Durrrr
Tom Dwan, aka #Durrrr, finds himself in an odd spot with JJ on the new season of High Stakes Poker. Dwan puts in almost $71,000 with one pair, but was it spew against a recreational player? James and Chris break this spot down, pull out the GTO solver, and explain what’s going on in this hand. Dec 17, 2020 Durrrr had become a verb. To be “durrrr’d” was to be borderline embarrassed in a large pot by a man who could seemingly show up with any two cards, displaying a loose-aggressive style that very few people could play without running into catastrophe. Dwan was a special player. With Dwan’s total online poker bankroll considered to be worth around $10 million, Durrrr’s losses in November against isildur1 and Antonius have represented a calamitous 40% downswing. In the first weeks of November, Tom “durrrr” Dwan lost over $460k pots to Swedish player isildur1 in $500/1000 blinds.
Table Of Contents
'I think this might be the only podcast I've ever done.'
After 80 minutes of enthralling conversation, this wasn't the biggest takeaway fans had from Brandon Adams' recent podcast with poker legend Tom Dwan, but it certainly was one of the more surprising.
The pair naturally spent time on poker, including Dwan's origins and mental approach to the game, but also touched on the election, the US economy, and the status of legalized online US sports betting.
You can check out the podcast episode for yourself below.
Dwan on High Stakes Poker
Having recently played in every session of the new High Stakes Poker, Dwan reminisced about his first experience playing on the show.
'The first few times I played High Stakes Poker, I think my no-limit game was quite a bit sharper than most peoples. And the gap was pretty big. So I was able to get away with playing a bunch of hands. Plus it was fun and obviously, it was my first time playing on TV. I was trying to play more hands and everything worked out.
'When I was bluffing, it would work out. When I had it, people would pay me off. I just ran really well. Now a lot of people’s no-limit games are sharper; I haven’t played much no-limit lately so my game isn’t super sharp. But these are deep-stacked games and sometimes, people use goofy sizes.'
Related: 'Tom Dwan Is Not Kidnapped and Not Part of the Triads'
First Taste of Live Poker
Dwan said that his first experience of live poker was at the Vic in London, which hosted the European Poker Tour stop for the first five seasons. He subsequently went to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure where he encountered Jean-Robert Bellande.
'I was watching him playing $25/$50, and in a single-raised pot, he called 20k in a 70k pot with ace-jack on a jack-high board.
'I thought to myself 'what is this idiot doing'! And then he won the pot! Coming from online where this never happened, I started thinking: 'maybe I should start learning about this live poker thing'!'
WATCH: Tom Dwan - 'The Games in Macau Are A Little Bigger Than They Used to Be'
Dwan the Student
With over $3m in live earnings according to The Hendon Mob, Dwan admits his transition from online to live had a learning curve to it.
'Back then it wasn't easy to get high-level poker education. I knew I had played more hands in the last year than the guys [at the table], and there were certain strategic things or concepts that I knew better, but I tried to learn from a lot of the people playing live stuff that they knew that I didn't.'
Durrrr Dwan
'Back then it wasn't easy to get high-level poker education...'
This included live tells, an alien concept to an online crusher, as well as the problems that boredom has on a live player at the table.
'Things like where you don't get a hand for an hour, so you bluff it off. Because you're not multi-tabling at home more comfortably.'
@durrrrtymax
Dwan says that if someone came up with a new game, he'd be good at it. But the learning process was the important part.
'How good you were at a new game wasn't important day one, but it's how fast you learn and pick up from other people.'
If you're enjoying PokerNews live updates from this event, be sure to check out our sister site Oddschecker US, an all-inclusive sports betting portal offering odds, tips and offers from sports including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer
The Future of Poker
Before the pandemic, Dwan had switched his attention to live short deck with some 'pretty big' short deck games going on for a while. However, his days of grinding for an entire day may be behind him.
Read More: Where You Can Play Online Poker In Pennsylvania
'Over the last few years I don't feel as sharp after 20-30 hours as I used to, but I also haven't played that many long sessions. So it's probably part of it. I'm more out of practice. I used to have those much more regularly.'
As well as playing, Dwan still keeps an eye on legislative developments, especially in the United States. He believes there is an opportunity for sites to expand, as long as they police bots and cheaters 'aggressively.'
'I think there's a large opportunity coming with the US opening up'
Durtymax Jack
'People in the US love poker and they haven't had an easy way to play since Black Friday. I think there's a large opportunity coming with the US opening up. If sites police it well, I could see there being somewhat of a golden age. Maybe not quite as much as the first...'
Dwan repeated the concept of a 'golden age' on numerous occasions, especially as part of the wider legal gambling space that poker could be a part of.
Related: Online Poker in Michigan: Who Will Be There from the Start?
'Sports over the next few years...it's pretty unlikely it doesn't play out. There are different scenarios where it could be bigger or smaller. But with poker, a lot depends on how aggressive the operators are on how to level the playing field, and there's not one answer.
'Hopefully it happens, but we'll see. It's still undecided, but if it happens there could be a really good spot for poker in the next few years'
Today there's been some wild heads up PLO $500/$1,000 action between the high stakes giants Tom 'durrrr' Dwan and Illari 'Ziigmund' Sahamies. In the end durrrr was too tired to keep playing and wanted to leave. After failing to get him to stay Ziigmund offered to flip for the money he had left at the table.
Dwan Poker Player
There was so much good action at the Full Tilt Poker high stakes tables that durrrr and Patrik Antonius never continued on their challenge. So we'll probably have to wait another day or two for the match to start again. But the railbirds weren't disappointed.
Durrrr Poker
Ziigmund and durrrr played an epic PLO $500-$1,000 heads up match several pots of $300 k or more, the largest pot being over $500k. At this time the action had become really fast and furious. The hand was four bet pre flop and the rest of the money went in on the flop (6c-Qh-9s). Durrrr flopped top set (Tc-Qs-Qc-8s) and Ziigmund had a wrap straight draw (Th-8c-9d-Jc). A seven on the turn gave both players the same straight, but another seven on the river gave durrrr a full house and $506,878.
Durrrr was probably up about half a million dollars when he told Ziigmund that he was too tired to keep playing. Failing to convince him of staying Ziigmund offered a$660 k coin flip that durrrr (understandably?) turned down.
Ziigmund: tilt
durrrr: im dead tired
Dealer: durrrr has timed out
durrrr: sry =(
Ziigmund: me not
durrrr: i tried to stay a while
durrrr: haha id guess that much
durrrr: we can play tomorrow obv
Ziigmund: cmon
Ziigmund: give me 30min
Ziigmund: then im fine
durrrr: i alrdy gave u 2hrs bud sry
durrrr: 2hrs more
Ziigmund: 20min
Ziigmund: and thats it
durrrr: if u find someone to bring me coffee
durrrr: id stay 1more hour
durrrr: but my roomies are asleep
durrrr: and no room service
Ziigmund: wait i call to cole south
durrrr: sick tilt
durrrr: lol
durrrr: hes in virginia
durrrr: wont get here in time unless he drives rly fast
Ziigmund: what about mr Raptor
durrrr: texas
durrrr: im in boston
Ziigmund: pumppu?
Ziigmund: lets flip last money then
Ziigmund: 660k flip
durrrr: lol i jus xfered u
durrrr: def dont wanna flip
durrrr: + im on dswing
durrrr: =(
durrrr: sry
durrrr: neway gg play tomorrow
Ziigmund: then we have to play 15min
Ziigmund: and im gladf
After that both players left the table. Hopefully the action will continue at Full Tilt tomorrow.