For today’s Flashback Friday, we look back at one of the most memorable High Stakes Poker pots Tom Dwan played. In the hand, “Durrrr,” with top pair, attempted to get Barry Greenstein to fold his pocket aces and Peter Eastgate to muck trips to win a massive pot. Would the bluff pay off for the former Full Tilt Poker pro?
Dwan’s attempted bluff was extra gutsy considering he was up against seven other players. He called Greenstein’s pre-flop raise of $2,500 in a cash game with Q-10 suited, as did every other player at the table.
With $21,600 in the pot, the eight players saw of rainbow flop of 2-10-2. “Durrrr” hit top pair, but the odds of it being good against seven random hands that all called a pre-flop raise weren’t good. That didn’t stop him from taking a stab at the pot.
Eastgate, the 2008 WSOP Main Event champ, flopped the best hand — trips — with 4-2. He checked, however, and let others bet it for him. Greenstein, the former PokerStars pro, threw $10,000 worth of chips in the pot to get value from his pocket aces.
Tom Dwan was next to act and made an unconventional play. Instead of just calling in position, he decided to turn his top pair into a bluff, raising it up to $37,300. But when two players called — Eastgate and Greenstein — he knew his hand wasn’t best. That wasn’t going to stop him from trying to win the huge pot.
Tough to Believe Tom Dwan Has It
During the poker boom era, Tom Dwan was a notorious bluffer. That made him one of the most entertaining characters on shows such as Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker. Any time he bet, his opponents had to consider the fact that he might be bluffing.
Even with that in mind, Eastgate and Greenstein still had a difficult decision to make when the seemingly meaningless 7 appeared on the turn. Dwan went for a huge bet this time of $104,200 in cold-hard cash. Both of his opponents had big hands, but “Durrrr” put them to the test. Did they lay it down?
Of course they folded. Tom Dwan is the GOAT. As High Stakes Poker commentator Gabe Kaplan said, “he’s got the weakest hand but the biggest heart.” The legendary former poker announcer, as per usual, was spot on with that statement.
Dwan, as Kaplan said, had “quite an imagination.” Greenstein knew it but he still couldn’t find a call. That’s why Tom Dwan was among the best players in the world during the High Stakes Poker era. Even though his opponents knew he bluffed frequently, it was still tough to call him down because he was a master at applying the right amount of pressure.
