With less than 6,000 hands remaining in the high-stakes grudge match, Doug Polk holds a $565,000 lead, but Daniel Negreanu is closing fast. Will the GGPoker ambassador continue to cut into that deficit, and possibly even win?

Daniel Negreanu is catching up to Doug Polk. (Image: YouTube)

Over the past two sessions — Days 31 and 32 — Negreanu eliminated $437,000 off the Upswing Poker founder’s lead. That equates to just under 11 buy-ins at $200/$400 stakes, a sizable amount.

On Day 32, they played for barely for two hours, about half of a normal session. The reason the session was cut so short is because Negreanu realized Polk had completely changed up his strategy. So, to adjust to his opponent’s new style of play, he called it quits for the day so he could begin devising a game plan to combat it.

GGPoker’s recent attempt to flip the script on tournaments has been a huge hit. And, thanks to an initial burst of feedback, the site’s Flip & Go MTTs have already been upgraded.

GGPoker has upgraded its recently released Flip & Go tournament lobby following positive feedback from players. (Image: GGPoker)

After little more than a week, GGPoker has improved its latest innovation. In addition to tournaments at a new buy-in level, the total guaranteed prize pool is now worth more than $160,000.

A representative for GGPoker said the changes were made following positive feedback from the community.

Winamax pro Ivan Deyra has admitted to cheating after winning $101,000 in a tournament hosted by his sponsor.

Winamax pro Ivan Deyra has lost his contract and more than $100,000 after admitting to cheating online. (Image: Winamax)

The Winamax Series was a big deal in Southern Europe. Its $20 million+ guarantee made it the largest ever online series held in France and Spain.

However, the operator’s achievements have been overshadowed in recent days by Deyra. The brand’s ambassador was caught using multiple accounts on route to winning the series’ super high roller event.

Doug Polk played passive on Monday, and his opponent isn’t quite sure yet if that’s a sign of things to come during the remainder of the challenge. Daniel Negreanu believes if the Upswing Poker founder continues with this style of play, he has an edge going forward.

Is Doug Polk trying to run out the clock? (Image: YouTube)

Polk is in an awkward position being that he has a big lead with just over 5,000 hands remaining, with large side bets riding on this heads-up no-limit hold’em competition. If he loses the match, he potentially loses millions of dollars. He refuses to say exactly how much he has in side bets. But it’s no secret that he has a sizable amount riding on this match.

Polk Trying to Run out the Clock?

French soccer star David Ginola became a different type of star in 2020 when he entered the sports betting arena. The retired sportsman fronted La Grosse Cote, a new campaign from PokerStars France.

Former Newcastle United striker David Ginola is now wearing the colors of PokerStars. (Image: PA Images)

Ginola has been the face of many high-profile brands throughout his career. From Renault to L’Oréal, he’s combined his prowess on the pitch with a dose of French charm to become a mainstream celebrity.

Now, he’s helping PokerStars solidify its position in the French sports betting market. CardsChat spoke to the ex-PSG, Newcastle United, and Tottenham striker about his latest partnership.

The Biden administration could be a boon for online poker, and may likely reverse a decision that put interstate play into murky waters.

Joe Biden says he opposes the Justice Department’s reinterpretation of the Wire Act, which would apply the statute to all forms of interstate gambling. (Image: Scott Olson/Getty)

In 2018, the Trump administration reversed a 2011 opinion on the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 that said the law only applied to sports betting. The 2011 opinion served as the basis for the formation of an interstate compact between Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware that helped create larger player pools and made games more attractive to aficionados. The 2018 reversal put the brakes on Pennsylvania’s plans to join the fray, which would have practically doubled the population base for interstate online poker.

DOJ Loses Appeals on Wire Act Interpretation

Chance Kornuth put up a valiant effort against Phil Galfond in the Galfond Challenge, but the writing was on the wall. The Chip Leader Coaching founder trailed by more than $700,000 with under 10,000 hands remaining. He saw the writing on the wall and realized a comeback was out of the question.

Phil Galfond seems to always win. (Image: CardsChat News)

The $100/$200 pot-limit Omaha competition continued on Saturday with Kornuth down $680,000. After Chance lost a couple of buy-ins, he decided it was time to call it quits. With 25,400 hands complete of a 35,000-hand challenge, play has come to a halt.

Galfond entered the match four months ago as a heavy 4-1 favorite. He had already won two Galfond Challenges in 2020 against “VeniVidi1993” and “ActionFreak,” both online pros. And he’s widely considered one of the best PLO players ever.

