Negreanu Takes Lead in First Game against Polk, Loses It on Friday

The feud between Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk started on a good, civilized foot, with both men playing a strong game. Negreanu won on Wednesday, followed by a more significant victory for Polk on Friday.

Negreanu and PolkSet a Civilized Tone for Inaugural High Stakes Feud Game

Many poker fans tuned in expecting drama on Wednesday. What they found were two civilized and respectable gentlemen who had put their Internet argument aside and approached their head-to-head game with respect, cognizant of their opponent’s ability to play a game they would rather not dismiss as a child’s play.

The pair is none other than Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk, who is now battling it out in the “High Stakes Feud,” a format fuelled by their animosity towards one another over the Internet and under the approving gaze of the poker community at large.

Yet, none of this transpired on Wednesday when the men turned up at the PokerGO Studio at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. None of the men was in any of their previous mood when even something as simple as negotiating the format wouldn’t go without a quip, a snide remark or a downright insult.

Polk definitely had a few great comebacks to Negreanu and on one instance in October he had this amusing line to say: “Let’s get this straight; I only retired from poker one time. I didn’t play a single hand after that. The only reason I am back in the streets is because a complete dolt wants to ship me a million dollars.”

Calling Negreanu a dolt may be a little harsh, but the truth is Polk is the one-o-one favorite. He slipped on Wednesday, but proved it on Friday. Polk has always been a favorite and despite Negreanu’s brave face, the man himself never denied it.

Negreanu Secures Game One, Slips in Game Two

One amusing analysis came from PokerGo’s Kane Kalas, who was commenting on the game who expressed doubt that it was the “High Stakes Feud” game everyone was watching. Rather, Kalas suspected that it was an episode of “How to Win Friends and Influence in 2020”

Kalas did clarify that he hadn’t expect the players to be at each other’s throats, especially when they were, for all intents and purposes, good guys after all. Kid Poker kicked off the game with a strong top pair and called a bluff by Polk early on. Doug quickly acquiesced to the bad play and let Negreanu forge ahead with $31,000 advantage.

Yet, Polk started chiseling away at Negreanu’s bankroll quickly, putting pressure on Negreanu and focusing on reducing his chip stack. Negreanu, who is familiar with Doug’s style, preferred to opt for a more defensive game, and he managed to bluff Polk enough to end the game with $116,500 in his favor.

The game continued on Friday with Polk taking the lead in online play and winning $218,000. In Negreanu’s defence, his most significant losses came off an Ace-Queen and 10-10 combinations which Polk called with two Queens on both occasions.