There is a dark side of poker that is rarely discussed. The less glamorous elements of the game are most often related to cheating scandals or the nature of the game itself. It has been a few days since news of a verbal tirade between two of poker’s elite, Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk has shaken the foundations of the poker world.Тhe topic is still fresh in the minds of most poker aficionados and some other poker legends took the opportunity to present their stance on the matter.
The poker brat will most probably continue attracting media attention. For the poker fans, who have missed out on the real excitement taking place on the video podcasts, the American poker pro Doug Polk accused the Canadian poker guru Daniel Negreanu “massive hypocrite and […] an embarrassment to players and the game of poker”.
During a two-hour conversation with Joe Ingram, Doug Polk discussed many topics related to the game, including the changes in the game and the alleged cheating scandal on Americas Cardroom (ACR). The situation took an interesting turn when Ingram and Polk started to talk about the famous Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu. Doug Polk triggered the poison pill after spewing a hail of negative comments about Negreanu.The Canadian legend, on the other hand, did not waste time to fire back at Doug Polk’s criticism.
Clashing Opinions Regarding Increased Rake
But the legal spat between the two poker Titans polarized the poker community, provoking other poker notables to take stance on the matter. Professional poker player and online poker trainer Phil Galfond recently posted a blog called “The Discussion on Higher Rake that Nobody is Having”, discussing higher rakes and the future of poker. Galfond’s comments on the higher rakes came in response to Daniel Negreanu’s claims that increased rake is “healthier” for the nature of the game.
According to Negreanu, the increased rake is designed to keep the professional poker players away from the tables, improving the experience for the recreational poker players. He elaborated that the best poker players should not be bothered by the increased rake as they can still beat it easily. Negreanu claimed that the old system was even an act put on for the professional players’ benefit as they received a lot of money back thanks to Supernova and Supernova Elite programs.
Galfond outlined two possible scenarios for the future development of the poker ecosystem. According to Galfond, PokerStars and its most famous ambassador Daniel Negreanu are trying to turn their site into a “poker-themed” casino, where only recreational players would play higher rake games. This, on the other hand, will leave the real poker fans with no place to play their favorite game and almost no chance to win.
Galfond believes that if that happens, many of the high-rank poker players will need to find a new place to play. The player pointed out that partypoker and his own online poker site Run It Once Poker (set to launch in 2018) might be the next most popular cardrooms for high-caliber players.
