Doug Polk now installed as a -555 favorite in the upcoming heads-up challenge against Daniel Negreanu
A string of shaky results in warm-up matches hasn't hurt Doug Polk's odds against Daniel Negreanu in the eyes of PokerShares.
The poker betting platform shifted the odds even more in favor of Polk over the weekend. Bettors can now take the favored Polk at 1.18/-555 payout odds, or choose Negreanu at 5.20/+420 underdog odds. Those lines shifted Sunday from previous lines of Polk at 1.25/-400 and Negreanu at 4.10/+310.
PokerShares posted the updated lines on Twitter, in response to a tweet from Polk outlining his difficulties playing in warmup matches on the Winning Poker Network throughout August. Since agreeing to take on Negreanu in a heads-up challenge, Polk hit the online felt for the first time in more than a year, taking on selected challengers in heads-up cash games.
"Not going to sugarcoat this, I have beaten almost none of the opponents I have played since I got back into playing HU," Polk said in the tweet. "It has basically been a 30-35 buyin beatdown by people playing all kinds of styles including the following:"
Polk then goes on to list some of those styles, including "Misclicking every 30 hands, 4 Betting me 20%, Streaming their session on Twitch," as well as "Can't figure out how to sit the table."
Polk's opponents in the heads-up matches have included Twitter followers that Polk agreed to play, along with top players like Landon Tice, 'VeniVedi1993', and Marty 'forrestranfar' Mathis.
"All in all, either my fanbase of small to mid stakes players are either some of the strongest hunl players on the planet, or there may be trouble in paradise," Polk says in a later tweet.
PokerShares still posts Polk as the heavy favorite
In response to Polk's thread detailing the heads-up warm-up match woes, poker betting market PokerShares responded with an announcement that the odds have shifted even further in Polk's favor, with betting limits increased on the Polk vs. Negreanu match.
"In light of this new information we have raised out limits 1000% and drastically shifted our odds," PokerShares posted in a tweet.
The latest odds place Polk as more than a 5-to-1 favorite, with betting limits increased to €2,000. The line lists that bets are only valid if Polk and Negreanu agree to play between 10,000 and 25,000 hands.
The listing posts the date of the match as September 30, but with a provision that further details of the match are TBA. Neither Negreanu nor Polk has announced an official date for the challenge.
Heads-up challenge brings Polk out of retirement
The rivalry between Polk and Negreanu spans most of the last half-decade, and the latest social media spar between two of poker's most recognizable players led to Polk's comeback to poker.
In late July, Polk and Negreanu engaged in a Twitter exchange that spilled over into an entry on Negreanu's Full Contact Poker blog. Poker.org coverage of the Polk vs. Negreanu challenge includes details and reactions to that social media back-and-forth, a direct message mix-up that almost sunk the challenge before it even began, and an op-ed by Jon Sofen that looks at the actions of both players across the years-long rivalry.
The date hasn't been officially set yet, but at some point Polk and Negreanu will battle each other heads-up, giving the poker world a chance to see two of the top players and most influential personalities in the game settle the score on the felt.
Featured Image source: Twitter
