WSOP 2026 Diary. No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up Championship – Day 1B

Before the tournament began, Martin Kabrhel decided to try his hand at being a presenter and snatched the microphone from the actual host, condescendingly remarking: “Don’t worry, you’re not fired yet.” And honestly, that might be the perfect job for Kabrhel — at least for these few days. His second attempt to survive even a single round in the heads-up event ended with another defeat, this time against Frenchman Julien Sitbon. But enough about Kabrhel — let’s see how the other matchups unfolded.

Doug Polk – Nikolai Mamut

Blinds: 800/1600. Pot 2.4K

Polk (D): 3♥2♥. Raise to 3.6K. Pot 5.2K
Mamut (BB): Q♠3♠. Call 2K. Pot 7.2K

Flop: A♦J♠J♥

M: Check.
P: Bet 1.8K. Pot 9K
M: Call 1.8K. Pot 10.8K

Turn: A♦J♠J♥ K♠

M: Check
P: Bet 7.2K. Pot 18K
M: Call 7.2K. Pot 25.2K

River: A♦J♠J♥ K♠ J♦

M: Bet 2.6K. Pot 27.8K.

From the very beginning, Mamut seemed convinced that Polk had nothing, which explains the passive line. It makes more sense than check-raising on any street, because with either a jack or an ace in his hand, Mamut would have very little to fear on later streets. He takes the hand all the way to the river and then represents an extremely thin value bet — just 2.6K into a pot of 25K.

Polk doesn’t believe him, but he also doesn’t want to simply call and potentially chop the pot. Instead, he does this:

Polk: 3-bet to 80K (!). Pot 107.8K.

That’s a bet worth nearly three times the pot. An outrageous move.

He’s representing something completely invincible — as if he’s hoping either to extract value from an ace or king with a jack, or to push another ace out of a chopped pot. Either way, after facing that bet, Mamut’s queen-high — which is lower than the entire board and therefore effectively worthless — has no choice but to fold.

Doug Polk then flashes his cards with a sly grin.

By the way, if you didn’t know, Doug runs his own poker education platform, Upswing Poker, where you can either purchase training courses or subscribe to a free newsletter.

^{Doug Polk. Photo: Wikipedia}

Phil Ivey – Shota Nakanishi

Blinds: 800/1600. Pot 2.4K

Nakanishi (D): A♠K♥. Raise to 4K. Pot 5.6K
Ivey (BB): 7♦3♦. Call 2.4K. Pot 8K

Flop: 6♣Q♥8♠

Check – Check.

Turn: 6♣Q♥8♠ 5♥

I: Bet 6K. Pot 14K
N: Call 6K. Pot 20K

Ivey semi-bluffs with a straight draw. The Japanese player apparently doesn’t believe there’s much of a hand there. It’s hard to imagine he called simply hoping to hit an ace or a king.

However, his opinion changes on the river.

River: 6♣Q♥8♠5♥ 10♥

Now, in addition to a possible straight, a flush is also possible. Having missed his straight draw, Ivey decides to take advantage of the scarier board texture. He bets the full pot.

I: Bet 20K. Pot 40K
N: Fold.

The heart river worked perfectly for Ivey because he started betting on the turn, when the board picked up a second heart and allowed him to credibly represent a flush draw. His betting line could therefore represent either a straight or a flush.

Nakanishi’s play in this hand raises some questions, but this was still very early in the match. Later, he adjusted to Ivey’s style, started picking off bluffs, and eventually eliminated the poker legend from the tournament.

Shogo Otani – Martin Zamani

Martin Zamani decided to play offsuit trash aggressively and nearly paid the price. Fortunately for him, his opponent had nothing, and a courageous river call earned the American a respectable pot.

Blinds: 800/1600. Pot 2.4K

Zamani (D): 9♠5♥. Raise to 4K. Pot 5.6K
Otani (BB): Q♠7♥. Call 2.4K. Pot 8K

Flop: 6♣10♣5♦

O: Check
Z: Bet 3K. Pot 11K
O: Call 3K. Pot 14K

Turn: 6♣10♣5♦ 8♣

O: Check

The board becomes three-flush, and Otani chooses not to bluff his open-ended straight draw. 

