Some hands at the World Series of Poker are drama at every flop, turn and river. Others are magic just because you can see the years someone has been playing poker for decades by witnessing just a minute of action on a single street.
The latter certainly applies to this hand from the 2015 WSOP Main Event. Daniel Negreanu’s deep run had everyone gassed at the time – the chance of ‘Kid Poker’ winning the big one made everything seem more exciting, and while he would eventually miss out, finishing 11th for $526,778, his run to the brink of the final table was poker entertainment at its very best.
Negreanu would eventually be left on the rail as Joe McKeehen won $7.6 million for taking the bracelet. In the hand between the pair, however, it was definitely the Canadian player Negreanu who got the better of his American opponent.
The action was fairly simple. McKeehen three-bet over an opponent’s opening bet, and Negreanu four-bet to 2.6 million chips with ace-king. McKeehen moved all-in with pocket aces and with only Negreanu needing to make the decision, and his stack covering McKeehen’s, the poker legend and six-time WSOP bracelet winner Negreanu went into the tank. As the commentary team of Norman Chad and Lon McEachern described the action as McKeehen prepared to make his move:
“OK so McKeehen will stare, check his chips, then maybe stare again before five-betting all-in. Daniel has McKeehen covered, but McKeehen with the hand.”
Rather than be put off by the stare, Negreanu – literally – bounced off the table, having mock-slammed the cushion as McKeehen moved all-in. Quickly, urgently, Negreanu began talking, all the while taking furtive glances at McKeehen’s featres to pick up any signs of intent.
“You know I don’t usually do that, right?” said Negreanu. “I wanna make sure you know I’m not the four-bet guy.”
Everyone knows Negreanu doesn’t just smash in a four-bet, he’s just saying this to get a reaction. As the crowd drink in the moment on the rail, Negreanu keeps talking. McKeehen, while facially still, isn’t looking happy with Negreanu’s attempts to find something out.
“I think most people would already have given you their money, but I’m probably not.” Says Negreanu, reacting as if it’s surprising him to hear those words tumble out of his own mouth.
“I think you have a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very good hand. Like, the best possible good hand.”
I mean, he nails it outright. But it’s all very well being able to make the read. Until he sees those aces, which he knows for certain he won’t at the time, he won’t know it’s the right one. He might have to wait for the TV delay – 30 minutes – to find out if he’s right. By then he could have been out.
“What would Hellmuth do?” says Negreanu, in response to a question from the crowd. “I don’t know. The question is what do I do? Probably the same thing as him, I think.”
A flick of the eyes from Negreanu towards McKeehen, who now cannot resist scratching his face with his thumb. But is it enough to make the hero-fold.
“You got aces?” asks Negreanu. No reply from McKeehen, but the Canadian knows.
“Daniel gives it up!” say the commentary team as Negreanu folds to fight another day. A superstar moment in the heat of serious World Series of Poker pressure, with the entire poker world watching his every move. Brilliant moves don’t come much better and while it wasn’t rewarded, either with the destination of the WSOP bracelet or really in monetary terms, the fold will live longer in the memory of poker fans long after the six-figure score has been reinvested by Negreanu in tournament buy-ins.
