Doug Polk Calls Daniel Negreanu "Hypocrite" & "Embarrassment" to Poker

High stakes poker pro Doug Polk and Podcast of the Year winner Joey Ingram recently did a joint podcast. They discussed some of the biggest issues that are affecting the online poker community. And one of the most-interesting topics revolved around Daniel Negreanu and his constant support of PokerStars.

Negreanu is sponsored by PokerStars and frequently supports many of their initiatives. This is why he became one of the main subjects of their podcast.

Polk took this chance to bash Kid Poker and question his motives. That said, let's discuss some of the controversial things that the two had say about Negreanu.

Ingram Thinks that Negreanu Needs to be More Transparent

While Ingram doesn't dislike Kid Poker, he does have an issue with Negreanu agreeing with PokerStars on everything, then pretending to be a major advocate for the players.

"When I see him out there electing to advocate for the players always ... I get it, you're getting paid, you've got a piece, you own, these things [PokerStars & other interests]," said Ingram.

"But let's be transparent about these things, ownership. Let people know 'I'm recommending these things, these companies, these products, these players, because I have a piece of it.’"

He added, "To say that you have some advocacy for the poker world, you care about the poker world as a whole and its players, while also pushing, influencing.

"When you're a major influencer on a poker site, and that poker site is attempting to push the game towards crack-cocaine poker, Spin& Go's, jackpot poker, pizza poker, I don't even know what kind of other formats they have on there. When you're a major influencer, at least own up and say, 'Now this is why we're going with Spin & Gos.’"

Ingram went on to say that he respects Negreanu. But he'd like the 43-year-old to talk about other poker issues, beyond the ones associated with his sponsor.

Polk Obliterates Negreanu in Rant

Polk wasn't as nice as Ingram when saying what he thinks about Negreanu. He has a much stronger stance on what he sees as hypocrisy regarding Negreanu and PokerStars.

"I mean, he laid on a couch and talked about how the [PokerStars] games with higher rake will be better," said Polk. "And he can try and semantics it up about what he exactly said. But the bottom line is that he said 'If there's more rake than there's not the regs, and the game's better, so you win more. That was absolutely one of the most-insane shill-fests I've ever seen."

Polk continued, "He then tried to spread 'Oh people are telling rumors about me, I didn't say that.'

“You did say that. And to try and somehow say that you're the good guy here, it's absurd. You can't say those things about poker and then somehow try to argue that it's better for the community."

Like Ingram, Polk understands that Negreanu is paid a lot of money to advocate for PokerStars. But Polk also believes that Negreanu is pretending to be the "good guy" while arguing that higher rake is good.

"He's a massive hypocrite, and he's frankly an embarrassment to the game of poker," said Polk. "For me and him personally, he's just so unbelievably petty.

“I feel like Negreanu is the girl in high school, who's like not as cool as some people, but thinks that she's cool, and wants to be cool, so she says things about people, and always kind of saying things behind your back."

Negreanu Tweet may Have Sparked Polk's Rant

Doug Polk has made a successful transition towards podcasting about cryptocurrencies. And he felt that a recent tweet from Daniel Negreanu may have been aimed at him.

Kid Poker tweeted this just one day before Ingram and Polk's podcast:

"Many people come and go in the poker industry, moving on to other things, but I am a lifer. I love this game and plan to play a big role in the poker community for the rest of my life. I have lots of passions, but poker will always be #1."

Polk continued his rant after referencing this tweet.

"Honestly, shut the f*ck up,” exclaimed Polk. “He's getting paid millions of dollars to be a hypocrite and tell you why taking your money is good, and why he should take more of your money. And then try to be the good guy – you don't get to be both."

Ingram Disagrees on the Severity of Polk's Comments

Ingram politely disagreed with how far Polk went in bashing Negreanu.

“I wouldn’t go this far,” Ingram said. “You know I’ve got a lot of respect for Negreanu. He brings in a lot of people (to the game). ... In terms of an embarrassment, I feel like he's done so many great things for poker over the years, and he mentioned to me today that he's had influence over the tournament structures and on poker [tournament events]."

Ingram's words didn't sway Polk, though, who's unhappy about how Negreanu portrays himself when he's not truly an advocate for the players. He also deduced that Negreanu was tweeting directly about him.

Given the fireworks here, it'll be interesting to see if Negreanu responds to what Polk had to say.