Gossip Column: Polk & Schwartz Exchange Fire on Twitter; Musk’s Cryptocurrency Tweets Leads to Massive Losses For Poker Community & More

Gossip Column: Doug Polk & Luke Schwartz Lock Horns on Twitter; Elon Musk's Cryptocurrency Tweets Leads to Massive Losses For Poker Community & More
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  • Attreyee Khasnabis May 25, 2021
  • 5 Minutes Read

Doug Polk may have retired from poker, but he just can’t stop himself from getting under the skin of other poker pros. While Daniel Negreanu is his go-to punching bag, this time around, he set his sights on another old nemesis, Luke Schwartz. The NLHE HU specialist took to Twitter to compare cryptocurrency’s crumbling valuation to Schwartz’s PokerStars record. Needless to say, the remark did not go down well with the London-based pro who had a few choice words of his own for Polk. Is a Grudge Match II in the offing?

Speaking of cryptocurrency, tech billionaire Elon Musk‘s tweets on the subject lately have sent the crypto markets into a tizzy. Given that many poker players are also Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) investors, Musk’s comments were not well received, with many taking to Twitter to ridicule the Tesla CEO.

Whether Polk and Schwartz will resolve their difference through a friendly heads-up challenge is yet unknown, but the Landon Tice vs. Bill Perkins heads-up challenge is all set to hit the virtual felts. Weeks before the start of his match (the start date of which is yet to be announced) against the entrepreneur, Tice blogged his thoughts on the impending match. He admitted that while he has the skill edge, the terms of the challenge favor Perkins, a point that concerns him.

And finally, we wrap up the feature with an update from the ongoing heads-up challenge between MJ Gonzales and Dan Smith. The fourth session played out on May 19, with Smith winning another $290,000 to extend his lead to $367,000.

 

Doug Polk & Luke Schwartz Trade Insults on Twitter

And they are back at it again! Arch-rivals Doug Polk and Luke Schwartz engaged in a Twitter war of words on May 19 when the now-retired poker pro compared the fall in the price of the virtual currency Ethereum with Schwartz’s PokerStars record.

 

The rivalry between the duo goes back a few years when Polk had made claims of having smashed Schwartz at the Mixed and 2-7 Triple Draw tables. Schwartz had retaliated by claiming that the Upswing Poker founder had been ghosted by his friend and colleague Jake ‘JLlama’ Abdalla, and Polk doubled down by stating Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom was playing on Schwartz’s account.

Doug Polk

 

All that happened in 2018, now flash forward to 2021, and the duo is at it again. Polk’s tweet didn’t go unnoticed by Schwartz, who tweeted a ‘facts’ sheet of his own.

 

Polk’s habit of getting into feuds with other poker pros is nothing new. The three-time WSOP bracelet winner has engaged in Twitter brawls with Jason Mercier, Tom Dwan, Cate Hall, and Ben Tollerene. His most recent feud with GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu led to the ‘Grudge Match’ that Polk eventually won, walking away with $1.2 Million in profits.

Luke Schwartz
Luke Schwartz

 

Will his latest Twitter fight with Schwartz lead to yet another heads-up challenge? Well, given that heads-up challenges have become relatively commonplace, it may well be on the cards. Pun intended.

 

Poker Community Losses Millions Over Elon Musk’s Cryptocurrency Tweets

Tech billionaire and cryptocurrency aficionado Elon Musk has gained notoriety for sending the cryptocurrency markets in a tizzy with every tweet he makes on the subject. His tweets last week saw popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether nosediving in value, impacting the poker community significantly as many poker players allegedly lost millions when the cryptocurrency valuation took a hit.

Elon Musk
Elon Musk

 

NOTE: Bitcoin jumped up almost 12% today after a tweet by Musk, who claimed to have spoken with “Bitcoin Miners.”

Late last week, the Tesla chief took to the microblogging site to announce that his electric car company would no longer accept payments in Bitcoin, citing excessive use of fossil fuels for its mining. The tweet led to an immediate plunge in the value of the cryptocurrency, which has continued since then. It took another dip over the past day, thanks in large part to a one-word tweet by Musk.

 

One word, “Indeed,” sent Bitcoin’s price into a fast tailspin. On Sunday, May 16, the price of Bitcoin traded below $45,000. According to data by the coin desk, the downward trajectory followed on Monday as Bitcoin traded for $42,702 at its lowest in the evening.

