{"id":16314,"date":"2026-05-30T17:28:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T09:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/?p=16314"},"modified":"2026-05-30T17:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T09:29:08","slug":"doug-polk-bad-beat-wsop-2026-heads-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hunter.poker\/en\/doug-polk-bad-beat-wsop-2026-heads-up\/","title":{"rendered":"They messed with him again: Doug Polk was eliminated from the WSOP once more."},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"They Doug Polk, playing pocket Jacks against his opponent's Jacks 8 in the WSOP $25,000 heads-up tournament, was eliminated in the first round after his river card hit a straight. This was his second major bad beat since last year's Main Event.<\/em><\/span><\/p>


Content creator Doug Polk may be one of the world\u2019s best heads-up No-Limit Hold\u2019em players, but his exit from this year\u2019s World Series of Poker (WSOP) $25,000 Heads-up No-Limit Hold\u2019em Championship was less than honorable.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

The seventh event of the 2026 WSOP attracted a host of top players, including Poker Hall of Famers Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, and heads-up legend John Smith. Also present was Polk, who rose to prominence through online heads-up poker and finished as runner-up in the same event in 2023, winning $313,362.<\/span><\/p>

However, Polk will be unable to challenge for the title again in the $25,000 heads-up tournament\u2014at least not in Group 1a\u2014because he was eliminated in the first round by his fellow American pro, Alex Keating.<\/span><\/p>

I'll be in the parking lot.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

According to a report by PokerNews reporter Stewart Morrison, Polk had about half of his starting stack of 150,000 chips left at Level 8 (blinds 1,500\/3,000) when he raised from the button. Keating then went all-in with three raises from the big blind, and Polk called with about 23 big blinds.<\/span><\/p>