The Doug Polk Show

The recent announcement that PokerStars took home its third consecutive Poker Operator of the Year Award did not sit very well with Doug Polk, who used his YouTube channel as a platform to make light of the honor in an entertaining video.

The Upswing Poker co-founder had no problem saying what many of us had already been thinking, which is, how can a poker site that increased rake, eliminated its Supernova levels, and took away Frequent Player Points from inactive players manage to win Operator of the Year? Let's not forget that the company CEO also had to step down due to allegations of insider trading.

The poker pro stated:

"You can't hurt your customers consistently all year and be the best business in that industry."

Polk, who has not been shy in lambasting the top poker room in recent months, points out in the video that PokerStars' honchos have been making business decisions that, he claims, hurt both pro and recreational players. While doing so, the red spade bosses "try to pretend like its a good thing."

Citing the fact that online poker has provided him with considerable wealth, Polk feels "a duty and responsibility" to call attention to these matters in order to protect the players whose voices may not otherwise be heard.

Global Poker League Completes Season 1

Prior to letting loose on the shortcomings of PokerStars, Polk also voiced his opinion in a separate video centered on the Global Poker League finals that played out about a week ago. For those unaware, the GPL wrapped up its first season with the Montreal Nationals beating the Berlin Bears to take home the title.

A snoozefest of an inaugural season that found many players and fans uninterested in the GPL was not lost on Polk, who many times pointed out that the lack of a buy-in takes away from what the game of poker is actually all about. In comedic fashion, Polk mentions a few other issues he has with the upstart poker league, such as the team names, the draft, and the presentation of the players in the cube.

The GPL, by the way, is sponsored by PokerStars. The former is struggling to find success, while the latter achieved incredible success but seems to be heading in the wrong direction, according to Polk.