Continued from Part One...
“No, I don’t really feel the pressure when I play. I just play,” he replied in the nonchalant manner I was expecting. “I generally like to have more money than less money, so I just focus on trying to win. I don’t feel any more pressure if it’s a different situation than I’m used to, I don’t tend to get stressed out by poker, whether I’m sponsored or not. I will say that I’m really happy to have joined Full Tilt. They’re a good group of guys and I’m pleased to be a part of the team.”
I’ve always thought that this was the difference between an Average Joe like myself and a nosebleed player of durrrr’s ilk. Obviously, talent may be a factor, but there are plenty of highly skilled players who are stuck at $2/4 and unlikely to ever reach the dizzy heights that durrrr has. The laid-back attitude, that ability to shrug your shoulders and move onto the next hand unfazed, is a characteristic that many of the high stakes players have, whether they’re broke or swimming in money like Scrooge McDuck. It goes hand in hand with fearlessness and a dangerously lax attitude towards money that could see some of them hit the very brink of financial demise, but it’s also what brought them to the dance in the first place. Whatever I think of durrrr as a player, I’ll always admire his positive attitude and self-belief. I can’t help but recall that Ivey advert in which he catches his wife sleeping with a queue of guys, yet doesn’t break his poker face. Of course, it’s just a joke, but somehow I’d imagine that if durrrr was faced with an equally unnerving or disastrous situation, he wouldn’t let it burden him for too long.
These guys just don’t seem to dwell on life’s hurdles, they just jump them. In fact, nothing seems to bother durrrr. Can you even imagine him getting angry? Well, I knew the answer, but I thought I’d ask anyway, you know, just in case it turns out that behind the scenes he’s the second coming of the Incredible Hulk. After all, Ivey told me that he once cracked and threw a bottle of water across the room. “It’s pretty rare that you’ll get a reaction from me after winning or losing a lot of money. It’s happened occasionally where I have been affected but I haven’t let it get to me too much and just returned to concentrating on playing good poker.” Sheesh, this guy’s as stoic and impervious as the guards at Buckingham Palace!
“I try to let myself be as unaffected as possible by the swings,” he responds when asked about whether or not he still feels adrenaline pumping through his veins following a big pot or session. “It obviously doesn’t help your performance in the future if you keep thinking about the money you’ve just won in a pot. Obviously it can be a lot of money at times, but you can’t sit there and think about how much that amount would mean to others or people less fortunate and things like that. It’s the same with how much you’ve lost. Thinking about your losing days will affect your game even more. I just try to block out those thoughts, be as composed as I possibly can and play accordingly.”
Easier said than done in my opinion, but I suppose it’s always going to feel easier when it’s built into your character. Rumour has it that Alan Boston takes note of the occasional chat box comment or forum post; I wondered if durrrr was the same. “I don’t worry about those things that much, “ he answered. (I was beginning to notice the phrases ‘don’t worry’, ‘don’t feel’ and ‘unaffected’ cropping up more and more). “I just ignore the chat and things people say, I often just turn the chat off unless I want to say something. I do like some of the things Ziigmund say, though, he’s a funny guy and I enjoy playing with him."
It’s not often you suspect durrrr of being forced out of his comfort zone. I believe I witnessed this rarity in the Ivey hand, and maybe also in the big bluff he ran against Sammy George. A bluff’s a bluff, but I think there’s something about it being seven-deuce that makes the moment more intense for durrrr. For those who didn’t catch the hand, there was an additional $10,000 up for grabs (as well as bragging rights) for anyone who won a hand with seven-deuce, so when durrrr picked up 7s-2h on the button, he duly raised to 6,000 (blinds $500/1,000). Sammy made the call with Ad-6c. At this point, Tom even announced his hand, but Sammy didn’t believe him.
The flop came Jh-Ah-6h and durrrr bet 10,000 only for Sammy to check-raise to 27,000. Durrrr smooth called. On the 3c turn, Sammy checked, allowing durrrr to take a stab at the pot with a bet of 48,000. Sammy called. The river was the 3d and with 162,000 in the middle, durrrr fired once more, this time announcing all-in for a gigantic $479,500. Sammy, who was stuck for the session and had around $360,000 in front of him, mulled over his decision for almost five minutes before making the fold, thus enabling durrrr to reveal his seven-deuce. It was one of the most fascinating hands I’d seen, and I was lucky enough to be there in person.
“I really wanted to win that $10,000 for the seven-deuce, maybe a little too much,” admitted durrrr. “When Sammy started to think for a few minutes on the river, I was a little concerned, and realised that I was risking a lot more than $10,000 to win $10,000, but thankfully it worked out in the end, and I won the $10,000 plus a little bit more. I was pretty happy about the hand and how it turned out.
"I actually think Sammy’s a pretty good poker player,” he continued. “I ran very well against him and although he lost, I don’t think he made many mistakes. I do have a slight experience advantage over him and have played more hands at No Limit, especially heads-up, but he’s a smart guy. He misplayed one hand, and it wasn’t even for that much money. The more he focuses on his game, the better he’ll become, and I’m pretty sure that he’ll do very well in poker in the coming years.”
There was another hand from the Live Challenge that I found interesting, and if you check out this YouTube clip you might spot me lurking in the background chatting to Catman. At first, we weren’t really paying much notice, but you’ll eventually see our attention diverted back towards the game as the hand progresses. I’ll never forget the look on durrrr’s face when Marcello [Marigliano] showed the bluff. “I was definitely shocked,” confessed durrrr. “Marcello is capable of being creative and playing the occasional crazy play, but I didn’t think that was one of those times. I don’t know what to say. That hand still confuses me. I think maybe he didn’t realise how deep he was or something.”
