Mike Mcdonald Poker
Mike McDonald resembles Steph Curry at the charity stripe now. (Image: Twitch) The Canadian poker pro took on an athletic prop bet with an undisclosed individual back in April. About Mike McDonald: Mike McDonald (born Sep 11, 1989) is a star 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). Mike is now involved with Betshares/PokerShares, facilitating novelty bets on many niche products including WSOT.
Over the years, a lot of poker pros have been involved in exciting prop bets, putting a huge chunk of their bankrolls on the line.
The latest poker player to take on the challenge is Mike McDonald, who agreed to a basketball prop bet back in April, with a six-figure sum at stake.
Under the terms of the prop bet, McDonald should sink 90 out of 100 free throws before the end of the year. While doing so, he must use a regulation basketball and hoop and must not commit any lane violation. The goal is quite challenging to seasoned basketball pros and a huge task for someone who does not play basketball regularly.
When McDonald announced the crazy prop bet in April, he admitted he hadn’t played basketball since 2012, which makes everyone wonder whether he could really succeed in the challenge.
NBA star Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, who’s been playing basketball for a decade, currently holds the record for the highest free-throw percentage in NBA history at 90.56%. McDonald’s prop bet demands that he comes close to Curry’s record by hitting 90% (90 out of 100 shots). Can he do it?
Closer To Victory
While things initially looked bleak for the 30-year-old considering his lack of experience in basketball, contrary to his outstanding record in poker, his latest free throw stats indicate he might actually win the bet!
Over three months since the prop bet started, McDonald’s shooting percentage has significantly improved, as shown in a recent livestream on Twitch where he was able to hit 85 out of 100 shots. After that, he made another attempt and he almost hit his goal! He sunk 84 out of his firsts 92 shots, and then eventually scored 89/100, bringing him closer to victory.
Here's a video of the end of my 89/100 choke pic.twitter.com/KJ4SPcoGcB
— Mike McDonald (@MikeMcDonald89) August 21, 2020
McDonald still has several months left to reach that 90% percentage and if he continues to improve, he has high chances of winning the challenge and ultimately walk away with the $200,000 prize. While everyone initially doubted his free-throw shooting abilities, things have changed now and we can now bet that he’ll win the challenge
McDonald is one of the most successful poker players in the world, with more than $13,000,000 in live tournament earnings. At 18-years-old, McDonald won the European Poker Tour German Open for $1,370,161, making him the youngest winner in the tour’s history. He is currently ranked No. 6 in his home country of Canada.
by Jonathan PereiraPosted on 29 Aug, 2020
Mike McDonald is now very close to achieving a win in his $200,000 basketball prop bet. The Canadian high stakes poker star has improved massively and is now looking likely to do what most people thought was impossible for an amateur. Everybody thought McDonald had no chance, but now it seems that he is above to prove everyone wrong.
In April, McDonald took on a bet that he could sink 90 out of 100 free throws in a basketball court sometime before the end of the year. At the beginning, he could barely shoot free throws, fellow high stakes player Aaron Jones tweeted a video, showing that this wasn’t only about skill but also about general fitness. Since that time, McDonald has been working on his shot, and started the challenge a few days ago.
While the World Series of Poker (WSOP) continues on GGPoker, McDonald’s free throw prop bet is grabbing the attention of poker masses which is being streamed on Twitch. Based on recent results, there seems to be an excellent chance that McDonald will win the wager. Over the course of just two days, McDonald has had attempts where he hit 88/100 and 89/100 free throws, respectively. It seems to be just a matter of time before McDonald breaks the 90/100 mark.
The prop bet has certain rules that must be followed:
- An unlimited number of attempts is allowed, but McDonald must announce in advance when he is going to head to the basketball court.
- No rebounder is allowed.
- McDonald has until the end of 2020 to make 90/100 free throws, or else he loses the bet.
That puts you ahead of most NBA free throwers throughout history 😱 pic.twitter.com/fXviDUbrOZ
— Alex the Trading Monk (@cloudreaver2) August 21, 2020
Only three players in history, Steph Curry, Steve Nash, and Mark Price, have a free throw success rate of over 90%. If McDonald can pull it off the achievement will make waves in the basketball community. With more than four months to go it surely looking good for the Canadian. We look forward to seeing what he can come up with next to entertain us.
UPDATE!
Mike McDonald has pulled off an incredible feat and showed that he isn’t just a poker player! The Canadian poker pro ultimately triumphed in his basketball prop bet after draining 90 out of 100 free throw shots. But his win initially became controversial after Nick Schulman, one of the poker players who bet against him, questioned the validity of his victory. Schulman said a break in the middle of a set nullified the win, as it gave McDonald some advantage.
FWIW after Tuesday's controversy I hit it again on Wednesday to conclude the bet
— Mike McDonald (@MikeMcDonald89) August 29, 2020
Miss shot 0
Make 90/100 between shots 1-100
Make shot 101 (decided to keep shooting in case there was a miscount or whatnot)
Miss shot 102
— Mike McDonald (@MikeMcDonald89) August 27, 2020
Mike Mcdonald Poker Net Worth
The poker pro was quick to defend his victory and expressed his willingness to repeat the challenge with no breaks to prove his shooting abilities and ultimately silence the critics. McDonald also argued that taking breaks was part of the conditions of the bet. Some players also sided with McDonald, saying taking a break actually affects the shooter’s rhythm, meaning there’s a huge possibility he wouldn’t be as well on pace as he was before the break. With his latest victory, McDonald is now $200K richer.
For more stories on crazy prop bets across the world, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com