The "durrrr Challenge": Short Session in the Early Hours of Wednesday Morning
The “durrrr Challenge” was back in action during the early morning hours of Wednesday. Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Daniel “jungleman12” Cates put in a 1,407-hand session over two and a half hours that saw Dwan win close to $18,000. While the session was by no means a marathon, the small win did reduce Cates’ lead to $555,000 with a quarter of the challenge completed. Seeing as the dynamic duo have put in some short sessions over the past couple of weeks, it seems the poker world may see some “durrrr Challenge” action on a more consistent basis.
Dwan Calls Cates’ Bluff
In one of the more interesting hands of the session, Dwan ($79,384) was on the button and put in a raise to $1,200. Cates ($192,350.50) made the call and the pair watched the flop fall 4♦J♣5♣. Cates was first to act and checked to Dwan who threw out a bet of $2,000. Cates responded with a check-raise to $7,000, which Dwan opted to call.
The turn was the A♦ and Cates led out for $14,400. Dwan smooth-called as the Q♥ hit the river. Cates fired $39,400 and Dwan called. Cates showed K♣7♣ for a missed flush draw, and Dwan revealed K♦K♠ to take down the $124,000 pot.
Pocket Pair vs. Pocket Pair
Cates ($57,393.50) raised to $800 on the button only to have Dwan ($68,388.50) reraise to $2,400. Cates then made it $5,600, and, after a call, the flop fell 2♦3♦7♠. This is when action really picked up. Dwan checked, Cates bet $4,800, Dwan check-raised to $15,500, Cates moved all-in for $51,793.50, and Dwan made the call.
Dwan: 9♥9♦
Cates: J♣J♦
Dwan was in big trouble because his pocket pair was inferior to Cates' pair. Both players agreed to run it twice with the first run coming 2♣ and 6♥, giving the first half of the pot to Cates. On the second run, the turn was the 8♠ and the river the 2♥, allowing Cates to scoop the entire $114,787 pot.
Cates’ Top Two Trumps Dwan’s Top and Bottom Pair
Dwan once again found himself on the losing end of a big hand. In this instance, Dwan ($48,386.50) raised to $1,200 on the button and Cates ($143,383.50) called from the big blind. Cates checked the 10♠2♥9♦ flop and Dwan bet $2,000. Cates check-raised to $7,000, Dwan reraised to $17,600, and Cates called behind.
When the 8♦ peeled off on the turn, Cates immediately move all-in for $124,583.50, and Dwan called off his last $29,586.50. Cates showed 10♣9♥ for top two pair while Dwan flipped 10♦2♦ for top and bottom pairs with a flush draw. The river was run twice but neither the Q♥ on the first run nor the 4♠ on the second helped Dwan. Cates’ hand held up to take down the entire $96,772 pot.
Dwan Gets Paid
Cates ($43,799.50) raised to $800 on the button only to have Dwan ($135,588) make it $2,400 from the big blind. Cates reraised to $5,200 and Dwan called as the flop came down 2♥7♠6♣. Dwan checked, Cates bet $4,200, Dwan check-raised to $13,500, and Cates made the call.
Dwan then moved all-in when the A♥ appeared on the turn and Cates called off his remaining $25,099.50. Dwan was in good shape with 7♥6♠ against Cates' A♠Q♠. The pair agreed to run the river twice and Cates needed to hit an ace, queen, or deuce to win the pot. Unfortunately for him, the 10♠ on the first run and 5♠ on the second were no help. Dwan took down the $87,598 pot while Cates was left to rebuy.
Big Flop for durrrr
Cates ($41,200) was on the button and raised to $800. As usual, Dwan ($68,598) raised to $2,400, Cates reraised to $5,200, and Dwan called. Dwan then check-called a bet of $4,000 on the K♥J♠2♥ flop and watched as the 2♦ was turned.
Dwan proceeded to check-call a bet of $10,000 from Cates and the Q♦ was run out on the river. Dwan check-called Cates’ all-in bet of $22,000 and showed K♦J♦ for a flopped two pair. Cates flipped his A♥K♠ and discovered that he had been out-flopped in a pot worth $82,400.
With about 12,500 of the 50,000 hands completed, Cates' lead stands at $555,000. There is still a long way to go, but if Cates can hold on to his lead, he will take home $1.5 million of Dwan's money plus any profit from the match. If not, Dwan will win himself $500,000 of Cates' hard-earned bankroll. Only time will tell which competitor will come out on top.
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
