Doug Polk and Taras are easily the two most recognizable faces of the Poker at the Lodge live stream. Both are action players who often find themselves in big pots and when they crash into each other, it usually results in entertaining hands.
We’ve had this exact scenario recently when the two ended up in a bit of leveling wars. Although all the chips went into the middle on the flop, the hand itself is worth some analysis.
Stakes are $50/$100 with a $200 straddle. Doug Polk is the effective stack with $54,000 in front of him, so, as is usually the case, we have some deep stacked action at our hands.
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Preflop Action
The hand begins with Taras min-raising to $400 with J♦J♣ from lojack. Polk makes it $1,000 on the button with 7♠5♠.
Elliot, in the straddle, looks down at pocket fours and cold-calls the $1,000. The action is back to Taras, who takes the opportunity to 4-bet, making it $4,000.
Doug makes the call. Elliot thinks about set mining but gets out of the way, and they proceed to the flop with $9,250 in the middle.
Preflop Play Analysis
Action in live poker can get pretty weird sometimes. Taras picks up a very strong hand, but instead of going for a standard 3x raise, he opts to min-raise.
Polk makes it $1,000 from the button, which is a very small 3-bet, especially in a game where players are very happy to call before the flop. However, judging by his comment, it’s possible he thought Taras limped in, in which case this would be a very reasonable sizing.
Facing a raise and a 3-bet, Elliot should probably get out of the way with his small pocket pair, but there is always the temptation to call once and hope that you’ll get to see the flop. So, while not GTO-approved, the play is certainly understandable.
The whole point of a min-raise was to induce a 3-bet, so when it gets back to Taras, it doesn’t surprise he goes for a 4-bet, especially with added money in the pot.
For Polk, this is now a pretty easy call. There is still plenty of money to play for; he has a hand that can flop well, and he is in position. Plus, he’s against an opponent who’s not afraid to put his chips to work, so if he hits a good flop, he can potentially double up.
As for Elliot, folding is certainly the preferred option here, but since he’s now closing the action, calling to see the flop and try to get lucky against two very aggressive players wouldn’t be horrible.
Flop Action
The flop comes 8♦6♠5♥, giving Taras an overpair, while Doug hits a pair and an open-ender. Taras fires a super-small continuation bet of just $1,000.
Polk reads this as a weakness and bumps it up to $6,000. It’s back to Taras who now raises to $18,000. Doug gives it some thought and decides to move in for a total of $50,800.
Taras makes the call, and all of a sudden, they’re playing for a pot of almost $111,000.
Flop Play Analysis
Taras continues with his non-standard strategy in this hand, firing a tiny c-bet that’s just over 1/10 of the pot.
He knows that this board texture favors Polk. After the preflop action, Taras’ range is somewhat capped, even though if anyone can show up with any random two cards in this spot, that would be Taras.
Doug nailed the flop pretty hard, where he’s flipping against overpairs. He is ahead of all high-card combos and has decent equity, even against sets. So, with all that in mind, he certainly doesn’t mind piling more chips into the pot.
Once Polk raises, Taras has to make a decision. Calling out of position is the worst option, as there are so many bad cards that can come on the turn, giving Doug opportunities to keep barreling.
Folding pocket Jacks to an aggressive opponent seems too weak, despite the scary texture, and Polk is likelier to have the very type of hand he has than a set or two pair. So, Taras decides he has a good enough hand to commit and comes over the top.
Doug clearly isn’t going anywhere, and with the stack-to-pot ratio that he would be left with after calling, moving all in on the flop is the most reasonable thing to do. Taras had already made his mind up as well, so he makes the call, and they are flipping for over $100k.
Of course, poker gods once again show their sense of humor, as cards run out 8♦6♠5♥9♣7♦, putting a straight on the board, so it is a chopped pot. After all the leveling and excitement, both players end up profiting around $600.
