Doug Polk VS Daniel Negreanu in Super High Roller Bowl
48 players. $300,000 buy‐in. And by sheer luck of the draw, Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk are seated right next to each other on the day 1 feature table. Needless to say, we are ready for the action to begin. The beef between Polk and Negreanu is nothing new, and the tensions were visible on day 1 of the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl.
Back in October of 2016, Daniel Negreanu released a video on his YouTube channel regarding increased rake and the possible benefits this could have for amateur players. Negreanu argued for increased rake in certain game‐types, saying that this could benefit amateur players, since pro players would then seek lower rake games. Doug Polk then fired back with a scathing YouTube video, in which he called out Negreanu for his “more rake is better” sentiments.
Polk rocks his new tee beside a stoic Negreanu
Polk wasted no time in referencing this beef, peeling off his button‐up to reveal the newest tee shirt available for purchase from Upswing Poker, a “More Rake is Better” tee that he proudly displayed next to a stoic Negreanu. Unfortunately, some audio of the table conversation was missed due to technical difficulties at the beginning of the PokerGo coverage of day 1, so any early exchanges between the two were missed. However, words were not necessary to catch the cool tension that was visible between Doug and Negreanu.
Daniel does not seem amused.
Negreanu Bests Polk During Day 1 Action
Doug Polk lost around 2/3 of his stack early, dwindling down to 120k early in the second level. Meanwhile, Daniel Negreanu saw early success, building his stack to around 400k.
The biggest pot between the two occurred when Polk bet a busted straight draw on the river and Negreanu called down with Ace King high. Negreanu was visibly elated with his call, and triumphantly slammed his cards down on the table.
Negreanu and Polk clashed again later in the level, after Polk chipped up to around 300k. Both players held over‐pairs to the board, but Negreanu’s QQ got a river call from Polk’s TT. Polk was left with just 89k after the hand.
Polk was able to chip back up to 140k after Negreanu fired a 35k river bet into his runnerrunner trip 6’s. Polk moved all‐in and Negreanu quickly mucked his queen‐high bluff.
Shortly after this hand new seating assignments were drawn and Negreanu and Polk were forced to postpone their battle for the time being. Unfortunately Doug Polk didn’t survive day 1, but Daniel Negreanu is the chip‐leader going into day 2.
It is too bad that we won’t be seeing any more of this rivalry during the Super High Roller Bowl, but Poker is always entertaining to watch, and Negreanu and Polk clashing on the featured table made day 1 of the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl that much more fun.