Tom Dwan is synonymous with high-stakes poker, daring bluffs, and jaw-dropping wins. Best known in the poker community by his online moniker ‘durrrr’, Dwan’s meteoric rise from a timid starting bankroll to playing poker professionally captivated game enthusiasts worldwide. This American poker prodigy, celebrated for his audacious style and relentless drive, has left an indelible mark on online and live poker arenas.
Dwan’s story is one of grit, risk, and unflinching ambition, from his legendary ‘Durrrr Challenge’ to his prominent presence in the biggest cash games in Macau and Manila. In this article, we delve into the fascinating journey of Tom Dwan, exploring his formidable career, key moments, and significant contributions to the world of poker.
Tom Dwan has been playing poker since his teenage years
Born on July 30, 1986, in Edison, New Jersey, Dwan began playing online poker with a deposit of $50 when he was just 17. He turned this initial bankroll into millions by the time he turned 21.
Durrrr is known for his highly aggressive play style and willingness to take huge risks, which has made him a favorite among poker fans. He’s famous for playing exceptionally high-stakes games, sometimes with pots going into the millions of dollars, and almost always playing against the best poker players in the world.
One of the most memorable hands played by Dwan at High Stakes Poker.
Tom stormed the world of online poker
How did this history start? With a birthday gift that served as Tom’s first bankroll. Soon after, Dwan has begun to play poker a lot and with above-average results. His natural abilities allowed him to quickly rise through the low-stakes sit-and-go and cash games, eventually leading him to “the nosebleeds” – the highest stakes played online.
After becoming regular to these games, Durrrr quickly became famous for his battles on Full Tilt Poker, playing the biggest No-Limit Texas Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha games available. His opponents included some of the best poker players in the world, such as Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and another young poker prodigy – Isildur1.
Two professional poker players battling relentlessly at the highest stakes online poker had to offer could result in only one thing – big swings. While undoubtedly successful, Tom Dwan wasn’t invincible. The poker world found that out thanks to Isildur, anonymous at the time, who beat Durrrr for over five million dollars over a few days in November 2009.
While it was a harsh defeat, it did not break Tom, who, despite being unable to win his money back from the ferocious Swede, continued to reign supreme on Full Tilt Poker, earning millions until the very end of the platform.
Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge
Tom’s career has been full of ups and downs, with a significant dominance of the former, and one of the most notable moments occurred when he was already considered an absolute elite poker player.
Of course, we are talking about the famous “Durrrr Challenge,” which he issued in 2009. Tom challenged anyone in the world (except his friend Phil Galfond) to play 50,000 hands of heads-up poker online at high stakes.
Since not many dared to play with Dwan, he had to offer something extra. Overall, the rules of this online challenge were as follows:
- If the challenger were ahead after 50,000 hands, Dwan would give them an additional $1.5 million on top of their winnings.
- If Dwan were ahead, he would receive $500,000.
- Players have to play four tables at once.
- Stakes had to be $200/$400 minimum.
- Dwan’s opponent could choose to play No Limit Holdem or Pot Limit Omaha.
Over the years, only two players have decided to take up the challenge – Patrick Antonius and Daniel Cates, aka Jungleman. Surprisingly, Tom did not perform as well as his fans expected. In both cases, he quickly got stuck for over a million dollars ($1.2 million vs. Cates and $2 million vs. Antonius), and both challenges paused indefinitely without any official reasons.
While both online challenges have remained unresolved to this day, there was also a live iteration of the event. This time Tom Dwan managed to find two opponents. The rules were similar, with $500/$1000 blinds and a minimum of 500 hands to be played.
The matches were one-off events and were quickly forgotten, but many poker fans still remember one of the most entertaining seven-deuce bluffs in televised poker history.
Las Vegas and live tournaments
In his prime time, Tom was regularly besting other professional poker players, but his online dominance ended abruptly with Black Friday, which effectively banned online poker in the United States. Just like many other online poker pros, Durrrr has been forced to look for some action at the live felt.
Luckily for him, his abilities translate exceptionally well to the live environment. Despite his strong preference for cash games, Dwan has also made a name for himself in live poker tournaments. Over his career, he earned a few cash finishes in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and World Poker Tour (WPT) events, and in 2010 he missed his potential first World Series of Poker Bracelet by inches, ending second in the $1500 event for over $381,000.
Ups and downs of a life of a professional poker player
As mentioned, Tom Dwan was among the many poker players sponsored by Full Tilt Poker when Black Friday occurred, which impacted his career significantly. Durrrr lost not only a platform where he was earning a lot of money but also had to explain his connections to FTP and be involved in an investigation run by the Department of Justice. Despite that setback, it turned out that Dwan was not engaged in any wrongdoing, and he managed to maintain his status in the poker world.
Still, Black Friday left its marks, and Tom Dwan wasn’t as active on the big poker scene for a while. As a result, in the late 2010s, Dwan was seen less frequently in the West and played more often in high-stakes games in Macau and Manila, known to host some of the largest cash games in the world. What’s natural for such private games is that they are very secretive, and not many details are leaked to regular poker aficionados. Dwan’s Asian ventures didn’t last forever, though. Soon after the Covid restrictions were loosened, he emerged back to the poker scene. And he did so in style. With the growing popularity of the short deck and the return of the high-stakes cash games, Durrrr once again became one of the stellar points of any high-stakes field.
Tom Dwan: the professional poker player to follow in 2025 and beyond
Tom Dwan is back for good and is here to stay. Not only did he become a regular in the high roller circuits, amassing over $1 million in cashes since the start of 2022, but he also appears in the highest cash games televised. He’s also on a hot streak; in May 2023, he won the biggest pot in televised poker history for over $3.1 million. How about you? Do you want to become a professional poker player? Take a first step today and join Smart Spin. We’ve helped hundreds of players and do our best to help you become an online poker pro!