Doug Polk unhappy with Daniel Negreanu’s behavior
Doug Polk threatened to pull out of his upcoming grudge match with Daniel Negreanu if his opponent doesn’t agree to follow the WSOP.com rules, describing working with Negreanu as a “nightmare”.
"Working" with Dnegs on this challenge has been a nightmare, so I'm just gonna make this easy.
I agree to follow the rules set forth on https://t.co/YkNCrstCym. That's it. I'm not wasting my time arguing this out on social media anymore.
If he can't agree to that then no match.
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) October 10, 2020
As we revealed last week, the duelling pair had finally agreed to most of the terms of a 25k hands HeadsUp No Limit battle at stakes of $200/$400.
However, no sooner had they agreed to kick this off on November 1st – much to the delight of fans looking forward to them settling their long-standing grudge – then the arguments began again.
No Huds or HH is fine (the site doesn't have either)
Are you calling preflop ranges RTA? Id like to use my preflop ranges during the challenge. Obviously postflop should have no real time solutions being calculated to help people play. https://t.co/Gw0kGDlNP4
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) October 7, 2020
Polk’s argument that he should be allowed to use pre-flop charts came as a shock to most. The idea that the former ‘best HUNL player in the world’ needs a cheat sheet to play met with derision.
Polk’s tirade
This started Polk on a Twitter tirade against Negreanu, complaining the KidPoker was running the rules show.
Doug Polk stated: “Btw part of why the negotiation process for this challenge looks so petty is that instead of just hammering all this stuff out privately and setting a date, I have to just wait for him to tweet out the new rules that he didn’t consult me on.”
"HERE ARE THE RULES I HAVE DECIDED GUYS"
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) October 7, 2020
Negreanu, who might have been expected to be the touchy one during the build-up to the match, eventually responded with a very clear 3-part breakdown of why Polk’s whingeing is misplaced.
- “You are a 6-1 favorite in the betting markets yet you feel the need to use a cheat sheet? I won’t be using a cheat sheet, why should you? You challenged ME to a match I agreed to YOUR game, on YOUR approved platform, and YOUR format.
- “I agreed to a start date of Nov 1st giving me just weeks to prepare after WSOP. I’m giving you a massively +EV opportunity, but you need a cheat sheet too? I could just say let’s play it all live. That way you can’t use your cheat sheets.
- “You act like you are getting screwed here when the table is set heavily in your favor across the board. You wouldn’t even agree to $100k freezeouts or any other format than the one format that benefits YOU most.
There are those who feel that Negreanu is on a freeroll, getting his excuses in early for when he loses and walking away as Polk’s conqueror if he wins…
I expect to lose. Absolutely.
I’m not delusional.
I just don’t see why the guy I’m giving free equity to also needs to have a cheat sheet when I’m not using one. It’s silly.
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) October 9, 2020
Doug Polk has been hard at work preparing for the ‘Grudge match for Rollz.’ He has taken on both Phil Nagy, as well as former November Niner Thomas Cannuli. You can catch up with those battles here.
A possible live event?
Back in the Twitter debate, Polk was trying to get the public onside and get Negreanu to show his cards. He tweeted: “How about we make a deal. 1) No charts allowed of any kind 2) We show all of our hole cards to the fans for the entire challenge. We both give a little, the fans win. Retweet if you want to see this.”
Negreanu wasn’t impressed, replying: “You challenged me. You are a 6-1 favorite without seeing hole cards, and even bigger with. Once again, because it seems I’m the only want trying to actually make this happen, I’m willing to show a small portion of this @pokergo with hole cards.”
There were even calls for the pair to battle live, like Phil Hellmuth and Antonio ‘The Magician’ Esfandiari have been doing recently…
Eventually, despite all his protests about DNegs choosing the rules and giving him the runaround, when Negreanu finally put his money where his mouth is, Polk had no choice but to follow suit…
I will also be seated Nov 1st. I dont know what a cheat sheet is but I will be following the rules of the platform. https://t.co/O5vg2zxMvl
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) October 10, 2020
Disaster for the fans averted for now, although it’s almost a certainty that it’s not the last threat to quit before the pair eventually get down to playing some cards.
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