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Tom “Durrrr” Dwan’s Million Dollar Challenge

It looks like one of the exciting on-line poker stories of the year is quickly emerging after Tom “Durrrr” Dwan announced his open challenge in heads-up Holdem or Omaha. In his statement, Tom Dwan describes the conditions of the challenge. It would include a play of a minimum of 50 thousands hands on 4 heads-up tables with $200/$400 stakes. In addition, Tom Dwan  offers a side bet of 1.5 million dollars against  a $500,000 bet of the contender, where the winner of the match will receive the side bet after the game.

In his phone conversation with Phil Ivey on the “Tuesdays with Ivey” segment on Pokerroad.com, Barry Greenstein briefly discussed the issue. From the exchange it is clear that both Ivey and Greenstein are puzzled by the nature of the challenge and actually doubt its necessity. The main argument is that the high stakes poker environment presents an ongoing challenge for anybody who wants to put enough money on the table. Phil Ivey for many years declares his readiness to play anybody in any game and virtually for any money. It seems that Tom Dwan actually trying to secure 4 heads-up table format and guarantee substantial amount of time allocated for play. Even heads-up online on 4 tables, 50 thousands hands will probably translate into 150-200 hours of actual play.

One of Ivey’s remarks about the situation refers to an amount of money which will inevitably exchange hands during such a long match. Phil Ivey pointed out to Greenstein that considering the substantial stakes it is possible to loose or win a number of millions before the game is over. According to Ivey, in most of the cases when he is in a match against a specialist in any given poker discipline, he considers himself an underdog in the beginning and needs to make some adjustments before he can turn the tide.

According to Greenstein; Ivey’s strongest quality is his ability to adapt and adjust his game in order to accommodate his opponent’s tendencies. If this is true, Tom Dwan’s wish to play a very long match with a lot of money involved might become a liability instead of being an advantage. Considering that Patrik Antonius expressed interest in playing and rumors suggest that David Benyamine is thinking about accepting the challenge as well, Tom Dwan might have a “full plate” for some time. Lets hope nobody runs out of money too quickly and an old saying: ” be careful, what are you asking for might come true” will not haunt Tom this time around.