The Durrrr Challenge isn’t close to concluding, but the swing that Tom “durrrr” Dwan is enjoying has to be making Patrik Antonius sick to his stomach. Dwan is up over $1.9 million, with the prospect of Antonius having to pay out more if he loses the 50,000-hand challenge. There was a short nine-minute session played on March 12th, so let’s take a look at two pivotal hands from it.
Patrik’s Aggression doesn’t pay off
Full Tilt Poker $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha Hi – 2 players
durrrr (BTN/SB): $38400.00
Patrik Antonius (BB): $81600.00
Pre Flop: ($600.00)
durrrr raises to $1200, Patrik Antonius raises to $3600, durrrr calls $2400
Flop: ($7200.00) Kh Qc 3c (2 players)
Patrik Antonius bets $5600, durrrr raises to $24000, Patrik Antonius raises to $42400, durrrr calls $10800 all in
Turn: ($76800.00) 8c (2 players – 1 is all in)
River: ($76800.00) 5h (2 players – 1 is all in)
Final Pot: $76800.00
durrrr shows 6s Kc 2h Kd (three of a kind, Kings)
Patrik Antonius shows Ah 9s Ac 3d (a pair of Aces)
durrrr wins $76799.50
Analysis
This was a classic case of two players with pretty big Heads-Up Pot Limit Omaha hands pre-flop. Dwan had pocket kings with K-K-2-6 and Antonius held pocket aces with A-9-A-3. Neither player had any flush draws, but that didn’t stop Antonius from 3betting pre-flop. The flop of K-Q-3 was a fortunate one for Dwan, who hit top set, while Antonius sat on his aces. Unfortunately for Antonius, he led out for about two-thirds of the pot trying to dissuade Dwan in case he had any straight or flush draws. Dwan held the nuts, which were vulnerable to the potential draws, and immediately potted back at Antonius. With that bet, Dwan committed his entire stack to the hand and, for $10,800 more, Antonius put him all-in. Clearly at this point, Dwan was happy, as he was ahead of other sets and a slight favorite against a straight or flush draw. It turned out that Dwan was a huge 90% to 10% favorite when the money went in on the flop and held up for a healthy $76,799 pot.
Another Flush for durrrr
Full Tilt Poker $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha Hi – 2 players
durrrr (BB): $70799.00
Patrik Antonius (BTN/SB): $109399.00
Pre Flop: ($600.00)
Patrik Antonius raises to $1200, durrrr calls $800
Flop: ($2400.00) Ah Ks Js (2 players)
durrrr checks, Patrik Antonius bets $2400, durrrr calls $2400
Turn: ($7200.00) 5c (2 players)
durrrr checks, Patrik Antonius bets $6000, durrrr calls $6000
River: ($19200.00) 8s (2 players)
durrrr checks, Patrik Antonius checks
Final Pot: $19200.00
durrrr shows 9s Qs Qc Ad (a flush, King high)
Patrik Antonius shows Kh Jh Jc 6h (three of a kind, Jacks)
durrrr wins $19199.50
Analysis
Again, both players had pretty strong hands to start with. Dwan had 9-Q-Q-A with two spades, while Antonius had K-J-J-6 with three hearts. The pre-flop action was a little surprising because it didn’t have as many fireworks as we’re used to seeing. Antonius made the predictable raise, while Dwan simply called behind, which we’re assuming might have been meta-game strategy to disguise his hand. In a vast majority of pots played in the challenge, both players have historically 3bet in that spot. The action flop showed A-K-J with two spades. Dwan flopped top pair with the second nut flush draw and a straight draw, while Antonius hit bottom set. On the flop, it was Antonius with the slight edge at 56% to 44%. Durrrr decided to check-call against Antonius and saw the five of clubs hit the turn, a complete brick for both players. Again, we saw Dwan check-call and the eight of spades hit the river. Dwan checked a third street with what we are guessing was the intention of pulling off a big check-raise. Antonius, though, who in the past had always bet big in this spot, decided to slow down and check behind. Sure enough, Dwan had hit his king-high flush, while Antonius’ set failed to hold up. The pot may not have been huge at $19,199, but it showed the evolving dynamic in the meta-game strategy of these two players against each other.
