In a sense, poker pro Doug Polk is used to performing in front of an audience.
First, the poker world watched as he won three World Series of Poker bracelets. Then, many were glued to his high-stakes heads-up grudge match with Daniel Negreanu.
But now, the online poker legend was set to perform in front of a different type of audience—one where they were expecting him to make them laugh.
Polk recently made the first of his two appearances performing stand-up comedy on the Kill Tony podcast. Kill Tony is a popular stand-up variety show created in 2013 by the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe.
Every show gives aspiring comics one minute with the mic to deliver their best jokes. The YouTube show has 2.3 million subscribers.
Polk Earned His Spot From Heads-Up Poker Match
In late May, Hinchcliffe released an episode where he told the story of how Polk got his spot on the show. According to Hinchcliffe’s story, the two met at the afterparty of a prior taping.
It wasn’t long before the two were playing high-stakes heads-up no-limit hold’em. Polk risked $20,000 to win a minute on the show. Hinchcliffe won the first match, but they played a second time for the same stakes and Polk was victorious.
On Monday, Hinchcliffe released Polk’s Kill Tony episode. Polk released a video documenting the experience on his own YouTube channel the same day.
“This is me, about to do the scariest thing a person can possibly do,” Polk noted in his own video of the appearance. “And worst of all, I’ve never done this before So how did we get here?”
To make matters worse the for Polk, Hinchcliffe’s panel doesn’t hold back on guests, regardless of experience level.
“So I won my spot on to the show, but there was one big problem – I don’t know how to perform standup comedy,” Polk said. “And this show, not exactly easy on amateurs.”
Polk Indeed “Killed” Tony
However, Polk’s actually drew plenty of laughs, connecting on jokes about the number of Californians moving into Texas, an Austin serial killer, and even needling Hinchcliffe. The host and panel were quick to compliment Polk for his minute on stage.
“I’m pretty sure that’s the best set of the night from everybody,” Hinchcliffe said. “Absolutely incredible when you put your mind to it. You’ve been practicing for a month.”
The two then discussed poker, including the heads-up match that saw Hinchcliffe win the first game for $20,000. In the second game, $40,000 was on the line for the podcast host versus a minute on the show if Polk won. The poker pro came out on top.
“That is a Monday night brought to you by whiskey and tequila,” Hinchcliffe said of the wager. He added: “I realized afterwards that I’m the sucker.”
Watch Polk’ routine and the discussion afterward below.
