My Thoughts on Durrr Challenge

I do not claim to have hand-to-hand analysis of the Durrr challenge. But read on for my thoughts on the challenge itself. Patrik Antonius and Tom Dwan are involved in a massive 50,000 hand high stakes poker challenge. It is four-tabling $200 / $400 PLO and NL Holdem. Durrr is putting up $1.5 million to Antonius $500,000 that he will be ahead after the alloted 50,000 hands of poker.

Durrr (Tom Dwans internet username) believes that his edge is in the multi-tabling element. Phil Ivey, David Benyamine (that I know of their may be more) have said they will play him also under the same conditions, meaning he has committed to risking a ton of money on these games over what will most likely be the next two years.

There have been 14 sessions so far with just over 10,000 hands of the 50,000 being played resulting in Dwan being ahead by a total of $78,062. The play has been surprisingly even, due to the nature of the game and the swings involved one player could likely go broke. It does seem to me that this is gambling rather than playing poker. Readers may know I take a cautious approach to wagering money and I do feel that these two are facing each other mano-a-mano and without the emotion of wanting to give the challenge and the other facing the challenge this game might not happen.

There must be a responsibility from the players to look after (to some extent) the bankroll they have skillfully amassed over the years. This challenge seems to put everything at risk for both players. Dwan in particular seems to be a real gambler, surely a player of his stature would bring out DVD’s, Clothing, or affiliate himself prominently as a Full Tilt Red Pro or with another website for a massive sponsorship deal worth a life securing amount of money. So far I have seen nothing of him doing this, or from Antonius for that matter. All that appears to matter to these players is the action, which makes them addicts. Only a very small percentage of players support themselves solely through poker income. It would be sad to see either of these players go broke.

Consider the other players in the “big game”. Doyle Brunson has enough from books, Doylesroom and other enterprises not to worry about money. Ivey, Ferguson, Lederer, Juanda, Negreanu et al all make crazy money from their respective websites. Greenstein invests wisely. Enough Matusow gets a steady and healthy monthly payout from various things.

We all enjoy the challenge, but hope these players do not fall foul of the gambling nature of poker, as they are obviously skilled at what they do. But I believe the skill is securing yourself whilst the going is good.

Tagged as: antonius, antonius v durrr, durrr, durrr challenge, dwan, high stakes poker, patrick antonius, poker challenge, Tom durrr dwan, tom dwan