Can Doug Polk Prove the Online Poker Dream is Still Alive in $100K Challenge
Doug Polk, a renowned heads-up poker legend and co-owner of The Lodge Card Club near Austin, Texas, is embarking on another online poker challenge. This time, he aims to win $100,000 playing online poker on ClubWPT Gold, a new social poker site, within a month. The challenge, dubbed “Code Doug,” will commence on March 3, and Polk plans to livestream the action on his YouTube channel, where he boasts 420,000 subscribers.
Polk’s primary objective is to demonstrate to the poker community that “the dream is still alive,” referring to skilled players’ ability to win online without resorting to cheating. The increased prevalence of real-time assistance (RTA) tools, ghosting, and collusion has deterred some players from participating in online poker in recent years. However, the high-stakes player appears confident that the dream is not dead.
As part of the challenge, Polk, a three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, will give back every cent of his profits to those who sign up on ClubWPT Gold and use the code “DOUG.”
ClubWPT Gold is a social poker site available in the United States in partnership with the World Poker Tour (WPT). The site, which launched in beta form late last year, utilizes a sweepstakes model similar to Global Poker and is legal in the US. Players do not purchase traditional chips with money; instead, they sign up and play for free using Gold Coins (GC) or purchase Sweeps Coins (SC), which can be converted into real money prizes.
Polk has confirmed that he will exclusively play ring games, specifically no-limit hold’em, during the “Code Doug” challenge.
The Upswing Poker founder is no stranger to online poker challenges. In 2018, he successfully completed a $100 to $10,000 bankroll challenge, although it took him quite some time. Additionally, Polk, a heads-up specialist, famously defeated his former rival Daniel Negreanu for $1.2 million across 25,000 hands four years ago.
ClubWPT Gold has been generating attention recently due to its ruthless X account, which is likely run by Polk’s talented video editor Thomas Keeling. The account is known for poking fun at various individuals and companies within the poker community, including vloggers.
