doug polk top moments 2017

5 Most Memorable Doug Polk Moments of 2017

2017 has been an unforgettable year for Upswing Poker pro Doug Polk and the thousands of Evil Empire fans across the globe.

Here is a Top 5 list of the Most Memorable Doug Polk Moments that took place this year.

 (#5) Record-Setting Partypoker Powerfest Victory for $271k

Doug continued to set poker streaming records in 2017. After reclaiming the title of Largest Twitch Poker Cash with a runner-up performance in the WCOOP High Roller event in September of last year, he then established the YouTube Poker Streaming Record on May 21st with a victory in the Partypoker Millions Powerfest online tournament for $271,272 USD.

The win was viewed live by more than 10,000 fans who watched the final table action while Doug’s 5% Giveaway went from negative numbers to five figures cash.

That poker session was especially satisfying because it came on the backdrop of Doug reaching 100,000 subscribers on YouTube — which the world’s second largest search engine recognized through its coveted Silver Play Button award.

(#4) Dan Polk Becomes Tabloid Phenomenon

Back in January, Doug released a YouTube video discussing Dan Bilzerian’s poker ability that went viral and eventually surpassed 1 million views.

The clip garnered so much attention that mass-media publications TheLADbible and Ask Men covered the story on their respective websites.

However, The Sun UK surprised everyone when they originally misprinted Doug’s first name, referring to him as Dan Polk. The moment was ironically captured live on the Poker Life Podcast with host Joey Ingram, and marked Doug’s initial exposure to mainstream distribution.

“There are already enough Dan’s in the poker world,” exclaimed Doug when the mistake (since corrected) was discovered. However, the Legend of Dan Polk lives on to this day.

(#3) Doug Polk Felts Phil Hellmuth in Poker Night Debut

When two parties decide they want to work together for the interests of others, magical things can happen for poker fans.

Such was the case when Doug made his debut on Poker Night in America alongside 14-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and Chicago businessman Jeremy Kaufman.

The weekend live stream was highly profitable for our favorite pro, who managed to win a huge hand against the Poker Brat — made timeless by PNIA organizer Matt Glantz who snapped one of the most popular poker images of the year.

To top it all off, Doug managed to negotiate his way to a $25,000 cash bonus in an epic flip against Kaufman once the live cast had ended.

(#2) Doug Trolls PokerStars (and Fans) in Sponsorship Video

Before being purchased by Amaya in 2014, PokerStars was beloved by many professional players who had come to appreciate the world’s largest poker site’s high quality online offering, EPT live tournament stops, forthright communication, player fund bailouts of competing sites and cashback rewards to its highest volume customers.

But a high profile “communication error” in late 2015 that took tens of millions from “Supernova Elite” players along with across-the-board price hikes and an outright dismissal of pros by The Stars Group have since resulted in major conflict between the publicly-traded company and for-profit players.

So when Doug took to his YouTube channel to make an “important announcement” concerning PokerStars, longtime fans gasped when they saw a thumbnail of the three-time WSOP bracelet winner donning official PokerStars gear.

Doug would go on to reveal that joining forces with PokerStars was just a crazy nightmare… but for a moment, the poker world really believed the Supreme Leader was teaming up with the Isle of Man corporation.

(#1) Doug Wins WSOP High Roller for One Drop

Doug Polk Best Moments WSOP One Drop

The most memorable Doug Polk moment of 2017 happened in June when he took down the $111,111 buy-in WSOP High Roller for One Drop for $3.68 million USD and earned his third World Series of Poker bracelet.

Winning such a high profile poker tournament against top-notch competition was an important achievement for Doug, who began his poker career grinding low-stakes online games roughly ten years ago.

Overall, Doug took home about $1.5 million USD in profit during the 2017 WSOP — 2% of which was awarded to his fans via a $30,000 Cash Giveaway that was broadcast on Facebook Live.

What are your thoughts on this list of Most Memorable Doug Polk Moments in 2017?

Should the “Rake It” campaign have been included? How about Doug’s King of The Hill battle against Phil Hellmuth? Give us your thoughts, and Happy Holidays from your friends at Team Upswing!

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About the Author
David Huber

David Huber

David Huber (known as "dhubermex" online) has been involved in the poker industry for more than a decade. He currently assists several poker and gaming entities as a researcher, writer, and consultant. Former Editor-in-Chief & Head Moderator of online tournament rankings site PocketFives (2006-2011).

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