High Stakes Poker Season 7 Finale: Chan Cleans House, Negreanu Books First Winning Session
The final episode of season seven of High Stakes Poker aired last weekend, and the final session ended with some massive pots and incredible plays. Johnny Chan absolutely crushed, winning one of the biggest pots of the season, and Daniel Negreanu reversed the curse, booking a winning session thanks to a little help from lady luck. Phil Laak continued to get cold-decked but made an incredible fold while Eric "Rolex" Boneta couldn't seem to find the fold button at all.
| Seat 1 | Johnny Chan | $289,100 | +$99,100 |
| Seat 2 | Phil Galfond | $342,700 | +$142,700 |
| Seat 3 | Daniel Negreanu | $194,500 | -$5,500 |
| Seat 4 | Eric “Rolex” Boneta | $237,800 | +$37,800 |
| Seat 5 | Barry Greenstein | $198,000 | -$2,000 |
| Seat 6 | Bill Klein | $476,100 | -$23,900 |
| Seat 7 | Doyle Brunson | $95,300 | -$104,700 |
| Seat 8 | Phil Laak | $222,300 | +$22,300 |
Johnny Chan the Master: Barry Greenstein straddled to $1,600 and Bill Klein restraddled to $3,200. The action folded to Chan who called with K♣Q♠ before Phil Galfond raised to $13,000 with K♥4♥. The action folded back to Chan who called and the flop fell 10♠Q♥8♠. Chan checked, Galfond continued for $13,500, and Chan called. The turn was the 5♠, and Chan check-called another bet from Galfond – this one worth $36,000.
The river was the J♣ and Chan checked a third time. But Galfond didn’t fire a third bullet. Instead, he checked and Chan opened the winning hand.
“You ever see that movie Rounders? Negreanu asked Galfond.
“I have,” Galfond replied.
“Check, check, check, check,” Negreanu repeated. “Chan, the Orient Express with a sand trap!”
More For Chan: The double straddle was on again with Phil Laak in for $1,600 and Johnny Chan in for $3,200. Galfond opened to $9,500 from under the gun with A♥J♣, Boneta called with 8♣7♣, and Chan defended his double-straddle with K♦Q♠. The dealer fanned 4♠6♣K♠, Chan quickly checked, and Galfond continued for $17,000.
Déjà vu much?
Boneta threw a monkey wrench into the fray, however, raising to $57,000 with his gut-shot straight draw. Chan didn’t budge, cold-calling the raise, and Galfond got out of the way. The turn was the 2♥, and Chan immediately tossed out $70,000. Boneta made a face before folding, and Chan raked in the $233,000 pot.
High Stakes Yoga: Chan limped in from the cutoff seat with J♣10♦, and Galfond raised to $3,500 on the button with a black pair of deuces. Boneta three-bet to $17,500 from the big blind with A♠10♠, Chan mucked, and Galfond called. The flop came down 9♥3♥Q♠, and Boneta led for $30,000.
Meanwhile, Chan started stretching in the background, prompting host Norm Macdonald to deliver his best line of the season: “We’ll see Johnny Chan next year on High Stakes Yoga.” Galfond continued to tank, so Chan and Negreanu started chatting about how to properly sit on a plane without straining your legs or back.
Finally, Galfond called. The turn was the 8♦, and Boneta shoved for $123,000. Galfond snap-mucked, and Boneta showed his ace-high.
Snap-Folding Full Houses: Negreanu opened to $2,500 with 8♣6♣. The action folded to Laak, who called with 7♠7♦, and Chan followed suit with A♦J♠. The flop fell A♥Q♠7♣, and all three players checked. The turn was the J♦ (fun card) and Laak led for $7,000. Chan called and Negreanu folded.
The A♣ spiked on the river (WOW!) and Laak led for $16,400 with a lesser full house. Chan sat silently for a few seconds before raising to $46,400, and Laak immediately folded. Laak then told the table he was bluffing, disguising the fact that he just made a a lay-down of all-star caliber.
