Doug Polk Poker

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Doug Polk Poker

Doug Polk appears to be headed toward poker retirement, again. That’s assuming he sticks to his recent Twitter comments. The Upswing Poker founder is in the midst of a lengthy heads-up battle. The latest tweets from @DougPolkVids. The grudge has been put to rest, both on the felt and off the felt it seems, between Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu. On the felt, the result was firm and resounding: Polk proved the superior.

Doug Polk Poker

The grudge has been put to rest, both on the felt and off the felt it seems, between Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu.

On the felt, the result was firm and resounding: Polk proved the superior performer in their $200/$400 heads-up match. Across 25,000 hands that spanned 36 sessions and three months, Polk beat his rival out of $1,201,807.

That left him with an impressive win rate of 12 BB/100, the envy of nearly any professional at any stakes, much less some of the highest in the world.

Poker Pro Doug Polk Wins High-Stakes Grudge Match And $1.2 Million From Daniel Negreanu 25,000-Hand Challenge Wrapped Up Wednesday Evening With A Marathon Session And A Six-Figure Win For Polk. Doug Polk To Daniel Negreanu After Day 21 Session — “I’m Sorry” December 23, 2020 at 11:51 PM December 24, 2020 at 12:11 AM by Craig Klinski Wednesday was the final Negreanu vs Polk heads-up session of the week as the pair returned for Day 21 of the High Stakes Feud match, which has been delighting fans since early November.

Off the felt, the two 'buried the hatchet' in Polk's own words, linking up for a study session before finishing out the match. Negreanu said they shared war stories and Polk called him a worthy opponent, so it seems the rancor between the two top players has been put to bed after years of feuding.

Polk Finishes With a Flourish

After some initial stumbles that saw Negreanu trade off the lead a few times, Polk took command of the match around the 5,000-hand mark and pretty much never looked back.

Negreanu looked for a second like he might battle back as he twice reduced $1 million in losses to a number about half that.

However, it simply wouldn't sustain. Each time, Polk pulled back ahead, even after Negreanu booked a monster win of nearly $400,000 in a single session.

By the time the marathon final sessions went down, with Negreanu pushing hard and looking to play deep-stacked poker as a final Hail Mary, no real drama remained. Polk had secured victory, the only real question being where his final windfall would land.

Back-to-back wins north of $200K would see him finish in emphatic fashion. The final tally of $1.2 million represented his peak win after any session of the entire match, so Polk couldn't have asked for a better closing stretch.

In fact, a relaxed Polk, no longer on his guard about protecting his trade secrets, streamed the final session with cards up.

Where to From Here?

It's hard to say the final result was anything other than the expected outcome. One could debate whether the total win was above or below expectation, but the betting market had installed Polk as roughly a 4-to-1 favorite in advance of the match, no surprise given his vast experience edge in the heads-up format.

As for each player's next step, PokerNews may take a more thorough look in the coming days and weeks, but Polk made his wishes clear: he wants to return to semi-retirement and a rematch is out of the question.

Whether this particular retirement has more staying power remains to be seen.

Negreanu, as an active GGPoker, likely has no such desire. Having acquired considerable heads-up skills in his recent endeavors, though, there's been talk of more showcase matches, with Phil Galfondfloated as a possible opponent while he awaits his next pot-limit Omaha challengers.

In any case, the book seems closed on perhaps the most high-profile feud in the game. Teeth and sausage are presumably intact but the price has been paid: Doug Polk is more than $1.2 million richer.

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