The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a sun-dappled, three-tiered ranchero catching the soft breezes off the afternoon poker news sea.
Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.
Today in the 3-Bet we find Tom Dwan delving into Macau, bracelet bets and FTP, Phil Galfond explaining how it all began and two UK rounders living the poker dream.
1) durrrr: Macau Games Growing, FTP Has Some Convincing to Do
If you want to catch up with Tom "durrrr" Dwan these days, you'll have to book a ticket to Asia. Winning $3.8 million pots will keep you there, we imagine.
Bogog pro and TV host Tatjana Pasalic had the chance to catch up with Tom “durrrr” Dwan at the recent Manila Millions, however, and snuck a few questions in. Cliffs:
- Stakes and games getting bigger in Asia everyday
- Missing online play a lot
- Sitting out when the fish leaves in live play is tragic
- Too crazy for poker not to be legalized soon in US
- The premise of a pro league like Epic is something people want
- His WSOP bracelet bets aren’t looking good right now
As for FTP: He’ll be a lot more careful getting involved with any site, including possibly a new FTP, but unless they show they have all the money to pay players he’ll never go back.
No mention of the famous $1 million he pledged to pay back, though - sorry microgrinders.
Interview below (skip to 30 secs to avoid the ads):
2) Galfond Begins: Poker, Improv, Poker, Poker, Improv, Poker
Phil Galfond fans have been clamoring for Phil’s full poker origin story for some time now and their patience has finally paid off.
Phil goes deep into his backstory to the tune of about 5,000 words in his latest blog post – and that’s just for ages 18-22.
In short: he played a lot of poker, did a lot of improv, his roommates thought he was gay, he tried out a few live $10k events, started making $500/h and finally dropped out of college.
So, you know, same old story. An excerpt:
"My good friend Dan (who I’ll meet soon), believes that I like calling because of my personality. I’m a passive person, and I don’t like aggressive people.
"What better way to feel satisfied than to outsmart them and make them feel stupid due to their own aggression?
"It wasn’t long until I started to venture away from the postflop-less SnGs. In February of my Junior year, on the advice of Peter Jetten, I made the transition from my well established roots and solid hourly rate in SnG’s into the unknown world of cash games, where I could exercise my newfound calling muscles.
"Peter told me that there was more money to be made in cash, and Peter was right."
3) Young Brits Leave it All Behind, Play Poker in Paradise
It’s a pretty familiar dream for a lot of poker players in cold, Northern countries: Pack up the laptop, go play poker someplace tropical and live like a king.
But while a lot of people think about it, few actually do it.
Young UK grinders Simon ‘amatay’ Jones and Cos ‘GreekStein’ Paparestis had the same idea as everyone else, but they actually made it happen and are now living their poker dream in South-East Asia. They don't seem to have any regrets:
“In some places, you get treated a little worse because you’re a foreigner," says Paparestis. "There are scams about and you’ve just got to get your head straight.
“Once you’re wise and not a completely green tourist, it’s an awesome place to live. We can go down the road and eat a four-course meal with drinks for about £2.
"In terms of being a poker player and coming out to grind a roll, it’s awesome.”
Sounds alright, we guess. But what's the downside?
"Out here you’re always panicking about penises, prostitutes and guns in pockets," Jones says.
Ah. If you’ve ever wanted to suss out a life of bungee jumping, ladyboys and poker among ex-pats, check out the feature article on Poker Player UK here.
