Doug Polk Announces Departure From The Lodge

Interesting developments here in Austin

Who has the time or energy to handle TABC issues when you're already collecting all that Code Doug money anyway.

He might just be going into retirement. He sold Upswing for 10 mil or something this past year as well. Doug has quit poker and retired a couple times before, who knows.

He might just be going into retirement. He sold Upswing for 10 mil or something this past year as well. Doug has quit poker and retired a couple times before, who knows.

He's on some committee for a new site called AlligatorBlood.com founded by some local Austin guy who's done stuff in card trading, etc. type spaces before.

I'm on the waitlist for Alligator Blood — I believe it has real utility and there are smart people running it.

Doug Polk is wild — mostly positively — he’s unpredictable and his decision to retire isn’t shocking. Whatever he does after retirement won’t surprise me, whether he stays retired, plays professionally for several years, opens a solo poker club in San Antonio, or something else.

I'm on the wait list for Alligator Blood — I think there could be real utility there, and there are some strong minds behind it.

Doug Polk is unpredictable — mostly in a positive way — he’s all over the place. His retirement isn’t shocking, and I wouldn’t be surprised by any path he takes afterward, whether staying retired, playing professionally for five years straight, opening a new poker club alone in San Antonio, or something else.

I’m not convinced about the site yet.

The name carries nostalgia for older poker fans, but it probably won’t click with the younger people coming into the scene. I also doubt it will do well for SEO.

What motivates players to join the site? Most already have presences on a variety of social networks (Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.) with established followers.

Do they really want to run one more social network? I think recruiting the average recreational player will be tough, which could leave the platform dominated by the ultra-serious grinder crowd. If the site doesn’t provide them clear advantages, they’ll keep focusing on their existing networks.

I haven’t seen anything about this venture that made me go “wow, that’s a novel idea that will truly pull people in.”

They’re offering cash for promoting the site and bringing people onboard, but I don’t see why users would stay after the payout ends.

What’s the draw for you?