“I always enjoy playing Marcello and have played him a ton online. He’s luckexpress online and over the last three years we’ve played a lot of hands. The last time we played online, though, I think he won about $400,000, and then we played live a little recently in England, and then of course this match. He’s a good player with plenty of moves, but if I were to make one criticism, it would be that he’s maybe too tight at times. Having said that, he made two crazy moves against me, and both of them worked.”
As this match drew to a close, durrrr was down by a few thousand. There have been times online when I’ve been a buck away from making a comeback/profit, only to go on to lose even more than I was losing before because I tried too hard to reach a target. “I only care about the total money won or lost,” replied durrrr talking on a broader scale. “I don’t play sessions to try and win, I just play to be the favourite to win as much a I can. I’d rather be 50 percent to win $100,000 than I would to be 100 percent to win $40,000, every single time. I think Marcello might have slightly wanted to win but he’s a smart enough guy and a good enough poker player that that wouldn’t effect his decision too much either.”
I had to replay that comment back on my Dictaphone a number of times, and although it initially baffled me and has perhaps lost something in translation, I think I know what it means, and it may be the reason why he didn’t accept offers of buy-outs from his bracelet prop bet during the recent donkament at the World Series. He knew he could have secured a tidy sum, but he wanted to make the most plus EV decision, and the one that would earn him the most money. When people try to buy out of a bet, it’s usually because they think they’re in trouble. Durrrr knew he had them by the short and curlies and he was willing to risk winning nothing in his mission to obtain bracelet gold. I’d love to see durrrr on Deal or No Deal one day. Something tells me he’d see it through to the end, even if they added a few zeros to all the prizes.
Whilst durrrr has been causing a stir in live games, he originally garnered fame from his online prowess. However, at the tail end of 2009, he came up against the phenomenal roller coaster that was Isildur. For several weeks, this was one of the biggest stories to ever hit online poker, and durrrr was in the very centre of the whirlwind. How could I not ask durrrr about the guy who had taken him for millions in one day and put doubt in the mind of the poker world (including mine) as to his capabilities as a poker player? However, at the time, durrrr wasn’t really talking much about the encounter, and he was still around five million down for the year, so I did my utmost to tread carefully.
“Do you like it when new players arrive at the nosebleed levels?” I asked, dipping my toe into the water. “Well, I like it when people six-table me at high stakes.” “What about when that player is Isildur? Do you think you’ll get him in the long run?” “I can’t say at the moment, but we’ll see what happens. I’m just going to keep posting and see if I win.” “Do you think your game has improved?” “In poker, you always need to be learning and adapting. If not, you’re quickly going find yourself with no money, so I always try to learn from every game I play. It’s a complicated game and I’m always trying to learn from my opponents, whoever they are, and learn how to play better.”
I sensed that drugs would be required to extract any specific information about Isildur, so I altered my route. As I mentioned in Part One, durrrr arrived to his second match of the live challenge physically (and, I assume, mentally) exhausted from a manic night of online poker. Playing in front of cameras, over 12 plus hours, against one of the game’s best Omaha players, on little to no sleep - I just couldn’t see how that was a sensible move, but durrrr disagreed. “I don’t regret it. I thought I was a favourite in the games I was playing online more than I normally would be, and won some money, but I almost won a lot more. I think I can play much better tired than most people can. I think that’s just something I’ve adapted to over time. Obviously, it still affects me, but I usually end up all right. To be honest, I just wanted to skip my heads-up with Ziigmund and go to sleep. If it were the second season of matches, then I’m sure I would have, because I was just so tired. I was tired from the other match, but got back to the hotel and played online, didn’t sleep and then went playing the next day. My match with Ziigmund was surprisingly less action-packed than I would have expected and we finished without anyone losing a big amount, which was shocking.”
So, what did I learn from my encounter with Tom Dwan? Well, one’s thing for sure, I certainly underestimated him, and, like many others, I should never have doubted him as a player. This guy has more character than the poker community combined, and whether or not another Isildur takes him to the cleaners in the future, he’ll be back, and will still be around in 50 years time. Many ‘online stars’ have come and gone, but if anyone’s capable of emulating the longevity of Doyle, then it’s durrrr. At the same time, he displays a level of maturity that I rarely see in players of his age. He’s cordial at all times, prudent about what he says (an anti-FullFlush of sorts), and is always quick to compliment others. I’m sure he’s brimming with controversial opinions, and has a hit list of people he’d love to insult, but they remain with durrrr. He’s a secretive guy who keeps his cards close to his chest. It’s probably a smart move.
There are times when I think durrrr isn’t human. “I don’t pay much attention to them, they’re often more off than people realise,” he claims when asked about poker databases; “I don’t mind people approaching me for photos and things.”; “I wouldn’t say I’m famous, maybe in the poker room, but that’s about it. I don’t notice it that much” - everything in life just seems to ricochet off him as if he’s wearing a suit of armour, and I can’t ever imagine anything getting him down to the point where it affects his game. He has an incredible ability to focus, whatever the circumstances, and isolate himself from any external influences, and it’s a key factor to his success, both on and off the table. Stu Ungar once described himself as a “freak of nature”, and rightly so. I think durrrr falls into the same category.
Vegas Blog
Vegas Reports
Les Ambassadurrrrs – Day One
Les Ambassadurrrrs – Day Two
Les Ambassadurrrrs – Day Three
For more high profile interviews see:
Shaun Deeb
Phil Ivey
Patrik Antonius
John Juanda
Ian Frazer
Annette Obrestad
James Akenhead
Richard Ashby
Sammy George
Roland De Wolfe
Jeff Lisandro
Freddy Deeb
Barry Greenstein
Phil Laak