Perhaps he was planning a turn check-raise — a very powerful move that signals tremendous strength. But Zamani opts for pot control, which is perfectly reasonable in such deep-stack play.

Z: Check.

River: 6♣10♣5♦8♣ A♥

A rare case where an ace on the river can be considered a blank. It doesn’t improve anything Zamani was representing on the flop, nor does it fit particularly well into Otani’s preflop and flop calling range.

Nevertheless, the Japanese player decides to bet. Apparently, he is representing the nuts he supposedly made on the turn.

O: Bet 15K. Pot 29K.

A large bet that polarizes his range. Zamani now has only two choices: either Otani has the nuts, or he has air. The American chooses the latter interpretation — and he is correct.

Z: Call 15K. Pot 44K

Phil Ivey – Shota Nakanishi

And here is the hand mentioned earlier, where Nakanishi picks off an Ivey bluff with nothing more than bottom pair.

Blinds: 800/1600. Pot 2.4K

Nakanishi (D): K♦3♣. Raise to 4K. Pot 5.6K
Ivey (BB): A♣6♣. 3-bet 17K. Pot 21K

N: 4-bet 45K. Pot 62K

Nakanishi continues his aggressive approach despite Ivey’s 3-bet. Phil is famous for his willingness to fire massive preflop bluffs. I remember one hand where he even forced pocket queens to fold before the flop.

The Japanese player likely knows exactly who he’s dealing with. He responds with a 4-bet, creating a huge pot that will be difficult for either player to abandon. Ivey calls.

I: Call 28K. Pot 90K

Flop: 7♣J♠8♦

The flop is awkward for both players. They’ve each represented strong ranges, yet the board heavily favors calling ranges. As a result:

Check – Check.

Turn: 7♣J♠8♦ 3♠

I: Bet 50K. Pot 140K.

A big bet, but poorly timed. It’s unclear what exactly Ivey is representing here — a slow-played flop monster, perhaps? Meanwhile, the turn pairs Nakanishi’s hand.

N: Call 50K. Pot 190K

River: 7♣J♠8♦3♠ 10♥

Things get interesting. Any nine would complete a straight, and Ivey can certainly have one. He could easily be betting a gutshot such as Q9 or an open-ended draw like 96. That is exactly the story he tells. But this time, Nakanishi doesn’t buy it.

I: Bet 75K. Pot 265K
N: Call 75K. Pot 340K

It’s difficult to know exactly what was going through Nakanishi’s mind when he made the call. Perhaps he remembered the earlier bluff attempt described above. Or maybe he reasoned that Ivey checked a flop that should have favored him more than Nakanishi’s in the 4-bet pot. If Phil really held something like 96 or 89, maybe he would have bet that flop instead.

Whatever the reasoning, it was a brilliant read by Nakanishi. He seized the lead in the match and later converted it into a well-earned victory.

^{Phil Ivey. Photo: Wikipedia}

Stoyan Madanzhiev – Faraz Jaka. Mystery Hand

A mystery hand is a broadcast format in which one player's hole cards are hidden from the audience, allowing viewers to put themselves in the opponent's shoes and "play" the hand.

Blinds: 1.5K/3K. Pot 4.5K

Jaka (D): ??. Raise to 6K. Pot 9K
Madanzhiev (BB): Q♥5♦. Call 3K. Pot 12K

Flop: Q♣K♥10♣

M: Check
J: Bet 6K. Pot 18K
M: Call 6K. Pot 24K

Turn: Q♣K♥10♣ 2♦

Check – Check.

River: Q♣K♥10♣2♦ J♥

A very dangerous river. Any ace or nine now makes a straight. Stoyan still has only a pair of queens, while Jaka was the preflop aggressor.