Dan Bekavac, the organizer accused of scamming players in a 2020 Midway Poker Tour event, competed in a WPT tournament in Florida on Saturday. The players in Illinois he’s owed for months, however, won’t be receiving any of his winnings. That’s because he busted on Day 1, long before the bubble burst.

Dan Bekavac had money to play in a WPT event, but not the poker players he owes. (Image: Twitter/Chad Holloway)

The World Poker Tour is in the midst of hosting the first major live poker tournament in the US since March 2020. More than 700 players, including Bekavac, paid $3,500 to enter Day 1A of the tournament held in South Florida. Joe McKeehen, the 2015 WSOP Main Event champion, was among the 231 players who advanced to Day 2.

Bekavac, on the other hand, won’t be competing on Day 2 as he failed to bag a stack on Friday. That’s bad news for the poker players he still hasn’t made whole.

Daniel Negreanu booked a massive winning session on Friday, more than erasing the $298,000 loss he accumulated two days earlier. And he’s now back within striking distance against Doug Polk …. kind of, sort of.

Daniel Negreanu caught a sick heater on Friday. (Image: YouTube)

What a difference a day makes. The GGPoker ambassador took it on the chin Wednesday. He lost the equivalent of a median Las Vegas home value in just four hours of play. That brought his overall deficit to a bit over the $1 million mark for the first time.

Day 30 was brutal for Negreanu, who seemed a bit humbled afterwards. He didn’t complain about running bad for a change. Instead, he owned up to it and admitted his opponent simply outplayed him. There was no need for the Poker Hall of Famer to cry about bad luck or tip his cap to the other player on Friday, not after he booked a $390,032 win over 1,046 hands. His lead on the session had reached $430,000 at one point before Polk grabbed a few chips back late.

First it was gender neutral restrooms, now playing cards have been given a 21st century makeover thanks to forensic psychology graduate, Indy Mellink.

Has woke culture gone too far or is Indy Mellink on to something with her gender neutral playing cards? (Image: Reuters)

In step with the zeitgeist, Mellink has designed, made, and distributed more than 1,500 packs of gender neutral cards.

Her epiphany came whilst playing games with her family last summer. For Mellink, “subtle inequalities,” such as kings outranking queens, are problematic for society.

Mike Postle had many keyboard warriors defending him against cheating allegations, but those Twitter accounts have gone noticeably silent for months. And the accused poker cheater is having issues presenting his civil lawsuit against those he claims defamed his character.

Mike Postle isn’t having much luck these days. (Image: YouTube)

Veronica Brill, a player and commentary at Stones Gambling Hall, accused Postle of cheating in Sep. 2019. She alleges the Northern California poker pro somehow had access to his opponent’s hole cards during Stones Live streams.

Postle instantly denied the accusations and has stood by that stance ever since, although he’s avoided the public eye for quite some time. He told CardsChat News back in 2019 that Brill was just “jealous” of his greatness. Many poker players began investigating by watching countless hours of Stones Live streams. Most came to the conclusion that he cheated based on his uncanny ability to seemingly never make an incorrect decision on the river.

Dan Bilzerian can’t seem to stay out of the headlines. While he may not have been directly involved in the latest talking point, the self-style bad boy has helped set a new poker record in India.

BlitzPoker has channeled the spirit of Dan Bilzerian to set new online poker records in India. (Image: BlitzPoker)

Bilzerian can’t take all the credit for what BlitzPoker has achieved. However, the site he’s linked to is making noise with the Indian Online Poker Championship (IOPC).

The series is currently in progress and comes to an end on January 31. Between now and then, BlitzPoker will pay out a guaranteed $4 million which, at the time of writing, is a national record.

It took 30 sessions, but Doug Polk now has a $1 million lead against Daniel Negreanu in what has become a lopsided affair. After Wednesday’s beatdown on the virtual felt, it’s no longer a matter of if Polk will win, but by how much.

Daniel Negreanu is now down a cool milly to Doug Polk. (Image: YouTube)

Those who bet on Polk before this challenge began in October are looking pretty smart right about now. The tides have certainly turned over the past week. Although Polk has led ever since the second session, and was up by nearly $1 million 18 sessions in, “DNegs” had been rather competitive for quite some time — key-phrase, “had been.”

Those days are over and it’s become a one-sided match the past four sessions. Since Day 26, Polk has turned approximately a $520,000 profit, which includes a $299,000 win on Day 30 (Wednesday). So much for what was turning into an impressive comeback.

Today, Jan. 20, 2021, is Inauguration Day in the United States. It’s a time of hope and renewal. In addition to representing a powerful moment of transition, it comes with a highly orchestrated set of pomp and ceremony, each with its own set of rules and procedures. Before our new president can begin to govern – before he even takes his oath of office – he must learn the rules and procedures of our nation, so that he may be fully equipped to act.

