Doug Polk, seeking motivation to shed some body fat, sent out a tweet on Tuesday hoping to get some action on a health related prop bet. One day later and he found what he was looking for from avid prop bettor Bill Perkins.
The new co-owner of The Lodge poker room in Texas had a Dexa (DXA) scan conducted, which is an imaging test measuring bone density. It also measures body composition such as body fat. Upon going through the scan, he realized it was time to get back into the fitness grind and into shape.
Details of the Prop Bet
Polk initially sought action on him losing one-third of his body fat. He ended up accepting a $200,000 even-money wager with Perkins, but he must lose at least 50% of his body fat within the next 365 days.
I have officially started a 1 year bet against @bp22. 1 year to lose half of my body fat. I just got my dexa scan a… https://t.co/eJxrZMUTue
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids)
Entering the wager, Polk clocked in at 27.7% body fat, meaning he’d need get down to 13.85% body fat by February 10, 2023 or he’ll lose the bet.
PokerNews reached out to the Upswing Poker founder to find out details of his plan to win the bet. He said he’s going to hire a personal chef, trainer, and nutritionist. Fasting isn’t in the works for the three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner. Instead, he plans to “eat clean,” meaning his diet will consist of healthy foods and not processed foods or Chicken McNuggets.
He also said he’ll be mostly cutting out alcohol. Matt Berkey, a former college baseball player, doesn’t seem to have much faith in Polk’s ability to win the $200,000 bet.
Would be great to hear more specific terms to the bet. The less restrictions the more Doug shifts to being a favori… https://t.co/ZSteagVAki
— Matt Berkey (@berkey11)
It should be noted that this is not a weight-loss prop bet, as some on social media seemed confused. Polk could conceivably gain 20 pounds and still win. As Berkey wrote in another tweet, he “has to gain a lot of muscle to win.”
World Poker Tour (WPT) announcer Tony Dunst doesn’t agree with the Solve for Why founder. He tweeted at Polk: “Barring injury you’re a stone lock. Could get it done comfortably in under 6 months.”
Ryan Riess, the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event champion, is also taking Polk’s side and is looking for action from someone willing to bet the other way. Most who commented other than Berkey expressed confidence in Polk getting the job done.
Idk how I managed to let Bill convince me to post this but here we go
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids)
Read more PokerNews stories on Doug Polk here!
Perkins is one of poker’s most avid prop bettors. The wealthy hedge fund manager often uses prop bets as a way to motivate poker players to improve upon their health.
In 2018, brothers Jaime Staples and Matt Staples won a $150,000 weight loss/gain wager against the high-stakes poker player. The Twitch streamers bet just $3,000 at 50:1 odds that they could match each other’s weight within a year, a seemingly tall task considering Jaime began the prop bet 170 pounds heavier than his brother.
Perkins has fired off a number of other headline worthy wagers, one being a heads-up challenge last year against Landon Tice, considered by some a top up-and-coming poker pro.
Tice offered essentially a $720,000 handicap to his opponent, playing at $200/$400 stakes over 25,000 hands. But despite turning a profit, he called it quits early and paid a buyout as it became evident that he couldn’t beat the handicap.