Greatest Poker Rivalries of All Time

In a world with such high stakes, it's no shock that the poker scene is flooded with rivalries. We've all heard of Ali vs Fraser and United vs City, and at the Hold'em table these feuds are just as infamous. Like any other competitive sport, poker rivalries date all the way back to the game's inception. Safe to say, heads-up final hands and heated tournament tables have made enemies for generations and continue to do so.

Today's social media spats may not be as deadly as showdowns in the 1800s, but they turn just as many heads. Twitter helps facilitate the more vocal characters at the table, with the likes of Polk not-so-subtly pointing out Luke Schwartz' recent poker losses in the background of a post.

Some feuds, like Negreanu versus Polk, even lead to one-on-one contests aiming to crown the rivalry victor and settle the debate for good. Others seem to last a lifetime and draw crowds of fans expecting a show - most often they get what they're looking for with a classic Phil Hellmuth freak-out.

At any given moment a poker rivalry can begin - any number of catalysts can start a feud, from an arrogant slow roll to a graceless bad beat. So, pay attention to the tournament tables and maybe even your Twitter feeds, who knows, you may be first in line to the next feud face-off. Without further ado, here's a taster of just how wild these rivalries can get.

Wild Bill Hickok vs James McCall

Perhaps the most famous poker feud of all time - so notorious it even coined the term 'Dead Mans Hand' - is the story of James Butler Hickok, better known as 'Wild Bill'. 1876 in the Old West was a year that culminated Hickok's brutal murder at the hands of poker rival Jack McCall.

Hickok had already made quite a name for himself in the gambling world, after taking part in the first ever quick draw duels in 1875 where he killed fellow gambler Davis Tutt over an unpaid poker debt. But, his notoriety would soon turn against him with enemies seeking revenge.

On August 1, 1876, Wild Bill Hickok was playing poker at Nuttal & Mann's #10 Saloon in Deadwood, Dakota. A drunk Jack McCall joined the game and ended up losing heavily. According to the tale, Hickok encouraged McCall to quit and even offered him money for breakfast. McCall accepted defeat and the free breakfast, but must have taken the loss more personally than anyone expected.

The next day, Hickok returned to the table, reportedly facing away from the door. With his back turned to the entrance, McCall entered the saloon and drew his .45-calibre Colt revolver. He put the gun to the back of Hickok's head and shot him dead at point blank range - securing this feud in the history books forever.

The hand Hickok was holding at the time of his death, has been aptly dubbed the 'Dead Man's Hand'. The hand is two black aces and two black eights. Although this may be a good hand in Five Card Stud and maybe even Hold'em, the more superstitious of us may feel slightly cursed by the combination. So, if you see this on the table, maybe keep an eye on the casino doors.

Doug Polk vs Luke Schwartz

From the deadliest to perhaps the pettiest feud, we're taking a trip from the 1876 saloon to today's Wild West equal - Twitter. Doug Polk, one of the more outspoken in the poker scene, often takes to Twitter to stir the pot. His most recent endeavour was calling out Phil Hellmuth - perhaps the most coveted poker tournament player of this generation, with a record 16 World Series of Poker Bracelet wins. There aren't many other poker players who would poke fun at such a heavyweight, but for Doug Polk, this seems to be the norm.

Polk's most entertaining feud is by far his verbal jousting match with Luke Schwartz which continues to this day. The timeline of their rivalry is hard to follow given it's longevity, but here are some notable moments.

First, we have Doug Polk showing a graph of Schwartz' $800,000 downswing on the Pokerstars platform on Joey Ingram's podcast, in a video that now has over 100,00 views.

This was closely followed by Schwartz very openly speaking of his disdain toward Polk in an interview with 'PokerNewsdotcom' that became even more popular on Youtube.

They did attempt to settle this debate with heads-up battles, but this only proved to add more fuel to the fire. Schwartz has admitted to losing $100,000 in a heads-up game with Polk, but Doug claimed that in a different $60,000 win over Luke, he had Viktor “Isildur1” Blom playing for him in the contest. Schwartz hit back with a similar accusation - claiming that Polk’s “pigeon friend” Jake "JLlama' Abdalla had been “either ghosting him or telling him what to do” during the match.

