The Barstool Sports crew took to the felt this week with two poker streams.
First, on Tuesday, 18 Barstool personalities battled it in a tournament. Then, on Wednesday, the company’s founder Dave Portnoy squared off against Eric “Barstool Nate” Nathan in a $20,000 heads-up freezeout.
Nathan is the platform’s resident poker player and hosts the Cracking Aces podcast. On the other hand, Portnoy is a complete novice.
But despite any skill advantage for “Barstool Nate,” Portnoy came out on top. He won the match and Nathan’s $20,000.
“He plays a lot of poker,” Portnoy said after the match. “I’ve played twice in 15 years. I tried to tell him. I didn’t want this, I didn’t want the match.
Nate Makes The “Worst Fold In The History Of Poker”
Nathan played incredibly defensively for most of the match, folding the best hand on multiple occasions. However, he folded pocket kings on the river to an incredibly small bet from Portnoy, who was betting with a pair of nines that turned into second pair by the river.
PokerGO’s Brent Hanks, who did commentary for the match with Jeff Platt, called it one of the “worst folds in the history of poker.”
NATE FOLDS KINGS @stoolpresidente has taken the lead
WOW. @DKCasino pic.twitter.com/WznFFsLVRn
— Barstool Gambling (@stoolgambling) September 4, 2025
High-stakes poker pro and former heads-up no-limit hold’em specialist Doug Polk also had harsh words for Nathan’s play. In a Thursday video, Polk gave a recap with his opinions regarding the match.
“Dave rarely plays poker at all, so we are getting a glimpse into exactly how good is Dave Portnoy at poker,” said Polk. “We are also going to get a look at how “Barstool Nate” played. Cliff notes: not good.”
Ethan Kamps Wins Tournament
In the Barstool tournament, the action featured an interesting three-way all in between Eric “PFT Commenter” Sollenberger, Ethan Kamps and DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish.
DraftKings signed a partnership with Barstool Sports in February 2024 and the company’s logo was prominently displayed on the streams of both events.
Sollenberger tabled A♦J♣, while Kamps showed A♣9♣ and Kalish turned over K♥9♥. According to the Card Player Poker Odds Calculator, Sollenberger was an overwhelming favorite with a 48% chance of winning the three-way all in.
Those chances improved on a the A♥6♣2♣ flop, giving him a 50% shot of taking down the whole thing. But Kamps’ chances improved to 41% since he flopped the nut flush draw. On the other hand, Kalish had just 5% equity in the pot.
The 10♣ came on the turn, giving Kramps the flush, eliminating Kalish and securing a massive chip lead to start heads-up play against Sollenberger.
But heads-up only lasted a single hand, making all chip leads equal. Sollenberger limped in on the button with Q♥J♦ and Kamps checked his option with 7♠3♣ .
The flop was K♥5♥3♦, giving Kamps the lead with bottom pair. Kamps checked, Sollenberger went all in and Kamps called.
The turn was the 4♠ and the river was the K♣, giving Kamps the “King of the Felt” title and $30,000.
“I’m pretty close to tears right now,” Kamps said afterward. “This is just a big moment for me. I honestly can’t believe it. My whole life I’ve been told, ‘You’re good at stuff, but you just don’t apply yourself.’ Poker was the first thing I felt I really applied myself to. So, to come out here and actually win something means the world to me.”
Branching Into Poker Content?
The two events, held in conjunction with DraftKings, may mean Barstool will produce more poker content in the coming months.
The action featured high-end production with PokerGO’s Brent Hanks and Jeff Platt calling the action.
Additionally, the events were held at Foxwoods, which is debuting its new poker room next week, and possibly could be reemerging as a major poker destination, especially in New England. Portnoy has roots in Boston, which is where DraftKings is headquartered. Thus, the Connecticut tribal casino could be the location for future programs.
The leading sportsbook, daily fantasy sports operator, and online casino operator has its own online poker product called Electric Poker. The game functions like PokerStars’ spin & go’s where a three-handed hyper turbo sit n’ go has a its prize pool determined by a spin before the tournament starts.
All this points to more poker content on Barstool’s horizon.
