{"id":1594768,"date":"2021-09-03T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/?p=1594768"},"modified":"2025-12-29T14:38:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:38:38","slug":"negreanu-vs-polk-huge-error-in-the-high-stakes-feud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/negreanu-vs-polk-huge-error-in-the-high-stakes-feud\/","title":{"rendered":"NEGREANU vs POLK | HUGE ERROR in the High Stakes Feud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>High Stakes Feud<\/strong> <strong>Overview<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The high stakes feud has been a battle between Daniel Negreanu &amp; Doug Polk where they are facing off playing online heads-up <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-play-poker\/texas-holdem-rules\/\" title=\"How To Play Texas Hold\u2019em \u2013 Poker Rules &amp; Basics\">no-limit hold\u2019em<\/a>. As many know, Doug Polk is an elite heads-up specialist, giving him a large advantage throughout the challenge. The hand we\u2019ll go over today will be a clear example of a hand where Polk shows his edge compared to Daniel Negreanu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The Challenge:<\/strong> NEGREANU vs POLK High Stakes Feud<br><strong>Stage:<\/strong> This hand occurred nearing the halfway point in the challenge, with Doug Polk up roughly $850,000<br><strong>Blinds:<\/strong> $200\/$400<br><strong>Stack Sizes: <\/strong>$60,000<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NEGREANU vs POLK | HUGE ERROR in the High Stakes Feud\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oZMhU-BSRIc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Editor\u2019s note: This video comes from Jonathan Little&#8217;s YouTube Channel. If you would like to stay up to date with more video content such as this, including hand breakdowns from Negreanu vs Polk, Tom Dwan, Bryn Kenney, and more, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/pokercoaching\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>click<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>here<\/strong>.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>Preflop Play in Heads-Up No Limit Hold\u2019em<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">This hand begins with some very standard <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/preflop-charts\" title=\"preflop decisions\">preflop decisions<\/a> from both players. Polk raises from the BTN with 9\u2663-9<span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">\u2665,<\/span> and Negreanu chooses to 3-bet with K<span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">\u2666<\/span>-7<span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">\u2666<\/span>. You might think that K7s is a clear call, but in heads-up play, you want to <strong>3-bet a wide linear range<\/strong> <strong>of hands<\/strong>. This is because you will be playing the pot out of <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-positions\/\" title=\"Poker Positions \u2013 Know How to Play from Every Seat at the Table\">position<\/a> with deep stacks, so you want to have hands in your range with good playability. When facing a 3-bet with 9-9, Polk has an easy call. This hand flops very well but does not want to play for all of the chips preflop!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hunl-preflop-charts-small.png\" alt=\"Heads-up no-limit Hold'em\" class=\"wp-image-1487694\" style=\"width:800px\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/\" title=\"\"><strong><em>Click here<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> to become a profitable head&#8217;s-up player<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Playing the Flop<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The Pot: $8,364<br>The Flop: K<span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">\u2665<\/span>-5\u2663-2\u2663<br>The Action: Bet $2,400\/Call<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\">Flop Analysis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">This is a board that is great for Negreanu! He will have the <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/ranges-in-poker\/\" title=\"Ranges in Poker \u2013 Analyze Your Hands Like a Pro\">range<\/a> and nut advantage on this board, which leads him to want to bet small with a large portion of his range.<br><br>Negreanu goes ahead and bets 30% pot and Polk has another easy call in this situation with pocket 9&#8217;s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Playing the Turn<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The Pot:<\/strong> $13,164<br><strong>The Turn:<\/strong> (K<span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">\u2665<\/span>-5\u2663-2\u2663) \u2013K\u2663<br><strong>The Action:<\/strong> Bet $9,873\/Call<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Turn Analysis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The turn brings the (K<span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">\u2665<\/span>&#8211; 5\u2663-2\u2663) \u2013K\u2663, and it\u2019s where this hand gets interesting, especially in Negreanu\u2019s shoes.<br><br>When you turn <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/three-of-a-kind\/\" title=\"What Is Three of a Kind in Poker?\">3-of-a-kind<\/a>, but the flush comes on the turn, what would you do with the K7? Would you check, bet 1\/3 pot, bet 2\/3 pot or bet 1.5x pot?