Matt Berkey Hits Back at Doug Polk in TV Poker Row

It’s been a difficult time for high-stakes pro Matt Berkey, losing a $400k+ pot on Poker After Dark and incurring the wrath of Doug Polk for pulling out of a recent televised Live at the Bike cash game, but the ‘Solve for Why’ guru has explained he simply didn’t have the funds available to play.

Polk took to his YouTube channel to launch an attack on Berkey – among others - in a piece entitled ‘I am sick and tired of players who do this’ – decrying well-known, or even world-famous, players for not turning up as scheduled for televised games, claiming that:

“It hurts the viewers, it hurts you guys who wanted to see the show for whatever players signed up to play. It kinda hurts everyone involved but the person who cancelled for their own selfish reasons.”

Berkey, however, explained his position when appearing on the popular Joey ‘Chicago Joey’ Ingram podcast, saying he had lost big just prior to the final night of “Doug Polk Week” on Live at the Bike.

“I figured, how much can I really get hurt in two $25/$50 games with a bunch of social media stars?” Berkey said, adding, “And I lost like $110,000 after the first two sessions of $25/$50. So, yeah, I just didn’t have enough money to play the 2/4.”

Berkey claimed he was told by Ryan Feldman, the show’s producer that “it shouldn’t be a problem,” when he explained his situation, but it didn’t stop Polk taking him to task, claiming that the domino effect of withdrawals kills the game.

“It creates a situation where, if one person doesn’t play, then another person doesn’t play, and then the event gets cancelled,” said Polk, also criticising players for having poor reasons – such as too strong a line-up – for their non-appearance.

Berkey told Ingram that he wasn’t “offended” by Polk’s YouTube denouncement, but he and others have criticised Polk for not being altogether truthful about the stakes which were being played at the Bike. It didn’t help that when he did eventually play, Polk was the one who abruptly ended his good run – and wasn’t shy about sharing his thoughts on the hand.

The Californian pro’s woes were added to when he was also the victim of a horrible cooler in the Poker After Dark cash game this week, his pocket kings outflopping Garret Adelstein’s aces with a set, but it seems it just wasn’t to be Berkey’s week, a $400K pot disappearing to another ace on the turn…

The cash-game expert - who has also won almost $4milion in tournament play – will doubtless bounce back, and it’s probable that Doug Polk will soon find another focus for his ire.