Posts Tagged ‘Tom Dwan’
$25k Heads-Up PLO World Championship
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
In all the excitement of the November Nine, FTOPS XIV, and the Isildur1 cash game craziness I completely lost track of the upcoming $25k Heads-Up PLO World Championship.
In addition to the standard Big Money Sunday games, today at 15:00ET brings a tournament that will feature most of the top players from the online and live poker world. The buyin alone will narrow the field to the best players in Pot Limit Omaha, the game which has quickly taken over as the HU game for those risking huge swings. Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius are already registered and it’s only a matter of time before newly minted member Tom “durrrr” Dwan is in the field. You’ll find Andy Bloch and Erik Seidel signed up as well as “Annette_15″ Obrestad and crazy man Tony G. It wouldn’t be a high stakes Heads-Up these days if you didn’t see Isildur1 registered for the tournament.
The field will be capped at 64 and we halfway there. Full Tilt continues to run satellites for this incredible event, chances to win yourself on “the cheap”. The tournament ID is 116764959, the satellites are listed in the lobby. I will be surprised if it does not fill before the start leaving a small number of players shooting for part of the $1,600,000 prizepool.
I will be there along the rail to catch and report that action. Look for updates.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Tags: $25K Heads-Up World Championship, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, durrrr, Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan
Cash Game Explosion
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
I was minding my own business after a casual day of live cash games/drinking when my trusty wifi-enabled communication devices began chirping and chiming away. Everyone who knew of my associate with The Tilt began texting and twittering about the cash games blowing up with huge pots, all the big game grinders were getting their “two cents” involved. Pot Limit Omaha, No Limit Hold’em, and the 7-Game Mix table were packed with obscene amounts of honest-to-god real money cash that are unimaginable to the vast majority of the poker world. There are many huge poker players who won’t go near these levels.
I did what a respectable member of the poker community would do, especially one whose charter involves keeping an eye on the big games and big names. I found a way to fire up the Full Tilt Poker software and witness some of the craziness for myself. I found all the action spread across several different lobbies with the largest games being found in PLO and 7-game involving Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Brian Townsend, Cole South and Abe “EazyPeazy” Mosseri. Notably absent was new Tilter Tom “durrrr” Dwan who was in London preparing for, and playing in, his “durrrr Million Dollar Challenge”. The Challenge didn’t stop Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies from taking time from his preparations to get in a little action.
Most notably involved was the mysterious Isildur1, it seems all we can figure out about this player is that he’s from Sweden and he’s got a bit of the gamble in him. Isildur1 was a regular in the higher stakes but came out of the blue to blast away at the very highest levels running against those accustomed to the rarefied air. Before Dwan hopped a plane across the pond it was reported the Isildur1 came in an relieved his bankroll of over $3,000,000. His name has been mentioned by every outlet that covers poker and the race is on to find out his/her real identity. Dwan even went so far as to issue a challenge for him to become part of the Live Heads Up matches in London. Isildur1’s lack of response was his decline.
I have a habit of saying “Mother Variance is a right bitch” to just about anyone who brags about huge gains over a short amount of time, well that seems to have jumped up and bit poor Isildur1 a little over the last few nights. Patrik Antonius is not the player you want to run into when it’s your time to give a little back. Not only did Antonius give him a smack on the nose, he popped Isildur1 for the biggest pot in online poker history.
In all the bouncing around I actually managed to miss everything go down but my good friends over at PokerNews.com caught it all. Without digging into the forensic details of the hand, I’ll just tell you that Antonius and Isildur1 had all the money in on the turn with a chop the most likely outcome. Antonius hit one of his ten outs on the river and dragged the new record pot of $878,958.50. That is not your standard home game pot. For the full details of the hand (until I can finally get the hand replayer pasted into this spot), you can check out the PokerNews.com writeup.
That wasn’t the end of the beatdown for Isildur1 as Brian Townsend and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies also stepped up over the last few days trying to take a piece out of his bankroll. Dwan must be licking his chops in London, wanting to get back online and reclaim what was once his. It will be interesting to see how long Isildur1 can hang at these levels, he’s been getting chippy in the chat the last few days and it may doing a number on him already. These tables have been running each evening and are definitely worth checking out for pure entertainment value.
