, leading up to this opportunity to settle things on the felt.
After a three-month battle that, for some, was never in doubt, the 'Heads Up Challenge' between Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu and online legend Doug Polk has come to an end. More than 25,000 hands of poker were played and, in the end, both players were complimentary of the other. Compliments aren't the scoreboard, however, and that read out that Polk had won the Challenge, finishing with a $1.2 million victory in the event.
Negreanu Poker
Wednesday Action Closes Out the Fight
When the duo came to the virtual felt on WSOP.com on Wednesday afternoon, they knew that this was probably the last day of the battle. With two tables of $200/$400 action going and a little more than 1000 hands left on the clock, the end was nigh with Polk holding a safe edge of over $900,000. The question wasn't whether Polk was going to win the challenge, it was whether he would break the million mark in doing so.
The opening salvos went in the favor of Negreanu. In a key hand, Polk would river a straight, but Negreanu caught a flush with the same river card to scoop up a decent pot of nearly $40,000. The good fortune would continue for Negreanu as he won by making hands (a full house for over $25,000) and by playing some power poker (a jam on a three-spade, double paired board). Over the first few hours of action, Negreanu was able to chop around $150,000 off the Polk edge.
As typical of the action throughout the Challenge, Polk was able to respond quickly. He was the beneficiary of a four-flush, holding the Ace when Negreanu held the King, and Polk got a key double up in a pot of $180,000. That, along with some other action through the day, would see Polk end up with a $255,722 edge over the final 1718 hands and close out the Challenge.
Newfound Respect Between the Players
After an acrimonious start between the twosome (and some tense moments through the Challenge), the close came almost as a relief to the players. Over his Twitter account, Polk recounted the final score and, in an understatement, simply said 'We won, guys. We did it.' Negreanu was also complimentary of the play of Polk, saying over the GGPoker stream, 'He played well, no question about that.'
The two players commiserated over Twitter prior to the close of the Challenge and, it seems, they are willing to discuss the overall event in more depth:
That discussion would be VERY worthwhile.
In looking back at the Challenge, Negreanu obviously made a few mistakes. First off, he probably should have gotten more of the action to be played in a live setting, which is much more his game. Even after a year of retirement, Polk's game took little time to get into shape and to have nearly all the play at WSOP.com (the first 200 hands were played live on PokerGO) was definitely an advantage for Polk.
Taking on a Heads-Up master like Polk was also an error in judgment for Negreanu. Heads Up poker has never been the Hall of Famer's forte, whereas it was the very subject that Polk mastered when he was one of the dominant players in the online game. But it is part of poker that someone believes that they've got a chance in any game, so you must give kudos to Negreanu for taking the shot.
Where do the two men go from here? Polk may just drift back to retirement after backing the truck up and Negreanu will probably be playing poker when he's 80 (and, like Doyle Brunson, still be playing at a high level). But the two men have given the poker world an entertaining three months of action and, for that, we've got to show our appreciation.
