First episode breaks down “Old School” High Stakes Poker hand against Gus Hansen
High-level poker strategies have evolved drastically since the glory days of the “poker boom” era. Daniel Negreanu debuted a new YouTube series that takes a look at vintage poker hands and analyzes them through the lens of modern poker theory.
The first episode of Negreanu’s series, titled Old School vs. New School Poker Analysis, went live on Negreanu’s YouTube channel on Monday. The episode takes a look at a classic hand from the original run of High Stakes Poker, pitting Negreanu against fellow poker legend Gus Hansen.
After a short intro, the pilot episode of the new series breaks down the hand into four sections:
- The Hand
- Old School Analysis
- New School Analysis
- Wrap Up
Negreanu stands the test of time as a player that’s found a way to thrive through the entire modern era of poker. A ubiquitous presence on poker-boom-era television shows, Negreanu still remains a force on the modern-day high-stakes tournament scene.
The Poker Hall of Famer went deep into heads-up poker theory for his heads-up challenge against Doug Polk. Even though Negreanu lost that match, his performance in the heads-up challenge earned the respect of his longtime rival Polk.
Negreanu’s persistence across two decades of poker makes him perhaps the perfect player to launch an “Old School vs. New School” poker series. Negreanu sets up the hand against Hansen by introducing the aim of the Old School vs. New School Poker Analysis series.
“We’re going to first go through it and analyze it from an old-school mentality, in terms of how people thought about poker a decade ago,” Negreanu says. “Then we’re going to do the exact same thing, but we’re going to do it with a much more modernized, game-theory approach to the situations.”
“I thought it’d be fun to go over some hands and come at them from totally different perspectives.”
The Hand: Negreanu Vs. Hansen on High Stakes Poker
The series pilot covers a hand played at $400/$800 with a $200 ante on High Stakes Poker. Negreanu opens to $3,000 under the gun with 7♣5♣, and Hansen flat calls in position with Q♠Q♦️. Jason Mercier ends up calling with J♣T❤️ from the big blind.
The screen then goes to black-and-white, as Negreanu goes back in the “time machine” to analyze the spot with the “Old School” approach. Negreanu flops top two pair on a 7♦️2♠5♠ flop, and the hand eventually results in more than $400,000 going into the pot.
Negreanu goes through the hand from the “Old School” perspective, which then gives way to a separate breakdown of the hand through the “New School” perspective. The screen goes back to color as Negreanu emerges from the “time machine” and goes back through the hand from the beginning.
Negreanu doesn’t like his under-the-gun open with 7♣5♣ looking back, which he says is a little “loosey-goosey” in trademark Negreanu fashion. He then goes through the hand with analysis on ranges, bet sizes, blockers, and other game-theory optimal concepts.
Negreanu says the next episode of Old School vs. New School Poker Analysis will feature a hand against Mike Matusow from a vintage WSOP Tournament of Champions broadcast. He doesn’t give word on how often we’ll see new additions to the series or how many episodes he’ll produce.
Episode 1 is a fun watch, however, as Negreanu continues to remain as one of poker’s most visible and influential presences.
Featured image source: YouTube
