There are plenty of attractions here at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, but Daniel Negreanu added a roller coaster to the fun on Day 2A of the WSOP Paradise $25,000 Super Main Event.
The seven-time champ began the day with 1,105,000 chips, good for 36 big blinds. But while still at the day’s opening level of 15,000 / 30,000 (30,000), he found all of his chips in the middle against Triton Invitational runner-up Gabriel Andrade, whose hot run continued as he eliminated the Hall of Famer.
The first steep drop
Negreanu opened to 60,000 from the cutoff and was called by Andrade on the button to see a flop of 
, which Negreanu continued on for 100,000 and was called by Andrade.
The 
fell on the turn, and after a bet of 200,000 by Kid Poker, Andrade placed a stack of green 100,000 chips into the middle.
Negreanu dropped a couple of frustrated expletives and reached for his vlogging phone. “I’ve got to rebuy again?” Then he put the last few hundred thousand chips in the middle.
Negreanu asked for a diamond or for his 
to be ahead, but Andrade had turned two pair with his 
.
A diamond or nine didn’t appear on the river as the 
fell instead.
“God dang, you run too hot,” exclaimed Negreanu, followed by a somewhat reasonable request, “Can I punch you, just a little bit?”
Negreanu then gave Andrade a couple of playful shots to the shoulder and jokingly berated his executioner. “This f***in’ guy called me with ace-eight offsuit, what the hell?! Get a job!”
But oh, it gets worse
With a fresh 500,000 chips in tow, Negreanu sat at his new table and soon had his stack of 14 big blinds in the middle against Diego Zeiter. This time he had it in about as good as he could ask for, holding 
versus Zeiter’s 
.
Negreanu asked for his hand to hold, but then the dealer spread a flop of 
, pairing Zeiter’s queen. This was followed by the and the 
, sealing the fate of Negreanu’s seventh bullet with trips.
With his vlogging phone aimed at Zeiter, Negreanu explained, "Well ladies and gentlemen, what did I do wrong on this one? I had ace-king, he had ace-queen. I’m the favorite, correct? Facts. What am I gonna do? I guess rebuy.”
One for the oopsie-meter
Negreanu then moved a couple of tables back for his eighth attempt at building a stack, and after starting hands with superior aces didn’t work for him, he found a successful technique, mistaking your position on the table and jamming into an under-the-gun open!
Still at 20,000 / 35,000, Erik Eisen had opened under the gun, but thinking he was in the small blind in an unopened pot, Negreanu ripped his newest 500,000 chip starting stack from the big blind into Eisen’s open.
Eisen needed to use a time bank, which boded well for Negreanu, and after Eisen eventually called, he again had it in good, tabling 
against Eisen’s 
.
This time the board ran out in Negreanu’s favor, falling 
, as his king high held to boost his stack back over a million chips.
Eight is enough
The day’s final entry was the last one of the day for Negreanu, as once registration closed after the third level of the day, he sat on 1,210,000 after chipping up a bit more by eliminating a short stack during Level 13.
With registration closed and 443 entries remaining with 233 cashing, it was now time to spin that stack further and into the money, which would provide at least a $50,000 rebate to the $208,000 in entries he was in for.
It was also time for another new technique on Friday to acquire chips: getting it in bad!
At blinds of 20,000 / 40,000 (40,000), Negreanu was back under a million chips when he got them in from the hijack, but faced opposition from both Benjamin Wilton on the button, who Negreanu had covered, and Joao Tomas in the small blind who had the opportunity to end Negreanu's day short of the money.
It didn't happen, despite Negreanu being in rough shape.
- Daniel Negreanu:
- Benjamin Wilton:
- Joao Tomas:
The 
flop brought Negreanu a set, which held up through the 
runout, and just like that, Negreanu was healthy with over 2,000,000 chips and 50+ big blinds.
What did we say about superior aces?
After a blind vs blind confrontation where Negreanu rivered trips and paid off a bet to Ramin Hajiyev's straight, he was back down to 1,400,000, and then he went and got it in good again. Bad idea!
At 30,000 / 60,000 (60,000), Negreanu raised to 120,000 in the lojack and was called by Paulius Vaitiekunas in the cutoff.
The duo saw a flop of 
, which was checked to the turn. Negreanu checked again and then called a bet of 185,000 after his opponent bet.
The river paired the board on the river, and Negreanu checked a final time. Vaitiekunas went for a bet of 450,000 which Negreanu quickly called. The Lithuanian turned over 
for aces and tens, frustrating Negreanu, who flicked at his cards, flashing ace-king, before helicoptering his cards into the muck.
8 bullets, a pair of 8s, and then off to 8 game
That pot dropped Negreanu back under a million chips, and not long after, he was back into the five big blind range.
He was able to get a couple of shoves through to keep afloat as the bubble neared, but with less than 20 players from the money, Negreanu jammed his last seven big blinds in from the button over a raise from Hajiyev in the cutoff.
Canada's all-time leading tournament money winner was at risk and behind against Azerbaijan's all-time leader according to The Hendon Mob.
Daniel Negreanu: 
Ramin Hajiyev:
"Oh great, finally picked up a pair, I need to get lucky again," commented Negreanu as he saw his opponent's hand. He would need to crack another better pair if he was to survive, but the 
board brought no eight and it was GG for Negreanu.
As opposed to the punches he placed on Andrade's shoulder earlier in the day, Negreanu patted Hajiyev on his, and wished him luck while telling his vlog, "That was one of the more tilting experiences I've ever had."
With that, Negreanu packed up his gear and headed to the $10,000 8-Game tournament, where at the time of his entry there just 30 players remaining, giving him a good shot at potentially turning this tilting day into bracelet number eight.
Images courtesy of WSOP/Miguel Cortes.
