During Monday’s session of the Tom Dwan Million Dollar Challenge, two sizable hands of over $160,000 each unfolded. In the end, both were won by Dwan, who is up nearly $150,000 for the contest in total. Durrrr Challenge sat down with Chris “Fox” Wallace, an instructor at poker training site PokerXFactor, to analyze the two key pots.
Hand History – durrrr wins $166580
Full Tilt Poker $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha Hi – 2 players
durrrr (BTN/SB): $83290.50
Patrik Antonius (BB): $111674.00
Pre Flop: ($600.00)
durrrr raises to $1200, Patrik Antonius raises to $3600, durrrr raises to $10800, Patrik Antonius calls $7200
Flop: ($21600.00) 7s 4s Th (2 players)
Patrik Antonius requests TIME, Patrik Antonius bets $14800, durrrr raises to $66000, Patrik Antonius raises to $100874 all in, durrrr calls $6490.50 all in
Turn: ($166581.00) Ks (2 players – 2 are all in)
River: ($166581.00) 2c (2 players – 2 are all in)
Final Pot: $166581.00
durrrr shows Ad 7h 6s As (a flush, Ace high)
Patrik Antonius shows 4h 8c 4c 8h (three of a kind, Fours)
durrrr wins $166580.50
(Rake: $0.50)
The Hand, Written Out
A $166,000 pot between Dwan and Patrik Antonius occurred. With 200 big blind stacks, Dwan raised to $1,200 pre-flop, Antonius re-raised $3,600, Dwan popped it to $10,800, and Antonius called. The board came 7-4-10 with two spades. Antonius led out and bet $14,800, Dwan raised to $66,000, Antonius shoved for $100,000, and Dwan called the $6,500 needed to put himself all in. The turn came the king of spades and the river came the deuce of clubs. Dwan exposed As 6s Ad 7h for the nut flush. Antonius showed 4h 4c 8c 8h for trip fours.
Fox’s Analysis
The stacks are so deep. An over 200 big blind effective stack has a lot to do with how this hand played out. You don’t normally see those kinds of stacks in heads-up cash play. Antonius can call pre-flop because of how big the stacks are.
On the flop, it’s weird to see Antonius make that big of re-raise. He flopped a set of fours and bets the pot. The board has so many draws and durrrr knows that Antonius will bet with a huge range of hands. With a weaker player, you can infer things from that bet. durrrr has a made hand in case he’s facing a draw. A hand of 5-6-8-9 here would be an example of a monstrous straight draw.
After a bet by Antonius on the flop, durrrr raises to $66,000, enough to commit himself. He’s committed and Antonius is only getting 2:1 on his money. When you have a big draw, you want to get your opponent all in on the flop. durrrr plays this hand better than Antonius, in my opinion.
If these guys bet more one-quarter of their stack, they’re going to get their chips in. durrrr had a big draw, but he was certainly behind. He has to figure if he’s facing a made hand, he has a draw. If he’s facing a draw, he has a made hand. It’s very rare to be beat both ways.
Hand History – durrrr wins $164783
Full Tilt Poker $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha Hi – 2 players
durrrr (BTN/SB): $84787.00
Patrik Antonius (BB): $82391.50
Pre Flop: ($600.00)
durrrr raises to $1200, Patrik Antonius calls $800
Flop: ($2400.00) Ad 3c 2s (2 players)
Patrik Antonius bets $2400, durrrr raises to $6600, Patrik Antonius requests TIME, Patrik Antonius raises to $19200, durrrr calls $12600
Turn: ($40800.00) 6c (2 players)
Patrik Antonius requests TIME, Patrik Antonius bets $31200, durrrr calls $31200
River: ($103200.00) 7c (2 players)
Patrik Antonius requests TIME, Patrik Antonius bets $30791.50 all in, durrrr calls $30791.50
Final Pot: $164783.00
durrrr shows 8d 5s 4s Kd (a straight, Seven high)
Patrik Antonius shows 7h 5c 5d 9h (a pair of Sevens)
durrrr wins $164782.50
(Rake: $0.50)
The Hand, Written Out
On a different table, both Dwan and Antonius once again have about 200 big blinds each. Pre-flop, Dwan raises to $1,200 and Antonius flat calls. The flop came A-3-2 rainbow and Antonius bet $2,400, Dwan raised to $6,600, Antonius re-raises to $19,200, and Dwan calls. The turn came the six of clubs. Antonius led out and bet $31,200 and Dwan called. After a seven of clubs hit the river, Antonius shoved for $30,000 into a $100,000 pot and was called. He revealed 7h 5c 5d 9h for a pair of sevens. Dwan turned over 8d 5s 4s Kd for a seven-high straight.
Fox’s Analysis
The flat call pre-flop says that Antonius has a speculative hand. He won’t let a power hand go by. durrrr flops the nut straight with very few draws out there. If a six falls, he has the nuts. If 6-7 falls (like what happens), he still has a good hand. It’s very rare in Omaha that your hand is as safe as Dwan’s is. It’s one of the rare hands that you can afford to slow play.
When Antonius raises to $19,000 and durrrr calls, he’s still slow playing. You have to be willing to get away from a hand with this bad of a flop if you’re Antonius.
When the six falls on the turn, durrrr still has the nuts and Antonius is still betting air. I don’t know what he’s thinking. There is no draw to put durrrr on. When Antonius gets called after betting $19,200 on the flop, you know durrrr is going to call on the turn.
The seven on the river is also air. There is no way is durrrr is folding on the river for $30,000 to win a pot that is over $100,000. Antonius just made a wild bluff at the end.
Antonius’ bet on the turn makes him bluff committed on the river if he thinks durrrr will fold. The call by durrrr on the flop might have made Antonius sense weakness, but this is way too complex and by too good of a player for the read to be that simple.