M: Check.
J: Bet 20K. Pot 44K

Jaka bets nearly the size of the pot, apparently representing Broadway. Would you believe him in Stoyan's shoes?

M: Call 20K. Pot 64K

Stoyan doesn't buy the story, and indeed Jaka does not have an ace. So what does he have?

Jaka: J♣10♦.

Faraz extracts almost a full pot with two pair on this board. World-class value betting.

A bit of context is needed here. The fact that Jaka was ahead and likely knew it isn't particularly surprising — his opponent checked all three streets. What is impressive is the amount of value he managed to extract. With a vulnerable non-nut hand on such a scary board against a passive opponent, many players would bet only 1–2 big blinds, hoping to get paid by something. Jaka fires almost a full pot — around seven big blinds — and gets called.

Thomas Boivin – Dario Sammartino. Mystery Hand

Another interesting mystery hand. This time we're in the shoes of Dario Sammartino.

Blinds: 4K/8K. Pot 12K

Boivin (D): ??. Raise to 16K. Pot 24K

A min-raise that means absolutely nothing in heads-up play and reveals no meaningful information about range.

Sammartino (BB): K♦8♠. Call 8K. Pot 32K

Flop: 5♦9♣4♦

We've hit nothing except a backdoor diamond draw. The board is low, however, and if our opponent doesn't have a nine, we still have two live overcards.

We check, and fortunately our opponent checks behind.

Turn: 5♦9♣4♦ 7♠

Now we pick up a gutshot. Any six gives us a straight.

S: Bet 14K. Pot 46K
B: Call 14K. Pot 60K

River: 5♦9♣4♦7♠ K♠

A dream river. We now have top pair, and our opponent called the turn with something. Quite possibly a made hand. The question becomes: how much value can we extract?

S: Bet 48K. Pot 108K.

Sammartino goes for serious value, betting a little over two-thirds of the pot.

Will he get paid?

B: All-in 258K. Pot 366K.

Sammartino has 234K behind and needs to call 210K. In practice, it's almost his entire stack.

What would you do?

S: Call 210K. Pot 576K

Boivin: K♥4♣

If you chose call, you just lost almost your entire stack — just like Sammartino. Boivin rivered two pair and extracted every last chip.

Brian Battistone – Aleks Ponakovs

Battistone started this hand with roughly three times as many chips as Ponakovs, who had only 10 big blinds remaining.

Blinds: 6K/12K. Pot 18K

Battistone (D): 5♣4♠. Call 6K. Pot 24K
Ponakovs (BB): K♦7♠. Check.

Flop: 8♦7♦6♦

A lovely flop for Ponakovs. He has middle pair and a strong flush draw.

P: Check
B: Bet 25K. Pot 49K
P: Call 25K. Pot 74K

Turn: 8♦7♦6♦ A♣

P: Check

B: Bet 107K.

Exactly the amount Ponakovs has left. With such a short stack, a pair, and an almost nut flush draw, Alex simply cannot fold. He calls and is all-in.

River: K♣

The flush misses. Ponakovs is eliminated.

Thomas Boivin – Faraz Jaka

Next-round action.

Blinds: 3K/6K. Pot 9K

Jaka (D): 7♦4♠. Raise to 15K. Pot 21K
Boivin (BB): 6♠3♠. Call 9K. Pot 30K

Flop: Q♥7♣5♠

Check – Check.

Turn: Q♥7♣5♠ 4♥

Jaka improves to two pair, but unfortunately that actually makes things worse for him because Boivin has already made a straight.

B: Bet 30K. Pot 60K
J: Call 30K. Pot 90K

River: Q♥7♣5♠4♥ K♥

The potential flush gets there, which probably helped Jaka find a fold with what is otherwise a monster heads-up hand.

B: Bet 115K. Pot 205K.

Boivin goes for an overbet — 115K into 90K.

Big. Juicy. It would have looked brilliant if he had gotten paid. Instead, it seems he got a little too greedy and scared Jaka away.

J: Fold.