Oops: Negreanu straddled to $1,600, Boneta limped in behind him with K♠Q♠, Laak followed suit with 3♠3♥ on the button, and Chan decided to just call from the small blind with A♠A♦. Galfond defended his big blind with K♥5♥, and Negreanu squeezed out of the straddle, raising to $9,100 with 9♣10♣. Boneta called, Laak called, and Chan back-raised to a hefty $30,100. Galfond quickly mucked, Negreanu tank-folded to save face, but Boneta immediately called (wow). Laak was prepared to fold after the massive back-raise, and when Boneta called he started cracking up. He eventually called, looking to spike a set, and the dealer fanned 2♥5♦6♣.
Without hesitation, Chan led for $45,000. Boneta moved all in for $207,300 (WOW), Laak folded, and Chan instantly called. Boneta’s face dropped when he learned he was up against two aces, and the two decided to run the turn and river three times.
First run – 8♠2♦
Second run – Q♣ (Sweat!) 8♦
Third run – Q♥ (Sweat!) 7♥
No love for Boneta, and Chan raked in a massive pot worth $516,400.
Winning Two Races: Greenstein straddled for $1,600, and Brunson limped in with A♣K♠. Galfond limped behind with 5♠4♣, Negreanu joined the party with 6♠5♦ in the small blind, and Boneta raised to $13,600 out of the big blind with 10♠10♥. Brunson moved all-in for $70,000, and the action folded back to Boneta who called.
They decided to run it twice, and Boneta locked the first half of the pot up as soon as the dealer fanned 2♦10♣10♦. The turn was a meaningless 7♥, but the river was the A♥, taking away one of Brunson’s outs on the second board. The second flop fell 4♥Q♣6♣, giving Brunson a backdoor flush draw, but neither the 8♠ on the turn nor the 4♦ on the river improved his hand. Boneta scooped the $148,800 pot, and Brunson reloaded for another $200,000.
Chip Update
| Seat 1 | Johnny Chan | $794,900 | +$594,900 |
| Seat 2 | Phil Galfond | $205,600 | +$5,600 |
| Seat 3 | Daniel Negreanu | $169,300 | -$30,700 |
| Seat 4 | Eric “Rolex” Boneta | $376,400 | -$123,800 |
| Seat 5 | Barry Greenstein | $198,000 | -$2,000 |
| Seat 6 | Bill Klein | $451,000 | -$49,000 |
| Seat 7 | Doyle Brunson | $201,600 | -$198,400 |
| Seat 8 | Phil Laak | $145,600 | +$54,400 |
Negreanu Gets There - Twice: Klein straddled to $1,600 and Chan opened to $5,000 with two black jacks. Negreanu called with Q♥J♦ on the button, Boneta called out of the small blind with A♣10♦, and the flop came down 9♦5♠10♣. Boneta checked, Chan continued for $17,000, and Negreanu called. Boneta check-raised to $67,000, Chan folded the best hand, and Negreanu moved all-in for $162,800. Boneta called the extra $95,800.
They decided to run it twice. The first turn was the 5♦ – no dice – but the river brought the case jack; the J♥. Ship half the pot to Negreanu. The second turn was the 6♣ – another brick – but the river was the Q♣ and Negreanu raked in the entire $360,800 pot, putting him in position to profit for the first time on High Stakes Poker.
Last Hand of the Season: Greenstein opened to $3,000 with K♣10♣, and Galfond called in position with Q♦Q♣. The flop fell 6♥9♠8♠, Galfond checked, and Greenstein continued for $4,500. Galfond called. The turn was the 2♣, and Galfond checked again. Greenstein fired a second bullet worth $13,000, and Galfond again called. The river was the J♣ and Galfond checked a third time. Greenstein emptied the chamber, tossing out $40,000.
“I was gunna snap-call when you bet small,” Galfond sighed. “But now I don’t beat your value bets I think.”
Galfond sat in the tank for a minute or two before finally folding, and Greenstein raked in the last pot of the season.
Season seven of High Stakes Poker is in the books, and despite some drastic changes, the show was as entertaining as ever. Businessmen like Klein and Bill Perkins kept the energy level high, while professionals like Galfond, Greenstein and David “Viffer” Peat continued to wow us with their excellent play. Chan was the season’s big winner, profiting over $700,000 in total, and Negreanu broke his HSP curse, booking a winning session during the final episode.
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