Where Will They Play? Who Will Win? Your Polk vs. Negreanu Poker Match Questions Answered

October 27, 2020

One of the longest-running feuds in modern poker history looks set to come to a head next month as Doug Polk and GGPoker’s Daniel Negreanu square off in a hotly anticipated online grudge match.

Talk of a heads-up battle between the two started all the way back in August 2014, although nothing came to fruition back then.

However this time around, it looks like it might be finally about to happen:

So, with the pair agreeing on the parameters for their heads-up duel earlier this month, PokerNews takes a look at everything you need to know about the match.

Main Questions

Here we try to answer the most pressing questions surrounding the match:

Read on for more in-depth discussion around the match and the two competitors!

Polk, Negreanu Agree on Parameters for Heads-Up Duel

Who is Daniel Negreanu?

Daniel Negreanu is a six-time WSOP bracelet winner and two-time WPT Champion. The 46-year-old was born in Toronto, Canada after his parents emigrated from Romania.

He started playing poker aged 21 before becoming the youngest WSOP champion ever after winning the $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em event at the 1998 WSOP. In 2004 he was named WSOP Player of the Year after taking home another bracelet.

READ MORE: Daniel Negreanu Wins World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific Main Event

In 2019, Negreanu married former PokerNews host Amanda Leatherman in California.

Negreanu was previously a PokerStars ambassador until he left the site in an "amicable split" in 2019, and now represents GGPoker.

How much is Daniel Negreanu worth?

As of October 2020, Negreanu is currently ranked third in the all-time money list on The Hendon Mob, with total live earnings in excess of $42 million.

He has cashed for over $1 million on eight separate occasions in some of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. This includes cashes in the WSOP Big One for One Drop, the Super High Roller Bowl, the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the Aussie Millions Main Event.

Daniel Negreanu's Top Five Poker Cashes

Who is Doug Polk?

Doug Polk is a 31-year old "semi-retired" poker player, also known by his online moniker "WCGRider." After dropping out of college at 19 to pursue poker full time, Polk has put together quite the poker résumé.

From playing $0.01/$0.02 cash games on PokerStars, Polk has since amassed over $1.5m in online cash game profits before adding three WSOP bracelets in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

Such are the accomplishments he has achieved during his poker career, some have even speculated whether Polk could even join Negreanu in being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

In September 2018, Polk announced his "retirement" from poker in a YouTube video stating that he wasn't going to play poker anymore. Obviously things have changed.

How much is Doug Polk worth?

According to The Hendon Mob, Doug Polk has cashed for almost $9.5 million and is currently ranked 101st on the all-time money list. He is most known for his three WSOP bracelet wins, the largest of which came in June 2017 when he won the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop.

Doug Polk's Top Five Poker Cashes

When will the match take place?

The match will take place on November 4th 2020, according to a Tweet at the end of October.

Where will the match take place?

According to Negreanu, the first 200 hands will take place live - using real chips and cards - streamed on PokerGO. The rest of the competition will be "roughly every other day" with both players will play from their own houses. Negreanu stated that he agreed to a request from Polk to an "inspection" so as to verify Negreanu wasn't using any real-time assistance (RTA).

READ MORE: What Is Real-Time Assistance (RTA)? Is it Legal?

Negreanu agreed to a webcam in order for the match to be streamed, but said on October 2nd that he would not be showing his hole cards.

On October 10th, Negreanu stated that he was sending $1,000,000 to WSOP.com ahead of the match.

What format will the match be?

Negreanu also stated that the pair would be playing $200/$400 across two tables. The stacks would be 100 big blinds deep with auto top-up on. The pair would play 25,000 hands and the loser can quit after 12,500.

He also said that if both parties agreed, the pair can "kick up the stakes" during the second half of the match.

How have the players been preparing for the match?

Following the announcement that the match would take place at the start of November, both players have been taking time out from their busy schedules to prepare for the match.

Polk has been the more vocal in his practice, tweeting on numerous occasions that he had won or lost 10+ buy-ins at stakes of $25/$50 or even $50/$100 in preparation.

On October 5th, Polk stated that he had been practicing for two months, but followed that tweet up on October 6th saying he had lost 10 buy-ins playing $50/$100.

Meanwhile Negreanu worked on his poker game in a charity event for St. Judes, but also suggested that he had also been playing $25/$50 in preparation.

Who will win between Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk?

At this point, it's too early to say who will be better prepared, and therefore who will win between Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk. Even Polk himself in a recent tweet stated that he did not know "how good or bad [Negreanu] is going to end up being."

Both competitors are keeping their cards close to their chest, and we'll just have to wait until November 1st to see exactly who is going to come out on top.

Who do PokerShares have as favorites?

As of October 26th, PokerShares currently have Doug Polk as a strong favourite:

Who do you think will win?

We're asking PokerNews readers who they think will win in this heads-up contest between Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk?

Managing Editor

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

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