In late February, the legendary former heads-up master and YouTube star decided to return to online poker and announced the start of a new marathon. Polk was going to play on the ClubWPT Gold platform, which is legally available in most American states. WPT obviously sponsors Polk, but Doug presented his challenge as an attempt to prove that the poker dream is still alive. In just a month, he planned to earn $100,000 — and give all the profit to subscribers.
Prop bets are more fun when you have some money down.
I want to get 3:1 on my 100k that I will win $100,000 starting the morning of March 3rd and ending at 11:59 pm April 3rd.
– I can only play $3/$6 HU on Club WPT Gold $1,200 buyin)
– I have to stream all hands
– I can play whoever I want (Will likely arrange some matches)
– I am only allowed to play 1 table at a time
– The games have rake (4%, $4 cap)I probably have to win at about 20 bb/100 to get there, maybe less depending on volume.
I would rather just bet with one person so if you are someone that would want a big sweat feel free to let me know!
The discussion moved to private messages, and the announced giveaway was predictably met with enthusiasm. However, the terms of the bet caused a lot of skepticism. ClubWPT Gold is more reminiscent of mobile apps: you can’t multi-table, there are no time banks or HUDs, and the game is officially played with play money. Hence the requirement to play one table, which was noted by almost all the commentators on the video. “WPT seems to have given you a ton of money for this torture”; “Let’s make bankroll challenges great again — by playing one table!” Joe Ingram sarcastically noted.
The marathon started on March 3. Doug Polk approached the task professionally – with a strong hangover and after a couple of hours of sleep.
Since there was only one table, Doug was actively talking to the chat and giving advice.
– Doug, my friend wants to quit his prestigious job and become a professional poker player, but he has no savings at all. What to do?
— I became a poker pro after I dropped out of college, but that's a bad example! You absolutely have to have a plan B. You can't just jump in and succeed these days, those days are over. I don't want to be a nag, but that's the way a friend will ruin his life. You need strict bankroll management, accountability, and a clear plan.
Polk spent the entire first ten-hour session drinking beer, entertaining the audience and repeating that registration in the room was mandatory using the code DOUG. The chat liked such frankness; at its peak, the online audience reached several thousand people. "I've been watching drunk Polk singing for four hours straight. I need to get out of the toilet somehow."
There was also some street poker: towards the end of the stream, the board showed , and with he claimed his straight draw had potential and shoved $4,419 into a $216 pot on the blank river. The crowd praised the play: "Good bluff! I'm not sure Polk realized the only outs on the turn were an eight."
In the end, the first day ended at +$3,840. The next day Doug sobered up, but the change in approach rather hurt: the session quickly nosedived to -$7,000. Most of the loss was recouped, so after 12 hours the game stopped at -$2,690.
The next time Polk reassured his worried followers: "I know some of you were worried about the profit draw after yesterday's start. So I guarantee that no matter what the outcome of the challenge, $50,000 will be drawn."
- Increased first deposit bonus
- Increased rakeback and reloads
- Help with deposits and cashouts
- Access to private freerolls
- Round-the-clock support
At the same time, Doug rolled out a list of the pros and cons of WPT Gold.
Flaws :
- Cannot multi-table
- No preflop betting customization
- Constant disconnect
- You can't run it twice
- You can't leave notes or tag players
- No automatic repurchase
- No time banks
- No emoji
- No chat
- No hand history
- Horrible replayer
- No HUD
- Very high rake
Advantages :
- Players are watching vlogs!
The poker room responded to the criticism quickly and quite officially:
Recently, one of our affiliates was critical of our platform and made disparaging jokes about our ambassadors and players.
While we respect honest feedback on new features and existing bugs, we do not condone personal attacks on our community.
Doug's next post added to the arguments of the unfair RNG supporters: "It's been an hour and a half since WPT tweeted and I'm down -$9,000 on $3/$6."
Individual hands proving Polk's hellish bad luck were shared on Twitter. The player with the nickname Birdman23 was doing best against him. In the next 3-bet pot, Polk with made a small bet on the board without a flush draw and got snap called. Turn played check-check. On the river came , the opponent checked again. Doug bet $1,065 into the $504 pot and looked at the set of threes. All that was left was to scream, "F**k, are you kidding me?!" and fall out of his chair.