There’s a new game being played in America. Make sure you know what you’re stepping into when you get back to the table. (Image: Jon McNaughton)

Similarly, many of us, at the beginning of 2021, are on the precipice of a new start in poker. With prospects for a coronavirus vaccine coming and with many of our old haunts still closed, many of us will be stepping into games we haven’t played in before.

Inauguration Day may be a time for optimism, but there is also much work ahead, which is why now may be a great time for our own poker renewal.

Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu both claim the other is getting ridiculously lucky during their heads-up challenge, but neither can prove it. That’s because viewers only see hands that make it to showdown. So, perhaps they should start letting the fans view the cards (on delay, of course).

Hey, Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk, let us see your cards. (Image: YouTube)

The poker stars have now completed more than 17,000 hands of a 25,000-hand heads-up No-Limit Hold’em poker challenge. Polk, as expected, holds a sizable lead of $703,000, but Negreanu has been more competitive recently than most anticipated.

I’ve watched somewhere around 75% of the hands played. From my perspective, Polk’s clearly been the superior player in terms of skill. But, I must say, his edge hasn’t been as great as I predicted before the match began in October. I still give Negreanu very little, if any, chance to win, even if he runs hot. But, I’m highly impressed with his play against arguably the top heads-up NLH player ever.

Dan Bilzerian has found another reason to take aim his haters. With his CBD company IGNITE enjoying a profitable 2020, he was quick to let everyone know in his own inimitable way.

Dan Bilzerian’s company enjoyed a profitable end to 2020 and he wasn’t afraid to let people know about it. (Image: Instagram/Dan Bilzerian)

When he’s not representing GGPoker and posing with scantily clad women, Bilzerian is running IGNITE International Brands.

The company, which focuses primarily on CBD products, enjoyed a positive end to 2020. Revenue for Q4 topped $10.1 million, a fact Bilzerian was more than happy to share with his Twitter followers.

Allied Esports Entertainment announced the sale of its major poker brand, the World Poker Tour, to Element Partners, LLC, a move that came out of left field.

The World Poker Tour has a new owner. (Image: worldpokertour.com)

The buyer’s core focus, per the company’s website, just might be a positive sign about the future of the WPT, and the poker industry as a whole.

“Element invests at the intersection of enabling technologies and sustainable solutions in large industrial markets,” the “Our Focus” page reads.

Mike Postle ended 2020 on a high after beating a $10 million lawsuit and filing his own $330 million countersuit in its place. Now, however, a recent ruling means he could be contending with new legal issues.

Mike Postle will have to fight his case against the people who accused of cheating without a legal team. (Image: Inkedin)

Postle, a player from Northern California, was originally accused of cheating by a group of players at his home casino. The 2019 lawsuit, led by Veronica Brill, claims that Postle had an illegal advantage in live-streamed games at Stones Gambling Hall.

A judge dismissed the case and Postle hit back with a defamation claim. But, in a twist of fate, he’s now fighting that claim on his own.

I keep reading threads and it seems like people do not realize that patience is a key virtue of any winning poker player. The same goes for when I am watching others as I play. I understand recreational players wanting to get some exciting plays in while they have a limited time, but not by playing every hand. The same goes for people talking about the want to go all in because it is a waste of time to play freerolls if they are not guaranteed money.

Now, I understand getting bored or tired of playing, but patience is necessary if you want to be stable. I have mental issues and poker has helped me hone my ability to be patient in the time I have been back to it. I have even started getting in the money on a far more regular basis because of it. This is probably bragging, but I have moneyed in 4 freerolls on ACR in a day because I was not playing silly hands and being aggressive at the right spots.

So, if someone who has brain damage that causes him to exhibit multiple mental disorders can be patient and get constant, why aren’t you folks?:D

I keep reading threads and it seems like people do not realize that patience is a key virtue of any winning poker player. The same goes for when I am watching others as I play. I understand recreational players wanting to get some exciting plays in while they have a limited time, but not by playing every hand. The same goes for people talking about the want to go all in because it is a waste of time to play freerolls if they are not guaranteed money.

Now, I understand getting bored or tired of playing, but patience is necessary if you want to be stable. I have mental issues and poker has helped me hone my ability to be patient in the time I have been back to it. I have even started getting in the money on a far more regular basis because of it. This is probably bragging, but I have moneyed in 4 freerolls on ACR in a day because I was not playing silly hands and being aggressive at the right spots.

So, if someone who has brain damage that causes him to exhibit multiple mental disorders can be patient and get constant, why aren’t you folks?:D