It’s always good to start a session off right. In the case of the May 4th confrontation between Patrik Antonius and Tom “durrrr” Dwan, the former competitor raked in a $150,000 pot right off the bat. In the hand, Dwan made it $1,200 pre-flop, Antonius raised to $3,600, Dwan pumped it to $10,800, and Antonius called the extra $7,200. The flop came Q-4-9 with two hearts. Antonius bet $21,600 and Dwan elected to call. The turn was the six of diamonds. This time, Antonius shoved for $51,000 and Dwan called, flipping over Jd-10h-Ad-4c, while Antonius showed 9d-Ac-Js-Qc. The river came the ace of hearts, giving Antonius top two pair and a win over Dwan’s aces and fours.
DurrrrChallenge.com sat down with PokerXFactor.com pro Chris “Fox” Wallace to talk about our competitors’ thought process in this hand.
DurrrrChallenge.com: Talk about the action pre-flop.
Wallace: Antonius’ hand is much better. He raises and Durrrr re-raises. Sometimes, I’m not sure what Durrrr is doing. When I see the hands that he’s folding in other pots, he sometimes re-raises with strange hands. I know he’s known for being aggressive, but for someone who is a world-class player, there is something I don’t get about his Omaha play. That four of clubs is a terrible card in his hand. To re-raise with that is strange.
DurrrrChallenge.com: Talk about Patrik Antonius’ post-flop aggression.
Wallace: You can’t expect a lot of free cards from Antonius. He hasn’t been giving away the initiative. When you flop top two, you have to push it. Durrrr just calls because he was tipped off that Antonius actually has a hand. In a typical Pot Limit Omaha game, I know my opponents have flopped something if they’re solid and they bet like that. People aren’t usually that aggressive with a draw.
DurrrrChallenge.com: What are your overall impressions?
Wallace: I think Antonius outplayed Dwan in this hand. There is no brilliance on Antonius’ part, however. He played solid, high-level Omaha. Durrrr made a mistake and pushed too far. They both have a lot of money and quite a bit of success, but I don’t think these are two of the best Pot Limit Omaha players in the world. I’m not sure how good David Benyamine is, but he was up a few million dollars in Pot Limit Omaha on Full Tilt recently. If Phil Ivey can get comfortable playing four tables heads-up, he’ll smoke Dwan. He’d never make these kinds of mistakes playing one table, but four tables may not be his game. It’s a lot of hands and a lot of poker.