Melissa Burr added to the list of the room's shortcomings by "flipping the switch."
After finishing the stream, Doug promised to work on his strategy and continue to give it his all. The day ended at -$10,473, which allowed PokerNews journalists to troll Polk with a new article titled: “After 4 days of heads-up challenge to win $100,000, Doug Polk is only $109,000 short .”
The next stream lasted only 4 hours, then Polk ran to the live stream at The Lodge. He managed to make $93 and 5-bet K6o preflop.
Back online, Polk made changes to the original terms of the challenge.
Here's how we'll do it. I'm still giving away all my winnings for this month. Hell, I'm going to give you $100,000 or whatever! But I'm going to up the stakes. I'm not just going to play HU tables, I'm going to play full ring. I don't want to give you $50k – I want to give you $100k!
I will ask the WPT to raise the stakes as much as possible. I will get the highest stakes possible. Then I will find a way to raise money, maybe beg. I will play in places where my raises will be respected. If you are disappointed with my failure to win $3/$6 HU, you are not alone, my friend. I am disappointed too. We will never forget those days.
Polk's requests were not ignored, as higher stakes tables appeared in the lobby. Good results followed. "Crazy day. Stuck at $10k, then moved to $5/$10/$20 and $10/$20 HU. Comeback! Can't wait for more games."
The stream managed to cover $4,024, and the next day ended with +$3,287. Three positive days in a row helped reduce the total loss to a couple of thousand, but it seems to have shaken the psychological health of the hero: Polk said that after 50 hours of broadcasting he went crazy, and then posted a new message to WPT Global .
I am going to be boycotting $10/$20 on ClubWPTGold until the rake situation gets fixed.
The rake at lower stakes is actually just good compared to the market, but the $30 cap at $10/$20 HUNL is unfairly high and I can't support that.
The next session saw the challenge go into the black (+$1,541). In one hand, Polk flopped the nut straight and slow-rolled his friend from The Lodge, SkullMike, making a last-second call.
Days eight and nine were the same, with the last day being the best of all time – Polk earned $8,450, and his overall profit grew to $12,261.
The story of the boycott of expensive tables continued. The organizers made concessions, about which Polk immediately informed his subscribers.
"After some discussions with ClubWPTGold I have managed to convince them to significantly reduce the rake at higher stakes. Almost all games are cheaper and it should make them far more profitable to play in.
Our boycott has ended! Glad to see improvements for players."
Playing at higher tables sent Polk through a variance rollercoaster. At his peak, he was down $10,000, but Doug managed to bail out and even come out on top by $1,570, while also playing the biggest pot of the entire challenge (with his first nuts).
A new day of the challenge brought the sworn friends together again – Birdman23 sat down at the table with Polk. This time, luck turned to face Doug, and the size of the record bank was renewed.
The eighth consecutive positive day allowed to overcome the threshold of $20,000 in profit. Even frequent guest of The Lodge and owner of 26 casinos Erik Persson was impressed.
"Maybe he's getting chips the same way Men The Master did back in the day... (Ed.: Men Nguyen has been accused of cheating multiple times, including adding chips to his stack) . WPT guys, take note! 👀 Has Polk ever been in the black three days in a row in his life?"
After this obvious evil eye, the switch to the upstreak was switched off. The whole next day Polk lost hand after hand and at some point went on tilt.
"Had a great game of legit online poker: -$36,480. Overall result: -$16,320. Tomorrow is my day off."
By the beginning of the next day, the Regiment approached with determination:
"If I finish the challenge in the minus, I'll give you the choice of shaving my head or dying it platinum blonde. But if I win even a dollar, I'll keep my beautiful hair. I'm still trying to win!"
Once again, the RNG didn't stick up for the poor guy. Most of the stream went well, but the key hand was when Doug got donk-shoved with two pairs and looked at a flush. As a result, the session ended at -$13,650.
In between sessions, Doug managed to post memes.
After two weeks of play, Polk took a break. His total loss is currently $29,409.
The ClubWPT Gold 100k challenge started with the idea of proving that midstakes games are still beatable in the US.
Now it's been pivoted to can I personally just get to breakeven to avoid having to shave my head.
Life comes at ya fast.