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In Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge news, Dwan is currently 1 for 2 in his battle. He is playing three 12 hours Heads Up matches against Marcello “Luckexpress” Marigliano, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies and Sammy George at $500/$1000 PLO or NLHE. No player can leave the table before 500 hands or going busto. First up was Marigliano who finished with a narrow edge of just over $22,000 and then he defeated Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies by $68,000.
Playing at these stakes you could generally expect a much wider gap at the end of play but the challenge has been very even. Next up is World Class Smack Talker Sammy George, I feel pretty confident that this will not be a close affair no matter who wins in the end.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Isildur1, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan
Tom “durrrr” Dwan – Newest Member of Team Full Tilt
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
We’ve all heard stories of the Big Game running in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio. Standard play is a $2,000/$4,000 cash game sometimes hitting even higher depending who’s in town and who’s stuck. Prop bets flying all over the place with chip sizes 99.9% of us will never see. Then there was the famous battle of Andy Beal versus The Corporation as documented by Michael Craig in The Professor, The Banker, and The Suicide King where the levels ranged from $30,000/$60,000 to $100,000/$200,000. Insane amounts of money that are practically impossible for the regular grinder to wrap their mind around.
The equivalent of these nose-bleed levels online can be found on Full Tilt poker, generally in the gamble-it-up game of Pot Limit Hold’em or the recently added 7-game mix cash game tables. It is not uncommon to see up to a half dozen tables running during the weekend at $2,000/$4,000 limits with a waitlist once the 6-max limit is reached. The average post size reaches up to $20,000 and they are seeing over 100 hands per hour. Players looking for big cash game action make this their first stop.
In the recent years, the king of these huge games has become newly minted Team Full Tilt member Tom “durrrr” Dwan. He began his poker career by reportedly loading $50 online and tearing through the low limit SnG’s, now he can be found challenging and felting some of the world’s best players including Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen, and David Benyamine. He has seen daily swings in the 7 figures but also claims to have never gone broke since he began playing. That alone is an incredible feat that very few poker players can claim.
This weekend in Las Vegas, during the November Nine celebrations, it was announced that Dwan would now be a member of Team Full Tilt. While there are quite a few Full Tilt pros, it’s very rare for a player to be added to the Team and no players since Patrik Antonius joined the roster nearly 18 months ago. Dwan joins such big guns as Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, and others. “Tom is sort of the first wave of great players, who really cut his teeth on the internet but he’s showing that he’s going to be around for a long time,” Lederer praised their newest member, “I feel like Tom’s really our first player that learned his craft online. The new breed.”
Most people know Dwan more recently for his “durrrr Challenge” which he is currently running against Patrik Antonius. Quick primer: Dwan put up $1,500,000 of his own money versus Antonius’ $500,000 that he could win more playing 4 tables simultaneous again Antonius in Heads Up Pot Limit Omaha with $200/$400 being the minimum stakes for 50,000 hands. The Challenge has been running for awhile with both players actively seeking soft spots in the large cash games. Dwan currently leads by just under $800,000 but the swing in that game can be massive. (Link for the “durrrr Challenge” Stats page)
In addition to all the perks for being a team member, Full Tilt has also launched his very own website Tom “durrrr” Dwan and he will now join the stable of players blogging for the site at “durrrr Poker Blog”. He’ll be updating his blog on a regular basis and didn’t waste any time mentioning a new challenge with his very first post.
In just a few short days he will kick off the Full Tilt Poker Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge in London. A live version of his online challenge where he will now go Heads Up from November 17th to 19th against such pros as Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies and Marcello “Luckexpress” Marigliano. Big talker Sammy George also returns after his first go-round in September. There will $1,000,000 on the table for either Pot Limit Omaha or No Limit Hold’em.
A fine way to start his career with Team Full Tilt. You can find Dwan’s welcome video on his brand new official Full Tilt Poker bio page.
You can find a video of “durrrr” press conference with Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and Patrik Antonius after the jump as well as the new links and resources you’ll want to bookmark.
Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 1% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, durrrr, Team Full Tilt, Tom Dwan
The “durrrr” Challenge Continues
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
They haven’t played a hand since June. Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Patrik Antonius finally resumed action in their Heads Up durrrr Challenge battle with two sessions this week. Dwan at one point was ahead by over $1,000,000 and started these sessions with around a $700,000 cushion. After just a few thousand hands, Antonius grabbed the initiative and the lead in this epic battle.
For those who are unaware of the challenge or have forgotten during the long gaps in play, here’s the rundown.
With Dwan laying three-to-one odds for the “durrrr” Challenge, it’s no surprise that some of the world’s best poker players have already taken him up on his offer. Team Full Tilt’s Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius, along with high-stakes player David Benyamine, will be the first players to take on the young Internet pro.
The players who have accepted the “durrrr” Challenge must abide by the following conditions:
- The game type must be No-Limit Hold ‘em or Pot-Limit Omaha
- The stakes must be a minimum of $200/$400
- Once the stakes have been decided upon, they must stay the same for the entire challenge
- Players must reload if their stack falls below 75 big blinds at any time
The challenge started off like gang busters at the beginning but slowed down as the summer months arrived in the U.S. and stalled completely during the World Series of Poker. Even with the sudden burst of action, they are still less than 50% through the required 50,000 hands. The lead has changed several time of the 22,000 plus hands with Dwan having the biggest single lead. The last session of ver 1,200 involved 5 hands with pots over $150,000 with Antonius winning 4 of those. Those hands can be replayed, along with the 10 biggest hands throughout the challenge, can be replayed on the durrrr Challenge Stat Tracking page.
In other Tom Dwan news, he’s taking his challenges to a live venue this September in London. Dwan is challenging players to 500 hands Heads Up, $500,000 buyin each, with blinds at $500/$1000. Neither player can leave the table until 500 hands are complete or either have been busted to the felt. So far the only taker is Brit player Sammy George. I’ll keep my eye out to see how one of the top online players deals with this live challenge.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan
2009 World Series of Poker – No pause for “durrrr Challenge”
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
![2009 wsop tomdwan 2009 World Series of Poker No pause for durrrr Challenge](/poker-from-the-rail/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/2009_wsop_tomdwan.jpg "Tom \\"durrrr\\" Dwan at the 2009 World Series of Poker")
Tom “durrrr” Dwan playing in the $10,000 Heads Up World Championship
Photo credit: Gene Bromberg
When Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Patrik Antonius began their epic heads up matches several months ago, one of the big questions floating around the internet was how many hands they would have to average so they would be done by the start of the 2009 World Series of Poker. There seemed to be no doubt they would want the challenge to be completed by then to concentrate on picking up WSOP cash and bracelets. Turned out that was needless questioning because neither pushed the action.
There have been few sitings of either player in the halls of the Rio this series. Dwan was seen playing in the $10,000 Heads Up World Championship but I believe it was his only event. Antonius has not been seen at all prompting speculation he has not been feeling well. His girlfriend Maya has played several events (as witnessed by you faithful blogger posting her pics) but he has been a no show.
It seems while I’ve been slaving away in the Amazon Room the two of them picked up steam and they played a monster session late in the week. Dwan came away having erased his deficit and finished with a massive +$720,000 lead over Antonius. They each sported huge stacks at the tables and 9 of the biggest 10 hands of the challenge were played in that stretch.
The Full Tilt durrrr Challenge tracking page has a hand replayer with those 10 hands, you can pull them up and see how the action went down. The biggest pot in the challenge to date went to Dwan for over $477,000, he won with a flopped boat versus a turned smaller boat.
Action these days isn’t retricted solely to the live games and tournaments here at the Rio, the big games are still hot if you wish to follow online. As alway, you can track the stats and hands via the durrrr Challenge page on FullTiltPoker.com.
Popularity: 36% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, WSOP
durrrr Challenge Update – Another Patrik Antonius Interview
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Patrik Antonius continue their epic heads-up battle on Full Tilt Poker in the durrrr Challenge. As of today they have played over 7,200 hands of the required 50,000. That’s just short of 15% down before a winner is declared yet the numbers continue to switch between the two on a regular basis. They have wagered over $41 Million while 4-tabling 200/400 Pot Limit Omaha yet there is only $30,000 seperating those two and neither has led by more than $250,000.
I would say this is a very even battle.