<br><br>While the K7 is a strong hand here, if you bet and get significant action, you\u2019re usually in pretty bad shape.<br>Negreanu does go for the 2\/3 pot bet, which is a big mistake! If he\u2019s going to bet in this situation, Negreanu should bet small and checking is a good decision here as well.<br><br>Polk once again has an easy call, especially when holding the 9\u2663 for a flush draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Playing the River<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The Pot:<\/strong> $32,910<br><strong>The Turn:<\/strong> (K<span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">\u2665<\/span>-5\u2663-2\u2663-K\u2663) \u2013 9<span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">\u2666<\/span><br><strong>The Action:<\/strong> Bet $24,682\/Raise all-in\/Call<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">River Analysis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The river brings the (K<span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">\u2665<\/span>-5\u2663-2\u2663-K\u2663) \u2013 9<span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">\u2666,<\/span> which gives Polk the effective nuts!<br><br>When Negreanu does take this line with K7 on the turn, he needs to check on the river. This does 2 key things that are very positive for Daniel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">#1 &#8211; It allows Polk to bluff with some draws that would fold to a bet.<br>#2 &#8211; It allows Negreanu not to get stacked when he has the worse hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Unfortunately, Daniel goes once more for a big bet on the river with the K7, and Polk, who I\u2019m sure is very happy to see this, has a very easy jam for value.<br><br>After this action, Negreanu should fold his marginal trips most of the time, but with Polk being extremely capable and able to bluff in tough spots, Daniel went for the call here, resulting in Polk winning a massive $120,000 pot. This is a classic example of someone overplaying marginal <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/\" title=\"Poker Hand Rankings &amp; The Best Texas Hold\u2019em Hands\">poker hands<\/a> and shows that even extremely world-class players, like Negreanu, make these mistakes sometimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Results<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wrapping Up: <\/strong>Negreanu Loses a $120,000 After a Huge Error<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In this spot, Negreanu played his hand way too aggressively, and it cost him massively. It\u2019s a nice reminder to follow <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-strategy-tips\/\" title=\"Poker Strategy 101 \u2013 How to Win in Poker More Often\">fundamental poker strategy<\/a> and not to overplay marginal hands, even when it\u2019s a hand that is typically very strong.<br><br>Currently in the challenge, Doug Polk is up $629,882, which seems like a ton, but is only about 16 buy-ins. With roughly 8,500 hands left to be played in the challenge, Negreanu still has a chance. He will need to play great and run really hot, but it is possible!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>High Stakes Feud Overview The high stakes feud has been a battle between Daniel Negreanu &amp; Doug Polk where they are facing off playing online heads-up no-limit hold\u2019em. As many know, Doug Polk is an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":2517064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,877,16],"tags":[899],"class_list":["post-1594768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cash-games","category-poker-basics","category-poker-strategy","tag-hand"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/15-DNegs-x-Polk_Huge-Error.png",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/15-DNegs-x-Polk_Huge-Error-373x210.png",373,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/15-DNegs-x-Polk_Huge-Error-746x420.png",746,420,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/15-DNegs-x-Polk_Huge-Error-768x432.png",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/15-DNegs-x-Polk_Huge-Error-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/15-DNegs-x-Polk_Huge-Error.png",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/15-DNegs-x-Polk_Huge-Error.png",1280,720,false],"author_image":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/15-DNegs-x-Polk_Huge-Error.png",100,56,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jonathan Little","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/jonathan_little\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"High Stakes Feud Overview The high stakes feud has been a battle between Daniel Negreanu &amp; Doug Polk where they are facing off playing online heads-up no-limit hold\u2019em. As many know, Doug Polk is an [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1594768"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2539981,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594768\/revisions\/2539981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2517064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1594768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1594768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1594768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}