Poker From The Rail
a Poker Blog brought to you by Full Tilt Poker
Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Bloggers Corner, The Week at FTP
In case you’re unfamiliar with Tom “durrrr” Dwan, the youngest member of Team Full Tilt started with a $50 bankroll in 2004 and is now considered one of the best high stakes players in the world. He recently issued the “durrrr Challenge.” Durrrr and an opponent (the first is Patrik Antonius) play four tables of heads up NLHE or PLO until they’ve reached 50,000 hands. At that point, if the opponent is up by as little as a dollar, Durrrr will give him $1.5 million. If Durrrr is ahead, the opponent gives him $500,000. The winner keeps the money won during the challenge, too.
The most recent session of The Challenge, which ended early Tuesday morning, saw Durrrr extend his lead over Antonius to $1.4 million after 32,795 hands.
The Full Tilt Poker Academy just released part 1 of Phil Gordon’s interview with Durrrr in which the latter discusses:
- What possessed him to offer 3-1 odds against, well, the world
- If his lead in The Challenge will affect his strategy
- Learning poker and improving his game
Part 2 will feature a look at some of the big hands from the durrrr Challenege.
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Also, sources at the home office tell me that over 10,000 people have already read Durrrr’s latest blog post, “A Year in Recap and Isildur Part 1.” Durrrr, incidentally, was an English major at Boston University before pursuing poker full time.
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Lastly, Full Tilt has created a website where you can check the status of The Challenge, watch replays of the biggest hands, and more.
Tags: durrrr Challenge, Full Tilt Poker Academy, Phil Gordon, Tom Dwan
Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Hi folks, there’s one quick thing I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post. Don’t forget to check out ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker, airing tonight. They kicked off the festivities last week with Event #1, the $10K Pot-Limit Hold ‘em Championship, won by none other than Full Tilt Poker pro Nenad Medic. It’s ESPN, so I’m sure re-runs of that show have been airing non-stop if you want to check it out.
Tonight’s show will focus on Event #2, a $1,500 No-Limit Hold ‘em donkament. Team Full Tilt’s Chris Ferguson is there to represent, as he guns for his sixth WSOP bracelet. So make sure to catch all the action and cheer Chris on from the comfort of your own home. Check your local listings to find out when the WSOP airs, or go to ESPN.com for more details.
As an added bonus, I heard that Full Tilt Poker pro Perry Friedman (who narrowly missed making the final table of Event #2, coming in 11th) actually had an FTP logo shaved in to the side of his head. If that doesn’t deserve a few seconds of air time, I don’t know what does. That’s it for now; we’ll have an all new The Pros Speak up for your enjoyment in a bit. Stay classy Pokerland…
Tags: Chris Ferguson, WSOP
Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Well folks, today is a very sad day for all of here at The Rail, as Big Donkey is officially no longer with us. And today is especially sad for me, because now I have to (at least temporarily) take over The Week at FTP. Fear not faithful readers (there have to be at least two or three of you at this point, right?), for I will do my best to fill Big Donkey’s rather large and donktastic shoes. So without further ado, let’s get this weekly wrap-up under way:
Tags: Erica Schoenberg, FTOPS
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Ahh… late July. The WSOP is over until November, the sun is out, and the world’s poker pros have all scattered to their private islands to bake the toxins of the
Either that or they’re sitting around in front of air conditioners, chowing down on Ben & Jerry’s, and playing a little online poker here at the Tilt. Either way, they’re certainly having more fun than me.
Tags: Gus Hansen, WSOP
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Hold on… don’t celebrate yet. We’re not going anywhere. Sorry to burst your bubble.
As for our Full Tilt Poker pros and the WSOP Main Event – stick a fork in ‘em because their done and the Big Dance is going to be won by some random donkey. (Technically, there are a couple of not-so-random donkeys left in the field like the lovely Tiffany Michelle, but that just doesn’t have the same ring to it, you know?)
Tags: Mike Matusow, WSOP
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Welcome to another Monday here on the rail. Take a seat and enjoy the show.
What show? Come on, you know what we’re all about here this week – the WSOP, baby! That magical, mythical, maniacal event where poker players from around the world come to take their best shot at fame, fortune and glory. The biggest donk-fest in the world – minus one Big Donkey.
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Alright – I’m going to come right out and put a big frickin’ jinx on Mr. Lindgren by saying that he has this whole WSOP Player of the Year thing wrapped up already.
There, it’s done. Sorry Erick, you’re a nice guy and all, but I gotta go with my gut here. I mean, let’s look at EDog’s performance so far this year:
- Three final tables
- One bracelet (a career first, btw)
- Nearly $1.3 million in winnings in one month’s worth of tournament play
Sure, there are some other big names who have also had some deep runs during this year’s Series, but for my money, EDog has proven himself to be the leader of the pack.
Tags: Erick Lindgren, WSOP
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Just when you thought it was safe to get back on the Interwebs, Big Donkey is back with another wrap up of all things FTP. Aren’t you lucky?
Considering the big news in the poker world is still centered on that little city in the desert, I figure we should start with a quick update from the WSOP. In short, the pros are kicking ass, and the FTP pros are kicking more ass than anyone else. The latest WSOP winner is none other than David Degenayamine Benyamine, who took down yet another loaded final table to claim his first career bracelet in the $10K World Championship Omaha Hi/Lo Split 8 or Better event.
Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
It’s been a busy week here at Full Tilt Poker, with our pros (now hovering somewhere around the 2,000 mark) winning about one out of every four World Series events. I’ve been handed the monumental task of taking over for Big Donkey this week, as he’s busy taking care of press releases for each of WSOP winners from the weekend, so let’s hope I don’t screw this one up too badly. Without further ado, let’s get this party started:
Tags: Patrik Antonius, WSOP
Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Reader Mail is back and better than ever before! Actually, we’re the same as we’ve always been, I just felt like getting myself pumped up for today’s action. Things you will not find in this mailbag: a mention of Vinnie Vinh and his omnipresent chair; me noticing that Mike Matusow has lost a ton of weight thanks to his “starve yourself into $100K” program; or any discussion of the WSOP “Ladies Event,” a poker tournament for women only. What you will find is the cream of the crop when it comes to semi-poker related questions answered by a guy who knows relatively little about poker. Email us at pokerfromtherail@fulltiltpoker.com with any comments, questions, or diatribes about Boston sports fans and their unending quest to be the most insanely pompous a-holes on the face of the planet. Which is the long way of saying: go Lakers! On to the show:

