Doug Polk Busts WSOP Main Event on Brutal Aces vs. Kings Cooler
Summary:
- Doug Polk was eliminated late on Day 3 of the WSOP Main Event after his pocket aces were cracked by kings just shy of the money.
- Michael Mizrachi also suffered a big setback when his kings ran into aces at the feature table.
- Only 1,522 players remain, with the money bubble expected to burst early on Day 4.
Doug Polk’s lone shot at glory in this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event came to a heartbreaking end late on Day 3, when a brutal bad beat near the money bubble sent him to the rail.
Rough Night for Big Names
The Upswing Poker founder and co-owner of The Lodge Card Club in Austin was riding a rollercoaster throughout his only tournament of the summer, battling up and down the chip counts before disaster struck.
Always the showman, he made sure to get in one last cheeky “Code Doug” promo for ClubWPT as the Californian Poker player exited the feature table area.
It was a rough evening for several big names under the bright lights. Over at one of the PokerGO/PokerStars feature tables, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, fresh off his record fourth Poker Players Championship win, found himself on the wrong end of a brutal cooler.
He lost more than half his massive stack when his pocket kings ran smack into pocket aces just after dinner.
“I Had Him Crushed, But It’s Poker”
“The Grinder”, who had been among the biggest stacks all day, was suddenly left with under 30 big blinds and fighting to recover.
Polk found himself in almost the exact same nightmare just a few feet away. With blinds at 3,000/6,000, he got his entire 243,000-chip stack in preflop holding the dream poker hand (pocket aces) against the table’s chip leader Luke Chung, who showed pocket kings.
“I had him crushed, but it’s poker”, Polk would say afterward, shaking his head.
The flop hit Polk hard: 6♣ 3♣ K♠. The crowd gasped as Chung landed his king and took the lead, leaving Polk hoping for one of the two remaining aces to stay alive. Unfortunately, the turn and river — 7♦ and 10♦ — didn’t come through. Polk was knocked out about 150 spots short of the money.
Even with such a tough break, Polk kept his cool, smiling as he thanked fans and gave one last shoutout to ClubWPT before leaving.
By the end of Day 3, only 1,522 players were left from the original 9,735, with the top 1,461 set to cash. When Day 4 kicks off Wednesday at noon PT, the bubble is expected to burst quickly as the remaining players push toward the money and beyond.
