Capture the Flag: Where Top Cash-Game Pros Talk Strategy

Tom Dwan is better known to the poker community by his online moniker, "Durrr." The 21-year-old pro recently began to travel the tournament trail, but high-stakes cash games on the Internet are his bread and butter. A few years ago, Dwan deposited $50 on Paradise Poker, and he has parlayed that into a seven-figure bankroll. Dwan recalls, and analyzes, every hand he plays, and that enables him to profit when he plays in the biggest games around.



Lizzy Harrison: What factors make for a good cash game?

Tom Dwan: The worst players make up the most profitable games. The people who have the least experience usually play the worst. I like to play either no-limit hold'em or pot-limit Omaha, because they are the games that I play best. I prefer to play shorthanded because you get more hands. Your edge can be a lot bigger, even though it is easier not to have an edge.

LH: What about your least favorite game?

TD: Anything other than no-limit hold'em or pot-limit Omaha. I am trying to start to learn how to play other games, because a lot of the higher-stakes fish like to play multiple games. I need to learn more, because sometimes there are really good games that pop up, and the fish wants to play only a few specific games. If that guy works on Wall Street or owns a business, I want to be able to play with him.

LH: When you first started playing cash games, what games and stakes did you play?

TD: I played 25¢-50¢ no-limit hold'em online on Paradise Poker. I also played $6 sit-and-gos. I put in $50 for my first deposit, and I ran really good. I have never put any more money in than that. I've run it up pretty nicely.

LH: How quickly did you progress to the bigger games?

TD: About three months after I made my deposit, I was playing 50¢-$1 and $1-$2 no-limit. About five months after that, I was playing $5-$10 no-limit hold'em. Almost a year later, I took my first shots at $25-$50 no-limit. At that time, though, I was not playing it regularly. I started playing $25-$50 no-limit hold'em regularly about two years after I started playing.

LH: Were you always a winning player?

TD: I won, although I probably played in games in which I would have lost had I not gotten lucky; but I ran good. I mean, I moved up to $5-$10 no-limit hold'em pretty fast. I had to get lucky to move up that fast.

LH: As you moved up, did you have to implement any changes in order to continue to win?

TD: Yes, but fewer than people think. One of the main problems that people have is that they can be playing well and beating a game like $5-$10 no-limit hold'em, and if you put them in a $10-$20 game and they don't realize it's a $10-$20 game, they will continue to play well and beat it. But if you put them in a $10-$20 game and they know they have moved up, they will start to look for the differences. They will begin to justify their weird plays by saying things like, "But these players are better, they are playing $10-$20!" Basically, they will do a lot of things wrong.

LH: What stakes do you play on a day-to-day basis?

TD: I basically play whatever runs online. Usually that means I am playing either $25-$50, $50-$100, or $200-$400 no-limit hold'em; $100-$200 never seems to run.

LH: What are the highest stakes you have played, and how did you do?

TD: I have played $500-$1,000 no-limit hold'em against [Phil] Ivey a lot lately. I have been running good [smiling].

LH: Online or live?

TD: Only online. I won't play Ivey live.

LH: How should a player determine when he is ready to move up in stakes?

TD: People probably don't take anywhere near enough shots at moving up in stakes. When they do take those shots, though, they try to make them stick too much. I have a ton of friends who play $10-$20 with plenty of money in their bankroll, at least 50 or 100 buy-ins. If they see a really good $25-$50 game, they will sell me a piece before they play in it. I am happy to take those pieces, but they have enough money of their own to risk a few buy-ins in that game. They have the mindset that they are moving up to play $25-$50 because there is a fish in the game. If they don't win, they should go back to $10-$20. People should always take shots in bigger games if there is a good game, even if it is outside of their comfort zone. But if they win, they do not need to stay at those stakes; just like if they lose, they obviously should not stay at those stakes. This is even more pertinent live. Some people make poor bankroll decisions because they do not have enough risk. Obviously, it is better not to have enough risk than to have too much risk, but both are slight detriments. I probably have too much risk [laughing].

LH: What is the most common mistake that you see inexperienced cash-game players making?

TD: A combination of overvaluing good hands and undervaluing bad hands. In other words, they do not put in enough money with their decent hands, and with their good hands, they put in way too much money.

LH: What skills are more important in cash games than in tournaments?

TD: Cash games are more about balancing your play and playing your opponents well. In tournaments, there is more value in making sure that you play against the weaker players, and in picking your spots, because you are generally shorter-stacked relative to the blinds. In tournaments, you want to accumulate a lot of chips, but cash games are strictly expected value. For example, if you came to me with a hand written down on paper and asked for my advice, it would be much more accurate if it was a hand from a cash game. Tournaments have so many more factors that come into play. That makes it sound like tournaments are more complex, when they probably aren't.

LH: Did you ever receive any advice that changed the way that you played cash games?

TD: No, but I have received a lot of little tidbits from friends. Always thinking and learning is important. You should never think you have mastered a game. You can always learn more and get better. The game of poker is about figuring out what your opponent is thinking, and the way people think changes. Lately, I have learned a lot of things from my friend Di [Dang]; he is "urindanger" online. He is learning how to play Omaha, and about two months ago, I was better than him at the game. As I taught him how to play, he questioned things I taught him. When I would tell him how I do something, he would ask me why I don't do it a little differently. It was cool to be able to learn from him, even though he knew less about the game, because he is a smart guy.

LH: Which poker players have most influenced your game?

TD: The four who have influenced me the most are urindanger, who is Di, his brother Hac [Dang], Phil Galfond, who is known as "OMGClayAiken," and my roommate, "Raptor," who is David Benefield. They are the only people I am really honest with about poker hands, and I have learned a lot from them.

LH: Which cash-game players do you most respect, and why?

TD: In no particular order, the four people I just mentioned, Patrik [Antonius], and Phil [Ivey]; also, Niki Jedlicka, who plays as "KaiBuxxe" on Full Tilt, "Ziigmund," whose real name is Ilari Sahamies, and "LarsLuzak," whose real name is Sami Kelopuro.