Dwan has already provided us with some stellar poket tv moments in his short career(credit:
globalgamingbusiness)
The hole cam revelation has provided us with some stellar poker TV moments over the past few years. From outrageous bluffs to epic blow ups, we bring you the finest poker video clips that have warmed the hearts of poker aficionados worldwide. Starting from the 2
, follow our countdown up.
2 Incredible cold deck at Party Poker Open
Witness an incredible cold deck, as players get dealt 77, QQ, KK, and AA in a single hand during a Party Poker Open heat. Irishman O’Mahoney makes a brilliant fold laying down KK, leaving Kallakis (AA) to square up against Nickman (QQ). The twists don’t stop there – a 2
3 K
4
Q board ensure a brutal beat for Kallakis and leave O’Mahoney wondering what might have been.
3 Crazy Nguyen bluff at WSOP
‘He’s betting a $100,000 on cards the salvation army would reject’, cries the commentator as Nguyen fires in a monster pre-flop re-raise with 3 8. Smelling weakness from PokerStars pro Humberto Brenes who led out with A 10, the charismatic Nguyen gives a long spiel about, ‘how you cannot call baby’. Sure enough, a pensive Brenes mucks his hand, and to the delight of the audience, Nguyen shows his outrageous bluff to the cameras. Nguyen showed his mean side a few years later on his way to the $50k H.O.R.S.E title, berating other players with foul language in a drunken stupor. You can check out Nguyen’s irksome antics here.
4 Dwan lights up Poker after Dark
What do you do with a busted flush draw? Bluff all in for $133k. That’s if you’re Tom Dwan. The young hotshot knew he was capable of bullying American real estate agent Bob Safai off top pair, and duly fired a massive bluff overbet on the river. A fearless Dwan (8 6) poured $133k into a $40k pot on a 5 3 Q 10 2 board, causing Safai to muck his A Q. In his short span on TV, Dwan has wowed us with his formidable reading skills and ability to think ‘outside the box’. Credit also to Antonio Esfandiari for almost reading Dwan’s busted draw – as he chimes ‘show the 4 7 kid’, at the end.
5 Hellmuth bluffs Matusow off KK with 7-2 on HSP
Recently incorporated by Ultimate bet, the 7-deuce game shot to fame when Phil Hellmuth threw Mike Matusow off pocket kings with the worst holding in poker. On a Q 6 J 8 6 board, a gutsy Hellmuth fired a $40,000 bluff on the river, with Mike reasoning, ‘Phil only bets big on the river when he has something’, and throwing his over pair away. A smug Phil flips over the 7 2 to collect the $500 side bets. With the table aghast, Antonio Salorio chimes, ‘Finally, you have respect right there’. The ever modest Hellmuth replies, ‘Respect? I crushed everybody in the world at No-Limit for 20 years and I finally have respect?’
6 Gus Hansen going crazy in Poker Superstars
Needing a win to advance to the next stage of Poker SuperStars Season III, aggressive Dane Gus Hansen bulldozes the field by repeatedly going all-in in the dark. To Phil Hellmuth’s absolute disgust, Hansen’s first major double up comes when his pocket deuces oust the pokerbrat’s A J. Hansen continues in a similar vein and to the shock of the audience, eventually prevails.
7 Tony G being…Tony G
‘Come on Russian, get out’, ‘Bye bye Devilfish’, ‘You are a terrible player’, are just some of the obnoxious comments that come from the mouth of Antonius Guoga, otherwise known as ‘Tony G’. The abrasive Australian is known for his frequent berating and belittling of opponents at the tables, although strangely enough, he is said to be one of the friendliest players on the circuit away from the felt. His particular vendetta against Russians no doubt stems from his days of playing in shady, underground card clubs in Moscow. Highlights of Tony G being at his cocky best include the WPT, where he encourages opponents to ‘get some heart’ otherwise he is going to ‘rip them apart’. Tony G has mellowed over the past year or so, as he looks to promote his staking business ‘Chip me Up’
8 Farha and Gold battle in HSP
When two of the most aggressive players and colourful characters in poker go at it, fireworks are guaranteed. Jamie Gold picks up K K, and with Farha tabling bullets – A A, a pre-flop raising fest ensues. When Farha 4-bets a jubilant Gold, it suddenly dawns on the 2006 Main Event winner that Farha has the pocket rockets, and he goes into hysterics, begging Sammy to ‘check it down’ with already $191,300 in the pot on the turn. Farha bets $100k, and a reluctant Gold calls. After a 2 minute plea from Gold for Farha to check his hand on the river, with $391,000 in the pot, the two times bracelet winner kindly relents and rakes in the pot.
