button in SafariThey Got Him Again: Another Brutal WSOP Exit for Doug Polk
Content creator Doug Polk may be one of the best heads-up no-limit Hold'em players in the world, but he had a less than graceful exit in this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP) $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship.
The seventh event of the 2026 WSOP drew no shortage of crushers, including Poker Hall of Famers Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu and heads-up legend John Smith. There was also Polk, who climbed the poker ranks playing heads-up online poker and who finished runner-up in this event in 2023 for $313,362.
But Polk won't be making another run in the $25,000 Heads Up Championship — at least not on Day 1a — as he was eliminated in the first round by fellow American pro Alex Keating.
"I'll Be in the Parking Lot"
As captured by PokerNews live reporter Stewart Morrison, Polk was down to about half of his 150,000 starting stack on Level 8 with blinds of 1,500/3,000 when he raised on the button. Keating then three-bet jammed in the big blind and Polk called with his stack of around 23 big blinds.
Doug Polk: J♠J♣
Alex Keating: J♥8♥
Polk had a premium and was in excellent shape to double up, with nothing changing on the perfectly safe flop of 4♥4♦6♠. But the 5♠ then appeared on the turn to give Keating four outs to a gutshot, and wouldn't you know it, the 7♥ arrived on the river to give Keating the miracle straight.
"I'll be in the parking lot, my favorite place to be," Polk said after a minute or so of shaking his head, as Alex Foxen and Vinny Lingham observed the carnage from across the table.
It wasn't Polk's first bad beat at the WSOP in recent memory. Last year, he had aces cracked by kings to be eliminated from the $10,000 Main Event. But the content creator has also been on the receiving end of such situations, having hit a two-outer of his own against Chris Brewer in the 2023 $25,000 Heads Up Championship that propelled him to his runner-up finish.
Polk was playing the event on minimal sleep after a memorable live stream session last night at The Lodge Card Club. During that game, Polk won a $652,000 pot against another Keating, Alan Keating, to finish in the black.
Polk is partial owner of The Lodge, which has been involved in a legal battle with the state of Texas, and his co-owner Brad Owen knows the danger of pocket jacks better than anyone.
The second round of Day 1a of the $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship kicks off at 5 p.m. local time. Those who advanced through the first round include Negreanu, Hellmuth, Foxen and Eric Wasserson.
