Doug Polk experienced a crazy rollercoaster ride on the first day of the WSOP Main Event.

Doug Polk experienced a bad beat, a double-up, and a cold hand loss on Day 1 of the 2026 WSOP Main Event in Group D, losing 90% chips in one hour.

Doug Polk seems to be having a run of bad luck lately at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), especially in the Main Event.

The three-time WSOP bracelet winner experienced a crazy rollercoaster start to Day 1 of the 2026 WSOP Main Event – which began at 11 a.m. Pacific Time on Sunday. Polk suffered a bad beat, doubled up, and then lost 90% in a brutal cold hand during the first hour of the World Series of Poker.

As of press time, more than 3,300 players have registered for the final Day 1 starting group. Polk is one of them, and he hopes to do better than he did after being eliminated in Bad Beat last year.

Can he turn things around?

Polk has been rarely participating in WSOP events lately. Although he did participate in the $25,000 heads-up No-Limit Hold'em tournament last month, he suffered a brutal bad beat on the first round, losing to Alex Keating. Last year, on the main event's live table, near the bubble, he went all-in pre-flop with an Ace, holding a large stack, but lost it all to pocket Kings.

The opening of Day 1, Group D, for Polk was similar to the end of 2025. He held an overpair (pocket kings) and 3-bet pre-flop, only to have his opponent hit trips on the flop. This dealt him a heavy blow just minutes into the marathon tournament. But he soon doubled up – strangely enough, this time hitting trips on the flop and breaking his pocket kings.

However, his good fortune didn't last. Shortly after, he called a raise to 500 from the button with pocket sixes, and the big blind called as well. The flop came Qx6x2x, and the original raiser continued betting 1,100. Polk raised to 4,400, got one call, and the big blind folded.

The turn was Ax. The pre-flop raiser checked and then called Polk's 9,000 bet. After the river was 3x, action went to Polk, who bet 21,000. His opponent then went all-in for 48,000, leaving the co-owner of The Lodge Card Club in deep thought. He said he went into deep thought to "complain," but ultimately chose to call, only to find himself facing pocket aces.

That hand cost Polk 90%. He had just over a third of his starting stack when he took his first break of the day, but he still had time to rebuild.

Polk recently announced that he will step down from active management at The Lodge just two months after the Texas Hold'em poker room reopened following the resolution of legal issues.

Polk has participated in the WSOP Main Event more than ten times, winning small prizes in 2011 and 2023.

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