9 ‘I can dodge bullets, baby’ – Phil Hellmuth at the WSOP
Again, we could have peppered this list with Phil Hellmuth brags. He may not be a pillar of modesty, but he displays his expert reading abilities in this clip, and his post-hand antics epitomise the jazz and sense of occasion at the World Series of Poker. Something doesn’t smell quite right about Frank Pasantino’s overly cool demeanour, and Hellmuth picks up on it like a police sniffer dog. On a 4 4 A Q board, Frank (A A) bets 10,000, with Hellmuth holding A K. Hellmuth throws his hand away, declaring, ‘I can dodge bullets baby…how many people in the world could dodge that?’. Classy.
10 Antonius v Dwan – Aussie Millions Cash game
A thrilling pre-cursor to the ‘durrrr challenge’, Dwan and Antonius go at it tooth and nail in a heads up Aussie Millions cash game. Playing $1000/ $2000 blinds with $1 million stacks, the dynamic duo square up in a mixed PLO/NL-Hold’em format. Although Antonius records a significant profit over Dwan – in excess of $200k – the Finn runs extremely well, and ‘durrrr’ makes a series of world class folds.
J Negreanu and Hansen play out a $575,700 pot on HSP
The amount of money changing hands has since been surpassed, but for pure, undulated drama and tension, Daniel Negreanu and Gus Hansen clashing in Season Two of GSN’s High Stakes Poker is right up there. This clip has become part of poker folklore, and first alerted people to the sick amounts of money involved. With two of the most popular, recognisable faces in the game at loggerheads, a 9 6 5 flop gifted both players trips (Negreanu 6's, Hansen 5's). The 5 on the river gave Negreanu a full house, and Hansen quads. The highlight of the clip is Negreanu springing out of his seat in shock at Hansen’s monster check raise all in on the river, and the painful realisation the Great Dane had him beat.
Q Durrrr wins biggest pot in TV poker history on HSP Season 5
We could have filled this list with outrageous Tom Dwan plays, including his demolition of Howard Lederer’s AK suited with 8/6o, but his raking in of a $919,600 pot at the expense of Barry Greenstein was jaw-dropping. Especially given the history of these two players – Greenstein had sucked out on Dwan’s aces for a monster pot a few episodes prior. Tabling A A, Greenstein moved all in on a 4 2 Q board, and received a snap call from Dwan (K Q). Dwan stood firm when Barry offered to ‘take a few hundred thousand back’. A Q on the turn gifted Dwan the pot, and a visibly shocked Greenstein went deathly pale.
K Ivey ousts Jackson in bluffing war
If any clip captured the brilliant poker brain of the immutable Phil Ivey, it would be this one. With both players holding air, Ivey makes a ‘soul read’ and 5-bets Paul Jackson in a savage bluffing war. Ivey leads out on 7 J J board with Q 8, and Jackson re-raises with 6 5. Ivey re-raises, sensing weakness, only to be re-popped again by Jackson. But with the pot now standing at $1 million, Ivey refused to blink and moved all in, causing a flabbergasted Jackson to fold.
A Stu Ungar winning 1997 WSOP Main Event
Poker legend Stu Ungar’s third and final WSOP Main Event title is one of the most moving pieces of poker television. Arguably the most naturally gifted player to grace the green felt, Ungar defies the odds to defeat John Strzemp and scoop the $1 million first prize. Ravaged by cocaine addiction and personal problems, a frail looking Ungar takes out a picture of his 14 year old daughter from his wallet and dedicates his victory to her. A youthful Gabe Kaplan asks Ungar if he’s going to change his ways and fight his addictions, to which Stu replies, ‘I hope so’. A year later, Ungar was found dead in a hotel room from a suspected drug overdose.