Popularity: 59% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, durrrr Challenge, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan
durrrr Challenge update and Patrik Antonius interview
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
It’s been a crazy week in exhile where internet access has been sketchy, travel situations bordering on unbelievable, and my final destination which might prove harmful to my mental health. But that doesn’t mean things have ground to a halt in the poker world.
Since my sudden disappearance fromn the online world we’ve seen Huck Seed win the NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship (continuing the domination of Full Tilt pros in the event), the Battle of the Bloggers 4 rolls along like a beast, Big Money Sunday continues to draw huge numbers for the guarantee events and the Full Tilt Poker Academy is really taking off.
Popularity: 80% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, durrrr Challenge, Huck Seed, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan
durrrr Challenge Stats Tracker
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
The durrrr Challenge continues to run on Full Tilt between Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Patrik Antonius. When they kick off their 4 tables of Pot Limit Omaha, word spreads quickly and the railbirds come out to watch. They are just shy of 4,000 hands in their Heads Up battle with Dwan holding close to a $150,000 lead. But there is a long way to go and the lead swings between the two.
Full Tilt has put together a page which can help you track the progress of the challenge. The durrrr vs Antonius stats tracker is the only resource that is pulling data directly from the game in real time. There is about a minute lag between the time a hand is complete and the page is updated. The data and graphing are as accurate as you can find on the internet and certainly quicker. No other website has this capability.
You can also use this page to check if they have resumed playing more of the required 50,000 hands. The box in the top right corner will tell you if they are sitting down at the “durrrr Challenge” tables set up specifically for these two players. If they are playing, simply click the link. It will fire up your FTP software and take you directly to the tables.
Feel free to join along the rail and watch two of the top players in the world battle against each other.
Popularity: 100% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, durrrr Challenge, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan
Guest Post – Julius Goat – The Goatttt Challenge
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
No doubt every online player knows that Tom “durrrr” Dwan is in the middle of his Challenge with Patrik Antonius on the Full Tilt PLO tables. They have played near 10% of the 50,000 hands and Dwan is currently leading. A long ways to go.
While you are watching those great games from the rail, we have another challenge that could be fun to watch. Blogger versus blogger, a little bit of money but a ton of smack talk. Resident Poker From the Rail guest blogger is throwing down the gauntlet to fellow FTP blogger Michael Craig. Not nearly the amount of money in play as the durrrr Challenge but these guys have their egos on the line.
Waiting on Michael’s response.
The Goatttt Challenge: Calling Out Michael Craig
by Julius_Goat
Like most of you, I am following two new developments in the wold of Full Tilt Poker with great interest. Unlike most of you, I am following it with nothing but two atrophied brain cells and a complete lack of fact checking as I write this, but I’m sure I am getting all the details correct, so just take my word for it, okay?
The first development is the now-famous “Durrrr Challenge” named after the young internet poker phenom Tom “Durrrr Dwan” Challenge, who first came to national prominence in a televised heads-up match with Phil Hellmuth, who accused him of using far too many of the letter “r” in a row.
Popularity: 89% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Julius_Goat, Michael Craig, Tom Dwan
Tom “durrrr” Dwan starts his HU Challenge
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
As most of the poker world knows by now, Tom “durrrr” Dwan issued a challenge to all comers (excluding his friend Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond). Long story short. 50,000 hands of heads up Pot Limit Omaha at $200/$400, four tables at a time. Dwan is paying 3 to 1 odds to his opponents by putting up $1,500,000 in cash to their $500,000. Whoever is ahead after 50k hands collects from their opponent.
We’ve been hearing for several days that the challenge was about to begin and earlier this week we saw the first hands. Patrik Antonius was the first player to step up for his shot. They played around 1,500 of the required hands and it appears that Dwan is in the lead by over $100,000.
The challenge match against Antonius will be going on for quite some time as the two players are balancing other commitments but FTP has made it easier for the railbirds to track the action. Four reserved tables have been setup in the Omaha Lobby specifically for Dwan. You can find 4 special “durrrr Challenge” tables, keep your eyes on the lobby for the action to resume.
We, the staff of Poker From the Rail, promise to keep a very close eye on the games and bring you some of the exciting action.
Popularity: 80% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Tom Dwan