On Monday morning, Musk attempted to calm some of the anger directed his way when he tweeted that Tesla “has not sold any Bitcoin.”

 

Several poker players have been supporters and proponents of Bitcoin, and cryptocurrency valuations taking a nosedive rattled them. Many of them took to roasting the tech visionary.

 

 

Landon Tice Blogs on His Thoughts Before Upcoming Match Against Bill Perkins

Upcoming poker superstar Landon Tice posted a blog on May 24, sharing his thoughts on his forthcoming heads-up challenge against hedge-fund manager cum poker enthusiast Bill Perkins.

Landon Tice
Landon Tice

 

The blog titled, ‘Thoughts on My Challenge vs Bill Perkins,’ starts out by Tice acknowledging, “In all honesty, I did not realize what I was signing myself up for.”

The duo has agreed to a $200/$400 high-stakes NLHE match lasting 20,000 hands. To balance the evident skill edge Tice has over Perkins, the latter will get a 9 BB/100 hand handicap – which given the stakes of the challenge, translates to a $720,000 head start for Perkins. This means, if Tice were to win $1 Million off Perkins after the 20,000-hand challenge, he would only get paid $280,0000.

Bill Perkins

 

A side bet was added to the challenge, wherein if Tice and Perkins have not played 15,000 hands before the start of the WSOP in the fall, Perkins will have to pay Tice $100,000.

Given the initial terms of the challenge, Tice is taking a considerable risk. Nevertheless, he is still the favorite to win.

According to PokerShares, as of May 24:

> Landon Tice to win by more than $720,000 (-130)

> Bill Perkins to lose less than $720,000 or win (+112)

In early February, Tice had clarified that while he knew of the risks involved, he was also confident that we would crush the recreational high-stakes poker player.

 

However, Tice admitted to having been caught up in the Polk vs. Negreanu match in his latest blog while commentating on it on YouTube alongside Joey Ingram. So, despite not being a heads-up specialist, he wanted to tackle a heads-up challenge of his own, and Perkins seemed like the perfect opponent.

While Perkins may not be a poker pro, he is still a top-notch entrepreneur and managed to negotiate favorable terms for himself in the challenge. Perkins initially tried to entice Polk to play him, but he asked Polk for 9.75 big blinds per 100 hands in rebate. That offer was declined, so he negotiated nine big blinds per 100 hands with Tice, which comes out to $720,000 over 20,000 hands.

“I was not a HUNL player at all before this challenge started. I was a 6-max player who’s played some pretty high stakes in that format, and also played MTTs online. So I’m nowhere near Doug’s level of prowess in HUNL, and Bill wanted 9.75bb/100 from him. So getting 9 from me was an absolute steal on his end, and I probably could have worked pretty hard to get to 5-6bb/100 from him if I put my foot down a little bit. Round 1, negotiating, goes to Mr. Perkins,” Tice wrote in his blog.

As the situation stands, while Tice does have the skill edge against Perkins, Tice will still have a lot riding on him as he will be playing above his regular bankroll. However, Tice has also revealed that he has some hefty backers, including his pal Matt Berkey, the Solve for Why poker training site founder and podcaster.

“Yes, this challenge is a significant undertaking, but it doesn’t define me, my career, or anything regarding it. It’s a moment in time where I wanted to improve in a format and at the end of the day laid a massive spot,” Tice wrote.

“It’s good to get this off my chest, and truly just get to the challenge. I’m going to try to play my absolute best with my team in my corner, and I can’t wait to see the cards fall where they may,” he concluded in his blog post.

The heads-up challenge is expected to begin early next month.

 

Dan Smith vs. MJ Gonzales: Smith Extends Lead to $376K After 4 Sessions

On May 19, the fourth heads-up session between the founder of Hybrid Poker, MJ Gonzales, and high stakes crusher Dan Smith took place. And once again, it was the latter who came out on top, banking a profit of $290,000 to extend his overall lead to $376,000.

Dan Smith
Dan Smith

 

 

Gonzales had started out by winning the first two sessions and taking a $42,000 lead. But the former WPT champion, Smith, bounced back in the third session, snatching the lead away from Gonzales and booking a $128,000 profit. At the end of session #3, Smith was leading for $86,000, and with a $290,000 profit in session #4, now sits comfortably $376,000 ahead.

MJ Gonzales

 

The date for the next session is yet to be announced.

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