High-stakes crusher Ike Haxton caused controversy at the WSOP Main Event on Friday after tanking for six minutes preflop with just one chip behind.
Facing an all-in for his tournament life, Haxton was tanking in the hope of laddering up — 99th place paid $70,000, while 98th would get $85,000.
Talking on his vlog on Saturday, Negreanu said, “I'd be embarrassed to do it, especially if I was a high-stakes pro playing high-stakes buy-ins in a $10k — to just sit there for six minutes. The floor should have stepped in. It’s not something I would ever do over my dead body.”
To his credit, Haxton told the table multiple times they could call the clock. Still, no one did — until he’d tanked for a full six minutes. And, as we caught on video, one player managed to eat his dinner while Haxton was in the tank.
Negreanu said it was a clear example of angle shooting.
Negreanu: Angle shooters would love the move
“In this case there is no decision to be made,” Negreanu said. “There is no world where he's folding. So the only reason to take any time whatsoever is to stall/steal for a pay jump to shoot an angle.”
He added that the entire table benefits from the stall, essentially working together — whether intentionally or not — to secure a collective pay jump. Negreanu added, “I think that's bad for poker.”
“One person that would have loved this is Puggy Pearson and every angle shooter who looks to get an edge in any way they can," Negreanu said. "Angle shooting is legal by definition, so it's not cheating, but it is essentially bending the rules in such a way to benefit you in a slimy way."
Negreanu: Normalize calling the clock
Negreanu went on to say that players should normalize calling the clock. He said some people might not be comfortable doing it, especially against a high-profile player such as Haxton, and said it’s “unfortunate” that it’s in the players’ hands.
Negreanu also mentioned other issues that have been happening at the WSOP that were “bad for poker” and mentioned Martin Kabrhel and Will Kassouf. Kassouf has been widely criticized for slowing play down in the Main Event and had the clock called on him over 20 times on Day 6.
But Negreanu said that the Haxton issue is one that he’s been passionate about for a long time. “This specific issue of scumming/stalling for a pay jump for like $15,000, I cannot relate to people who look at that and go, ‘Oh yeah, way to go.’” Negreanu published a 20-minute video on the subject back in December — you can watch that at the bottom of this article.
Some pros, like David ‘ODB’ Baker, rallied behind Negreanu.
Other players, including Johnnie Moreno, took Haxton’s side.
Haxton was eliminated in the hand when he finally flipped pocket threes and lost to Johan Schumacher’s 
. Haxton didn’t make the pay jump and was eliminated in 99th for $70,000, pushing his career tournament earnings past $55.4 million.
Do you think this was angle shooting — or just smart strategy? Drop your take in the comments.