^{Faraz Jaka. Photo: Wikipedia}

Thomas Boivin – Faraz Jaka

In this hand, however, Jaka could not find a fold with a much more vulnerable holding and was eliminated. The broadcast joined the action mid-hand.

Blinds: 3K/6K. Pot 26K

Boivin (D): A♥3♠
Jaka (BB): J♦6♥

Flop: 5♥K♥4♥

Both players have flush draws, but of vastly different quality.

J: Check
B: Bet 6K. Pot 32K
J: Call 6K. Pot 38K

Turn: 5♥K♥4♥ 2♥

Both players complete a flush. Jaka also picks up a straight-flush draw.

J: Check
B: Bet 45K. Pot 83K
J: Call 45K. Pot 128K

River: 5♥K♥4♥2♥ 10♦

J: Check.

B: All-in.

Boivin covers him, meaning Jaka's tournament life is at risk. And that's exactly what happens.

J: Call.

Biao Ding – Brian Battistone

Blinds: 3K/6K. Pot 30K

Battistone (D): J♦6♠
Ding (BB): K♥4♥

Flop: A♦10♣K♣

Check – Check.

Turn: A♦10♣K♣ J♣

Check – Check.

River: A♦10♣K♣J♣ Q♣

Things get spicy. The board now contains Broadway and a possible one-card flush.

D: Check

B: Bet 30K. Pot 60K.

After checking every street, Battistone suddenly unloads on the river, firing a full-pot bet and representing a flush.

He realizes that his pair of jacks may lose at showdown to a random queen or king, so he attempts to fold out exactly those hands.

D: Raise to 80K. Pot 140K.

This is certainly not a value raise. Ding is bluffing — without realizing he's actually bluffing with the best hand. Battistone has no choice but to fold.

Shota Nakanishi – Nikolai Mamut

Mamut receives the best river card imaginable, and Nakanishi chooses that exact moment to bluff for his stack.

Blinds: 4K/8K. Pot 12K

Nakanishi (D): 10♣7♠. Raise to 18K. Pot 26K
Mamut (BB): J♦9♣. Call 10K. Pot 36K

Flop: 4♦10♠K♦

Check – Check.

Turn: 4♦10♠K♦ 3♥

M: Bet 36K. Pot 72K
N: Call 36K. Pot 108K

River: 4♦10♠K♦3♥ Q♣

M: Bet 72K. Pot 180K

N: All-in.

M: Call.

A very questionable decision from the Japanese player. It's difficult to determine exactly what hand he put Mamut on. If he believed Nikolai was bluffing, simply calling with a pair of tens would have been sufficient.

By shoving, he was clearly trying to make something fold. A king is extremely unlikely to fold here. Remember the line: check-check on the flop, Mamut overbets the turn, Nakanishi calls, and then Mamut fires again on the river. A king simply isn't going anywhere.

If Nakanishi is representing a straight, that means he called a turn overbet with nothing more than a gutshot, which is rather strange. Most likely, he was trying to represent a strong made hand from the beginning — perhaps a king or two pair — and force folds from a queen or a ten, both of which Mamut could theoretically have.

The relatively small size of Mamut's river bet may also have influenced the decision. Whatever the reasoning, the man who eliminated Phil Ivey got it wrong this time.

Mamut advances.

Day 1B Winners

• Brandon Wilson

• Nikita Kuznetcov

• Biao Ding

• Julien Sitbon

• Nikolai Mamut 

• Florian Pesce

• Thomas Boivin

• Ryuta Nakai

Among this group, Nikolai Mamut has a strong case as the standout performer. Ding is also dangerous, but he faces Daniel Negreanu in the next round. Brandon Wilson didn't get a favorable draw either — he's matched up against Alex Foxen.

Overall, the biggest tournament favorites remain the players who advanced from Day 1A: Negreanu, Mizrachi, and Foxen.

Still, don't count Mamut out. Today he delivered impressive performances against both Doug Polk and Shota Nakanishi, and if the Russian continues playing at this level, he could absolutely find himself in contention for the title.

^{Pairs of Day 2}

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