Doug Polk

Californian Polk, born at the end of 1988 in Pasadena, has not only become one of the world’s best players, but also a leading light in the poker vlogging and training worlds.

Californian Polk, born at the end of 1988 in Pasadena, has not only become one of the world’s best players, but also a leading light in the poker vlogging and training worlds.

He started out as an eSports player before poker took over his life while at college, where he gave up his degree to concentrate on poker full-time after running up an initial $20 deposit into more than $10K.

Within a few years he had become a specialist in heads-up NLHE and challenged the king of heads-up, Ben ‘Sauce123’ Sulsky to a series of matches totalling more than 15,000 hands in the autumn of 2013, at the end of which Polk was up a staggering $740,000. This also entitled him to the $100,000 side-stake for winning.

His online game was honed as part of the self-styled ‘Evil Empire’ crew alongside fellow high-stakes players Ryan Fee and Jason Mo, with Donger Kim and Jason Les as close associates, the crew sharing ideas and strategies to conquer the world of poker.

Although primarily noted for his online mastery under the name ‘WCGRider’, Polk’s live tournament winnings also stand at over $5million, and in 2015 he started up the training site Upswing Poker along with close friend Ryan Fee.

He was also part of the 4-man team to face the AI poker program Claudico in the first of several challenge matches, emerging as the biggest winner – although more recently a superior version of Claudico gained its revenge, Polk not being part of the losing team on that occasion.

Around the same time, Polk decided to start streaming and vlogging – and his intro ‘What’s up guys, Doug Polk here’ has become synonymous with excellent hand analysis and rather controversial views on fellow pros and events in the poker world’.

Polk’s outspokenness on certain subjects has led to many calling him arrogant, but he has developed a huge following in spite of, or perhaps because of, very public disagreements with the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier and others.

His beef with Negreanu started when Daniel claimed he could beat the $25/50 NLHE stakes with only 2 weeks of practice, which Polk described as “naïve”, whereas in Mercier’s case the falling out centred around Polk having him tagged as a ‘bad reg’ in his online tournament notes.

More recently he came under fire from English pro Luke Schwartz, who claimed among other things that Polk is a losing player online and therefore his training courses on Upswing Poker are a ‘scam’.

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8 years ago6,246BDJB,

Published 8 years ago

Doug Polk VLOG: $25,000 Poker Tournaments In Vancouver!

Doug Polk is back at his second home in Vancouver to play the PokerStars Spring Championship Of Online Poker aka SCOOP! Doug ...

8 years ago5,096BDJB,

Published 8 years ago

Doug Polk Bankroll Challenge Day 30

Doug Polk continues his challenge to build his $100 bankroll on WSOP.Com all the way up to $10,000 within a year! Streaming l...

8 years ago5,596BDJB,

Published 8 years ago

JNandez Las Vegas VLOG with Doug Polk, Ryan Fee and Jason Mo

JNandez heads from Switzerland to Las Vegas to meet up with fellow pros and Upswing Poker owners Doug Polk, Ryan Fee and friend Ja...

8 years ago4,590BDJB,

Published 8 years ago

Doug Polk Facebook Live: Strategy & Upswing Announcement

Doug Polk arrives at his 2nd home in Vancouver to play the PokerStars SCOOP online festival! He also has a big Upswing Poker annou...

8 years ago4,657BDJB,

Published 8 years ago

Doug Polk Bankroll Challenge: Day 29 ($2,428)

With the bankroll now at $2,428 Doug is back to continue running it up and complete his $10,000 challenge! Playing on WSOP.Com Pol...

8 years ago3,318BDJB,

Published 8 years ago

Doug Polk Bankroll Challenge Day 29

Doug continues his $100 to $10,000 bankroll challenge taking a shot at higher stakes PLO! With just 1 year to hit his target Polk ...

8 years ago4,919BDJB,

Published 8 years ago

Doug Polk Bankroll Challenge Day 29: Taking A Shot

With the current bankroll standing at $1300 Doug Polk decides to take a shot in some games he is nowhere near bankrolled to play i...

8 years ago5,307BDJB,

Published 8 years ago

Doug Polk Runs Kings Into Aces In $33,000 Pot!

Doug Polk analyzes a hand played during his recent Poker Night In America cash game session vs PCA champion Kyle Julius! Kyle deci...

8 years ago17,392BDJB,

Published 8 years ago

Things Get Heated On Poker Night In America w/Deeb, Hashtag King & Polk

Verbal abuse starts flying on the recent live stream filming of Poker Night In America! Controversial figured Hashtag King tries t...

8 years ago4,174BDJB,

Published 8 years ago

Doug Polk Bankroll Challenge: Day 29!

The Doug Polk $100-$10,000 bankroll challenge reaches day 29 with a current bankroll of $1500! Doug plays in NLHE and PLO cash gam...

How Much do Polk and Ingram Make From Twitch?

Our recent YouTube match-up between two of the game’s most popular vloggers might have surprised some people, but how do the same fine pair compare when it comes to their streaming activities on Twitch TV?

Polk on Scammers

Doug’s ten-minute ​YouTube video weighing up the pros and cons, including two cases where he himself was the victim of scammers.

The Most Insane Call in the History of Poker

​A hand breakdown that has received a lot of attention among poker fans everywhere saw Doug Polk facing off against Alec Torelli.

Common Misconceptions About Playing Winning Poker

Doug Polk manages to get in a few subtle and not-so-subtle shots against some poker pros who have found flaws in his game and/or accomplishments as of late.

Doug Polk $41K Flip

​A bit of hilarity followed a $25/$50 cash game hosted by PNiA when Doug Polk and Kaufman Jacobs CEO Jeremy Kaufman flipped for $42,000 in a game of 10-card stud.

Daniel Negreanu Talks GSN’s YouTube Crackdown

Game Show Network have recently been at the center of an intellectual property debate, going after a number of vloggers who have used hands from their poker shows.

Has Tom Dwan SCAMMED Again?! New 7-Figure Scandal!

When one of the biggest names in the entire poker world is all but called a scammer – again! – and by another of poker’s brightest stars, it’s big news!

Lawyers Force Doug Polk to Remove Videos

The legal minds at the Game Show Network (GSN) have forced Polk to remove 17 videos from his YouTube library.

How Doug Polk Won a $300k Pot Vs. a Billionaire

If you’re desperate to find out just how to bluff an billionaire off a premium hand, watch Polk’s video and prepare to be impressed!

Polk, Mercier, Cantu and Deeb in Twitter War!

A furious Twitter war has erupted involving some of the best-known players in the poker world, with Jason Mercier and Brandon Cantu trading blows publicly.