08:51
31 Oct
Mike McDonald is back making crazy prop bets—this time challenging himself to become a chess grandmaster. This is no mean feat, and it is not just a case of putting in the hours. It is well beyond the vast majority of the human population regardless of how hard they try.
Mike was born in the Canadian city of Waterloo and as a child, he was fond of mathematics and played chess. Apparently, his logical abilities revealed the player's talent in McDonald when he first got acquainted with poker. Poker.com does not intend for any of the information contained on this website to be used for illegal purposes. The information in this site is for news and entertainment purposes only. It is the sole responsibility of any businesses advertised on poker.com to conduct themselves in a manner, which satisfies various legal jurisdictions,. Date Title; Aug 29, '20: High-Stakes Poker Pro Mike McDonald Wins $250K On Free Throw Prop Bet: Feb 28, '20: Poker Pros Wager On Whether Coronavirus Outbreak Will Cancel The WSOP In Las Vegas. Mike McDonald is a Canadian professional poker player who made his first live-event cash in 2007. In the first 5 years, Mike cashed 32 times, made 20 final tables, won 4 events, was the youngest player to. Mike McDonald (born September 11, 1989) is a Canadian poker player. McDonald is the youngest person to win an event on the European Poker Tour (EPT) and the youngest person to win an event on the Epic Poker League (EPL).
Can Timex Do the Impossible Again?
The basketball bet was as crazy as bets go. Not in the way we've seen the more ridiculous wagers such as Antonio Esfandiari lunging everywhere he went, but in terms of what people think is humanly possible.
To think that he thought he could sink 90/100 free throws on a regulation size hoop is insane—but the man did it!
Mike Mcdonald Poker Twitter
$200,000 richer, McDonald is in a confident mood, and he is really looking to stretch his abilities this time.
The problem is that this task, or even dream, of his is borderline impossible, even for the most gifted chess players. The sad fact is that hard work doesn't count for everything in chess. Although the best players obviously do work hard they are all gifted with a talent that usually requires picking up the game at a very young age.
Even if McDonald does turn out to have this gift that only around 2,000 players on the planet currently have, he's already a little long in the tooth to be aiming at the grandmaster title.
A More Achievable Goal
After the offer of this bet at 4-1 odds over the rest of his lifetime McDonald seems to have realised that it isn't just a case of banging the hours in.
Fedor Holz piped up on Twitter to enquire about the bet, and Bill Perkins showed interest but thought that the age gap was too much for McDonald to realistically be able to collect.
McDonald himself realised that he hadn't given enough thought to how his life might change in the coming years. The patter of tiny feet can arrive and turn all the best laid plans upside down.
'Life circumstances can change. Kids aren't on my radar right now but maybe in 2025 I want to have kids and don't want to prematurely capitulate on the bet or miss out on my kids' childhood chasing IM norms en route to losing the bet.'
An easier bet could certainly garner interest easily enough. A Fide Master or International Master title is much more doable, but still incredibly tough.
Mike Mcdonald Poker Net Worth
We await news on what Mike McDonald decides.
Canadian poker pro Mike McDonald, known as 'Timex' online, announced on his blog at CardRunners this week that he is retiring from the game of poker. McDonald, 20, earned more than $2.6 million in live tournament earnings during his brief career, but plans to take his life in another direction after having secured himself financially at such a young age.
'Before talking about where I plan to go from here, I guess I should point out that I do enjoy playing poker and I doubt I'll ever straight up quit playing poker. I just think at this point, I sort of feel no ambition towards poker,' said McDonald.
Mike Mcdonald Poker Instagram
'In poker, although I've met tons of people I really like and had tons of cool experiences, I just kind of feel like there is nowhere to go from here. I can't really think of anyone who is more engrossed in the poker world than me who I aspire to be like and poker seems to be a lot more isolating than I initially realized.'
McDonald, who still isn't old enough to play in the World Series of Poker (WSOP), has only a handful of live cashes on the tournament circuit since turning 18 in 2007, but four of them were enormous paydays. In February 2008, he became the youngest person to win a European Poker Tour (EPT) event when he took down the €7,700 German Open for €933,000. He returned a year later to place fifth in the same event for €197,000.
His brilliant success at the EPT continued this year with a third place finish at the €5,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event in Deauville, where he earned €295,000. McDonald also won a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event at the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for another $146,804.
McDonald is a Full Tilt Poker Red Pro as a member of Team CardRunners, but intends to leave that career behind as he pursues other ventures in life. That path is likely to begin by re-enrolling at the University of Waterloo, where he spent three semesters before pursuing poker full-time. 'I think returning to school and trying out a wide variety of courses, learning new things, meeting new people, and just beginning to live a life that is more in touch with everyone else seems aligned with my interests,' he said. 'I currently am trying to get in touch with the University of Waterloo about possibly taking some classes this summer and depending on how that goes, may return to Waterloo or another university in the fall.'
McDonald admits that a comeback to poker is certainly possible and even concedes that he's 'probably a heavy favorite to return' to the game at some point. For now, the 20 year-old is excited about the new life challenges in front of him.
'My life goal was to more or less get to the point where I never had to do anything for the rest of my life as early as possible. I'm at that point; I have almost no obligations, and if I really wanted to, I could sit around for the rest of my life watching the world go by and I'm just realizing that's not what I want.'