In last week's episode of "Poker After Dark", it was the first part of the $10,000 buy-in "Fight Night" sit-n-go style format game, which started players with 125,000 in chips. Among those in action were sports personality Nick Wright, Maria Ho, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Jon Aguiar. They were also joined by UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer and daily fantasy sports legend Peter Jennings.
This week’s episode marked Part 2 as the seven players played 15-minute levels and aimed to finish in the top two (the winner would take home $50,000 and the runner-up $20,000).
Here’s a look at some of the most interesting hands from this week’s episode:
Negreanu Applies Pressure to Ho
Negreanu (114,000) raised to 12,000 under the gun holding the a♣️
Negreanu continued for 21,000 and Ho, who had flopped top pair, called to see the 7♠️ turn. Negreanu slowed down with a check and Ho followed suit to bring about the 8♥️ on the river.
Negreanu paused for a few beats before betting a hefty 50,000, which left him just 31,000 behind. Ho thought long and hard before folding the winner and giving the pot to Negreanu.
Buffer Busts While Aguiar Binks
Action folded around to Negreanu on the button and he simply moved all in with the k♣️q♦️ to put the pressure on the short-stacked blinds. Aguiar was in the small blind and called off for 86,000 with the 9♦️9♣️ and then Buffer did the same from the big for his last 9,000 after looking down at the 10♠️10♦️.
The a♥️5♣️k♠️ flop hit Negreanu and gave him the lead with a pair of kings. The ♦️a turn was of no consequence, but the 9♠️ river was as Aguiar spiked a nine to win the pot.
Aguiar more than doubled on the hand, Negreanu was left with 57,000, and Buffer became the game’s first casualty.
Wright Doubles Through Ho
With the blinds at 4,000/8,000, Ho raised to 20,000 from the button with the a♥️j♠️ only to have Wright three-bet jam for 135,000 from the big blind with the superior a♠️q♥️. Ho called and found herself with just a 23 percent chance of winning the pot.
The 8♠️8♣️6♠️ flop put out some chop opportunities, but the 5♦️ turn was a brick. The 9♠️ river didn’t do it and Wright doubled into the chip lead at 285,000 while Ho was left with just 41,000.
Here’s a look at how things stack up after the hand:
| Player | Count |
|---|---|
| Nick Wright | 285,000 |
| Jon Aguiar | 185,000 |
| Phil Hellmuth | 144,000 |
| Peter Jennings | 132,000 |
| Daniel Negreanu | 88,000 |
| Maria Ho | 41,000 |
Ho & Wright in a Fair Fight
Ho moved all in for 66,000 under the gun with the k♥️10♦️ and Wright called from the cutoff with the a♣️q♠️. The rest of the players folded and the hands were tabled.
“Ok, fair fight, fair fight,” Ho said upon seeing she held two live cards. The 4♣️q♦️8♠️ flop put Ho in dire straits as Wright paired his queen, but the j♠️ turn made things interesting as Ho picked up an open-ended straight draw.
Unfortunately for her, the 6♥️ river was a brick and she was eliminated in sixth place while Wright collected the 157,000 pot and extended his chip lead to 347,000.
Wright Shoots Down Kid Poker
Wright kept the ball rolling when he looked down at the a♠️a♥️ in the cutoff and raised to 32,000. Negreanu was next to act and jammed for 126,000 with the 7♥️7♣️, both blinds folded, and Wright snap-called.
Negreanu was looking to get lucky but the q♠️5♥️j♦️ flop didn’t do him any favors.
The j♠️ turn was a brick, and Negreanu needed a seven from heaven to survive. The 6♦️ river was close but one pip short of what he needed. “Kid Poker” exited in fifth place while Wright pulled in the 282,000 pot to increase his stack to 527,000.
Aguiar Set Up By Hellmuth
Aguiar moved all in for 66,000 from the button with the 3♦️3♣️ only to have Hellmuth look down at the k♠️k♦️ from the big blind.
The “Poker Brat” made the easy call and Aguiar was in a world of hurt, which only got worse when the 9♣️k♥️10♣️ flop gave Hellmuth top set.
Aguiar was drawing to runner-runner, and the j♥️ turn kept him alive as a queen on the river would result in a chopped pot. The dealer burned one last time and put out the 5♠️, a brick for Aguiar, who bowed out in fourth place.
Next Monday, September 20, the final three players – Wright, Hellmuth, and Jennings – will return for the Part 3 finale of “Fight Night” where one of them will leave empty-handed.
