About Tom Dwan

Name	Tom Dwan
Born	Jul. 30, 1986
Birth Place	Edison New Jersey, US

Many in the poker business think Tom "durrrr" Dwan is the modern-day equivalent of Doyle Brunson.

The only difference is Dwan takes that patented Brunson aggression to an entirely new level.

Born July 30, 1986, in Edison, N.J., Dwan started playing poker in 2004 at the age of 17. His meteoric rise to the elite level of poker began with a $50 deposit on Full Tilt Poker. Although he started with $6 sit-and-gos, he quickly moved on to cash games and grinded his way through the limits.

Some of the credit for Dwan's quick ascension through the poker ranks would have to go to the online community at the www.twoplustwo.com poker forum. Dwan was an active member of the strategy community there and still participates in discussions on the site.

By 2008 Dwan's bankroll had easily exceeded seven figures, and although no one knows the exact number, there are rumors that Dwan has in excess of $5 million online.

Playing at the highest limits available, Dwan has racked up some very memorable hands.

In October 2008, while playing $500/$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em, Dwan was on the losing end of the biggest pot in online history at the time ($723,938), losing with KK to fellow high-stakes player Di "Urindanger" Dang whose AA held up.

Dwan was also involved in the largest pot ever played on High Stakes Poker television show at the time. In March of 2009 Dwan defeated Barry Greenstein for an epic pot totaling $919,600.

Surprisingly Dwan claims that he has never gone broke, which is a distinct contrast to most professional poker players.

Although online cash games are his forte, Dwan has also had some impressive live-tournament finishes with a final table at the WPT and at the WSOP. As of 2009 his live-tournament winnings exceeded $1 million.

In 2009 Dwan rocked the poker world by offering a $1 million heads-up challenge. The durrrr Challenge, as it would eventually be known, gave opponents 3-1 odds on $500,000 that they could beat Dwan over the span of 50,000 hands while four-tabling. If anyone beat Dwan they would receive $1.5 million. Patrik Antonius was the first player to take Dwan up on the challenge.

Trivia

• Good friends with fellow high stakes grinders David "Raptor" Benefield and Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond.
• Noted member of the 2+2 poker community.
• Creator of the durrrr Challenge.
• Attended Boston College as an English major but dropped out to pursue poker.
• Once offered Phil Hellmuth a $100,000 heads-up match.