Tom Dwan’s biography
Tom "durrrr" Dwan is a phenomenal player, who has become famous throughout the world for his successful online poker game. He realized an "American dream" of young poker players, having started his poker career with 50$ (at the age of 17). It was in 2004, and just in a year, he turned 50$ into 15 000$. By the age of 18, Dwan had earned 50 000$, and being a second-year student he had a 150 000$ bankroll.
At first, Tom Dwan participated in freerolls and inexpensive cash games, but in a few years, he switched to high-stake games, having begun to play with the best-known online professionals, and his profits started to be measured in millions. For example, Tom’s online profit in 2007 was equal to 300 000$, in 2008 – 5 000 000$; 2009 turned to be an unsuccessful year for Dwan - he lost 4 000 000$, but in 2010, the boy won 7 000 000$.
Tom Dwan began to take an active part in live events as soon as he turned 21, since it is the minimal age limit to participate in tournaments in the USA. Until a full age of majority, the poker player had got into prize zone only once - at the European EPT series in London in 2005 (12th place in the Main Event for 3 050£ brought him 7 000£ of prize money). His first six-figure victory in offline event Dwan earned in 2007 at the World Poker Finals Championship Event, where he was paid 324 240$ for the 4th place (with a buy-in of 10 000$). Thereafter, he repeatedly became a winner of the popular poker series.
Dwan has become more recognizable in poker circles due to his participation in such well-known poker shows as "High Stakes Poker" and "Poker After Dark".
Special attention should be given to Durrrr Challenge or the so-called "Tom Dwan’s Challenge", which the poker player offered to all players of the world (except Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond) in 2009. The essence of Dwan's challenge: Tom was ready to make a bet with anyone that he/she would beat the poker player at least for 1$ through 50 000 hands in online at the limits no less than 200$ / 400$ NLH or PLO (on the opponent’s choice). In case the player who accepted the challenge wins, Dwan was pledged to pay him 1 500 000S, and if "durrr" wins – the opponent was supposed to pay 500 000$. That means the bets were 3:1. The first to agree on such a bet were Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius and David Benyamine, but only Patrik Antonius and Daniel Cates had a chance to participate in the Durrrr Challenge. Both, by the way, have not managed to finish it. Their confrontation was interrupted by the events of Black Friday in the United States, because of which online poker was banned.
- The Durrrr Challenge result against Patrik Antonius: there were played 39 436 hands, and Tom "durrrr" Dwan was leading for 2 059 720$, so Patrick paid off.
- The Durrrr Challenge result against Daniel "jungleman12" Cates: there were played 19 335 hands, and Cates is leading for 1 251 059$. Nobody has refused the competition, and a lot of people are still waiting for it to be continued, including Dan Cates.
In 2012, an updated Full Tilt (after it was bought by PokerStars) invited Tom Dwan to join the poker room’s team (an analogue of PokerStars Team Pro). Later, joined the team Victor "Isildur1" Blom, and Full Tilt organized Dwan vs Blom Challenge between them. The Swede won that confrontation, and the competition of two "sworn rivals" was actively discussed in the poker circles and became almost a benchmark for poker battles.
Now, Tom Dwan (as he did previously) leads a pretty hidden from poker media life and does not really talk about his plans, adventures and achievements; quite a bit is heard about the poker player’s life. He can rarely be met at the popular poker series or online. Dwan spends a lot of time in Asian countries and prefers short deck game.
In 2019, Tom Dwan became ambassador of Triton Poker. Also Tom collaborates with the brand PokerKing Asia.
Video about Dwan:
Interesting facts about Tom Dwan:
- His father helped Tom to make the first (and the only one according to the poker player’s words) deposit of 50$, using money the guy had saved up before.
- Dwan became obsessed with poker before entering the university, therefore the guy left his studies, when the game started to bring him a solid profit.
- All those present have remembered Tom Dwan’s first appearance at the WPT series, as the player has changed four gutsy headgears, which were impossible to ignore. It was a fruit basket hat, a pink hubcap, a plush bowling pin and a flamingo hat.
- Tom "durrrr" was a member of Full Tilt Poker team.
- Dwan took part in shooting of 5th and 6th seasons of the popular "High Stakes Poker" show. After he left, the program rating has declined by one half. Also, the poker player participated in "Poker After Dark" show.
- After the poker player began to rarely appear in public, the theories of Dwan’s bankruptcy started to be discussed on the network. Thus, for example, in accordance with one of the theories, Tom was taken hostage in Macau, and according to another - he was hiding from the rich businessmen who he lent him money. There were even some incredible rumors, but none of them has been confirmed.
- In general, Dwan is very mysterious figure in poker, therefore the rumors are often circulating around his person. One of the most popular and provocative – that Dwan is allegedly a gay. There is no evidence of this fact. Moreover, in 2018 it became known that Tom has a bride - Bianca Rosso. There are no photos from the couple’s wedding in the net, but in all interviews Tom calls her his wife and the girl herself is signed in social networks as "DurrrrsWife".
- A poker player likes to make bets. At the WSOP 2010, Tom Dwan made several big bets with other players that he would win a bracelet that year. He lost the dispute, although the guy hit a prize zone (four times) and took 2nd place in the NLH-tournament for 1 500$ (Tom won 381 900$). If he had managed to win the bracelet in 2010, he would has received 15 000 000$ for the bet in addition to the trophy and prize money. At the WSOP 2011, Dwan offered a bet on the bracelet again, but there were far fewer people willing to make it ... luckily for Tom, since he did not manage to win the bracelet that year.
- In 2016, another American pro Douglas Polk called the Durrrr Challenge "the biggest fraud in the history of poker."
- In accordance with highstakesdb (it includes only expensive cash games) Tom’s graph at Full Tilt is as follows:
Tom Dwan on the social networks:
Tom Dwan has an official page on Twitter - @TomDwan.
You can also found Dwan’s latest photos on his girlfriend’s Instagram (durrrrswife).