Player Update: durrrr

Not content with making over $6.5million from the game in 2008, now Tom Dwan has issued one of the biggest challenges in the history of online poker.

In a proposition seemingly fuelled as much by ego as financial incentive, ‘durrrr’ is essentially laying 3:1 odds that after 50,000 hands of 4 tabling NLH or PLO (heads-up), he ends up ahead. And of course millions of dollars will be on the line.

The man himself explains more after Bluff broke the story on Friday:

“I’m making this heads-up challenge to the world. Anyone can accept. Four tables, minimum of $200/$400, and I’ll put up $1.5 million to their $500,000. We play 50,000 hands minimum and if they end up a dollar after rake they keep the side money or whatever. So basically, if you and I played and you won a dollar, you would get my $1.5 million and if I won a dollar I would win your $500,000.

“So I’m giving a million dollars free if anyone thinks they can do it.”

This was obviously greeted with hysteria in the forums as railbirds excitedly speculated who would be up for the challenge. Of course a Two Plus Two thread quickly formed and Dwan went into further detail of his offer (he said he was tilted after being owned at Scrabble):

"1) 200-400min (nl/plo obv)
2) can change tables anytime eff stacks are >250bb
3) have to reload when stacks are <75bb
4) $$ won in the challenge is kept obv (if i win 750k in poker, i get that PLUS your 500k- if i lose 750k in poker you get 2.25m total).
5) same stakes the whole time
6) not open to phil galfond"

The question is – will this bet ever take off? David Benefield questioned whether it could get off the ground later in the thread and with OMGClayAiken out of the equation, there surely aren’t many players left who would be willing to put in 50,000 hands heads-up with durrrr. The best bet for us mere mortals is that either Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Ilari Sahamies or another high stakes regular feel that they just can’t turn down those 3:1 odds.

If anything, this latest Dwan development highlights not only the utter self-confidence in himself at his two best games but also his dominance over the rest of the online cash community: risking $1.5million for such minimal return only underlines that durrrr is truly at the peak of his poker powers. With a seat in the new series of High Stakes Poker to boot, next year could be the most profitable yet for the online phenom – and that’s saying something.