This Week's Big Winner: Doug Polk Wins WSOP $111,111 Buy-In High Roller For One Drop

Doug Polk is many things. He is a high-stakes poker pro and poker coach at Upswing Poker. He is a popular social media, YouTube and live-streaming personality. And now he is a three-time World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner. Polk topped an elite field of 130 entries in the 2017 $111,111 buy-in High Roller For One Drop to secure the title and the top prize of $3,686,865.

“It does feel much better,” said Polk of this bracelet, compared with his prior two wins in a $1,000 turbo and $1,000 tag-team no-limit hold’em event. “To win that much money against tough people in a world-class event, it’s way different.”

The strong turnout for this event built a $13,722,150 prize pool that was distributed amongst the top 20 finishers. The event also raised over $500,000 for the One Drop initiative which seeks to help provide access to safe water for the less fortunate around the world.

Here are the five biggest hands that propelled Polk to the win.

Tournament – High Roller For One Drop
Buy-In: $111,111
No. of Entries: 130
Prize Pool: $13,722,150
1st Place Prize: $3,686,865

The Action

Shortly after the money bubble, Seiver raised to 225,000 from the cutoff and Polk three-bet to 575,000 on the button. The blinds folded and Seiver four-bet shoved. Polk immediately called with pocket aces, and was an 80 percent favorite to double up against Seiver’s pocket jacks. An ace on the flop essentially ended Seiver’s chances for a suckout, and Polk doubled up to an above average stack. Seiver eventually busted in 14th place, earning $216,999.

The Action

At the nine-handed, unofficial final table, Jacobson raised to 525,000 from middle position and Polk called from the big blind. The flop came down K 4 2 and Polk checked. Jacobson bet 450,000 and Polk called. The turn was the 3 and Polk checked once again. This time Jacobson bet 1,000,000. Polk moved all in for 4,465,000 and Jacobson went into the tank. After nearly four minutes, Jacobson folded and Polk dragged the crucial pot to stay alive. Jacobson ultimately finished in sixth place, winning $641,382.

The Action

Polk moved all in from the button for his last 10,300,000 and Sammartino called from the big blind with A 9. Polk had him dominated, however, with A 10, giving him a 62 percent chance of winning the pot. The board fell 5 4 4 3 4 and Polk doubled up. Sammartino was left with a short stack, although he was able to move up the pay ladder before hitting the rail in third place for $1,608,295. With that pot, Polk was virtually tied for the chip lead with Grospellier.

The Action

With four players left, Voulgaris moved all in from under the gun. The action folded around to Polk in the big blind, and he looked down at pocket aces to make the call. Voulgaris was in terrible shape with A 5, but managed to turn some equity on a board reading J 8 4 7. Unfortunately for the famed NBA sports bettor, the river 8 wasn’t enough to keep him in the tournament. He pocketed $1,158,883 for his deep run while Polk gathered up more than half of the chips in play.

The Action

With a massive chip lead, Polk moved all in on the button and was quickly called by Grospellier. Despite getting caught stealing, Polk’s Q 5 was an underdog to Grospellier’s A 8. According to the Card Player Poker Odds Calculator, Polk still had better than a 34 percent chance to win the pot and the title. The flop of Q 10 6 vaulted him into the lead, leaving Grospellier with just a 20 percent chance of catching up. The 5 on the turn, however, left him drawing dead. The meaningless river was the 7, and Grospellier finished runner-up, banking $2,278,657. Polk picked up his third career bracelet and the $3,686,865 first-place prize.

Final Table Results

1. Doug Polk — $3,686,865
2. Bertrand Grospellier — $2,278,657
3. Dario Sammartino — $1,608,295
4. Haralabos Voulgaris — $1,158,883
5. Chris Moore — $852,885
6. Martin Jacobson — $641,382
7. Rainer Kempe - $493,089
8. Andrew Robl -$387,732