With neither allegation ever proven or admitted to, the two continued with a battle of insults. Schwartz didn't hold back with this line - calling Doug a "sad battle nerd waste of space". To which Polk instantly responded with a heads-up challenge.

Schwartz has regularly claimed his superiority in online poker and high stakes cash games, but after Polk called him out for not competing in the far more serious $300k Super High Roller, Schwartz definitely had reason to swallow some of his pride. Polk also went on to win the prestigious $111,111 High Roller for One Drop for over $3.6M in June 2017, and we haven't heard much from Luke Schwartz since. Polk shows no signs of stopping the feud, so with any luck Schwartz will soon return to his keyboard-warrior ways to provide more entertainment for the fans at home.

Polk is still at it to this day, with his most recent crypto-related insult keeping himself well within the action.

Jeff Lisandro vs Prahlad Friedman

Perhaps the most infamous blowout at a live event is the Lisandro vs Friedman fiasco. On the main stage of all main stages, at the 2006 WSOP Main Event, Prahlad Friedman accused Jeff Lisandro of failing to post a 5,000-chip ante. In a game with such high stakes and contestants not too far from the main event final table, it's no surprise that Lisandro took the allegation to heart.

When Lisandro disputed the claim, Freidman essentially called him a liar and a thief, stating "I don't trust you sir". The disagreement only escalated from that moment and became so heated that the floor got involved. The argument was close to becoming physical with Lisandro threatening “I’ll take your head off, buddy!” as Friedman insisted on his failure to cough up the 5,000 chip ante.

Both players have earned great respect in the community and truth in the accusation would be a story for the ages, beyond the feud itself.

Freidman - one of the original online poker prodigies, before Tom Dwan and Viktor Blom took over - won a WSOP bracelet in 2003 and a World Poker Tour title and has continued to build a respectable legacy ever since. Lisandro, on the other hand, has 5 WSOP bracelet wins and 68 money finishes compared to Freidman's mere 5 in comparison. Unsurprisingly he must have felt an attempt at damaging his reputation was at play.

As it turned out, a replay showed that Lisandro had in fact put up the ante. Freidman later attempted an apology but Lisandro refused to speak to him. Lisandro went on to finish 3 places above Prahlad Freidman which can only have made the Californian feel even worse.

Now referred to as 'Ante Gate', the fight still remains one of the wildest WSOP moments in history. Poker may be a game of deception and mind games, but there is always honour in sticking to the rules and common courtesies of the game. Understandably then, an accusation of this nature between two legends was felt across the entire poker community.

Honourable Mentions:

Daniel Negreanu vs Annie Duke

Dating back to the early 2000s, this mostly-online poker feud has become rather notorious for its petty insults. In a rivalry with undeniable poker legend Daniel Negreanu, Annie Duke (sister to Full Tilt’s Howard Lederer) referred to Negreanu as "cup boy" for his habit of having a styrofoam cup of water at the table. Negreanu fired back with an equally childish nickname "Annie Puke'' - a name he claims was given to her by the Las Vegas Mirage Casino dealers.

Sam Grizzle vs Phil Hellmuth.

Phil Hellmuth may have made his name by showing consistent talent at the tables, his fabled temper tantrums come in equal doses. He is famous for bad-beat outbursts and being somewhat of a sore loser, but when you're a 16-time WSOP champ, what is there to complain about? Hellmuth may say Sam Grizzle is the answer here. In 2003 Grizzle beat Hellmuth in a hand and continued to poke fun at Hellmuth's loss after the fact. More notably though, is their parking-lot fist-fight as a result of Hellmuth giving up Grizzle's seat in a game after 90 minutes away from the table. According to Hellmuth they "both land[ed] punches, but next day not a mark on either of [them] (BEST FIGHT EVER cause no one was hurt)."