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Daniel Negreanu – Doug Polk Grudge Match Date Set

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Doug Polk Daniel Negreanu Grudge Match

The latest “Poker Grudge Match of the Century” now has its terms ironed out. In case you missed it, Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu agreed to take their long-standing feud to the poker tables. The popular Youtube star and two-time WSOP bracelet winner will battle the six-time Poker Hall of Famer at WSOP.com for ultimate bragging rights.

The time and location of the battle are finally in place, and we will soon see whether Kid Poker can shut up poker’s ultimate troll.

Grudge Match to Commence November 1 at WSOP.com

A couple of months ago, Daniel Negreanu got fed up with Doug Polk’s antics and officially accepted a challenge for a heads-up poker battle. After the challenge was accepted, not a lot was heard about it. On Thursday, Polk took to Twitter calling out Negreanu.

Not one to back down from a challenge, Negreanu quickly responded:

Polk quickly agreed, but not before getting in another dig:

So the date for the event is set for November 1st. It took a bit longer before the two could agree to the format. Ultimately it was decided that the pair wanted to play at WSOP.com. Negreanu had wanted to play at GGPoker, but he didn’t get his wish for home-field advantage.

Here’s a quick rundown of game parameters

  • 25,000 Hands of $200-$400 NL Hold’em
  • 100 big blinds deep with auto-top up when a player drops below 100BB.
  • Minimum two-hour sessions with options to go longer if both players agree.
  • Losing player can quit after 12,500 hands.
  • No displaying of hole cards during play.

Both parties agreed to have the game live-streamed with commentary, and it appears that Poker Central will be handling the honors. That means the event will be live-streamed over at PokerGO.

Also, both parties agreed to inspections of their playing area to ensure that they are not receiving any form of real-time assistance.

Polk a Heavy Favorite Despite Being Rusty

Heading into this match, Polk is a solid favorite at 5 to 1 to beat Negreanu. This is due to Polk’s extensive background in heads-up poker. Polk was one of the top heads-up players in the world. Negreanu has never been considered an elite heads-up player despite having extensive high stakes live cash game experience.

Polk famously retired from poker but has recently got back into the game to prepare for his match against Negreanu. He played medium stakes to start with but it took him around 30,000 hands to show a profit. He then moved up to $50-$100 but quickly dropped 1,000BB.

Of course, Polk is playing seasoned competition that regularly plays heads-up poker. Negreanu is not known for his heads-up game, and this could still give Polk the advantage that he needs to take out Kid Poker.

So what happens if Polk manages to win? Odds are that it will only go to further fuel the fire that he’s been stoking against Negreanu for years. Polk fans will also increase their hero worship of poker’s favorite troll.

But if Negreanu wins, does that mean that Polk will back off? We all know of Polk’s dislike of Negreanu and his constant berating of him over PokerStars rake. Do we really think a loss will silence him? Maybe for a short period of time, but odds are that a loss will do little to change his trolling ways. A loss may solidify his poker retirement though.

Personally, I don’t see Negreanu outright winning this match. I don’t see it being a total blowout either. A combination of ring rust along with Negreanu’s experience will likely turn this into a spirited competition. I still think Negreanu will lose, but it may be a smallish margin of 50 to 100BB.

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