Aussie Millions -- Million Dollar Cash Game Recap

There are only a few people in the world who have enough money in their bankroll to support a cash-game buy-in of $1 million. In Australia on Sunday, Jan. 25, there were just two such players. Tom “Durrrr” Dwan and Patrik Antonius faced off in the Million Dollar Cash Game at the 2009 Aussie Millions Poker Championships at Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia. The television cameras of Fox Sports Net rolled as two of the best poker players in the world sat down to battle in one of largest poker cash games in history heads-up before they were joined by others.

Antonius arrived at the table first, and he bought in for $1.5 million. Dwan arrived a bit later, and not to be upstaged, he decided to buy in for $2 million. It was decided between the two that blinds would start at $1,000-$2,000 and the game would alternate every 20 hands between no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha.

Antonius came out of the gates fast during the million dollar-plus heads-up match. Dwan saw his stack dwindle down to $1,477,000, and he ended up stuck about half a million against Antonius before the conclusion of their square-off. Antonius won all of the big hands between them, and when Dwan did hold the upper hand, the board bailed out Antonius and chopped the pot (twice).

Shortly after the dinner break, new blood was added to the table, as Andrew Robl, Jamie Pickering, Niki Jedlicka, and Phil Laak all bought in for a minimum of $200,000. Blinds were rolled back to $500-$1,000 (with a $200 ante on the hold'em rounds) to accommodate the new players, and action continued into the night.

Pickering and Jedlicka both scored nice pots during the night of high-stakes poker, and Phil Laak ended up reloading for $200,000 when he hit the felt thanks to a quick loan from Dwan. The craziest hand of the night came right before things ended. Robl doubled up to $225,000 in a pot-limit Omaha hand against Antonius where they ran the turn and river four times and Robl won each time! When things ended for the night, here is how things looked for the stuck and those players who finished up:

Note: Dwan brought in for $2 million and Antonius brought $1.5 million to the table. The five other players bought in for $200,000. The counts below represent the final total amount of money they walked away from the table with, and not their net gain or loss.

Up:

Patrik Antonius: $1,800,000
Niki Jedlicka: $420,000
Jamie Pickering: $315,000
Andrew Robl: $225,000

Stuck:

Tom Dwan: $1,500,000
Chris Ferguson: $165,000
Phil Laak: $15,000

Here are the highlights from the Million Dollar Cash Game, as featured in CardPlayer.com’s live updates:

Antonius Extends His Lead

Each player tossed in $6,000 preflop, and the first three cards were dealt K 9 8. Dwan checked, Antonius bet $12,000, and Dwan called. The turn fell Q, and Dwan fired out $31,000. Antonius raised the pot ($98,000), and Dwan mucked with a grin. This hand came one hand after Antonius raised to $76,000 on the river and Dwan mucked to the large bet. Antonius has jumped out to the lead during the first two rounds of hold'em and pot-limt Omaha. He holds about $1.7 million after buying in for $1.5 million. Durrrr is down to about $1.8 million from his initiial $2 million.

Antonius Wins the Largest Pot Yet

On a board of A K 2 6, Antonius bet $10,000, and Dwan raised to $37,000. Antonius reraised to $118,000. Dwan called after some deliberation, and the river fell 3. Antonius fired out $146,000, and he lifted another six figures off of Dwan when Durrrr mucked.

Tough Luck for Durrrr

For the second time tonight, Tom Dwan was out in front in a pot only to have Lady Luck bail out Antonius and chop a pot between the two players. The recent addition saw a board of 9 6 5 8 A. As you can see below, Antonius hit a gutshot straight to catch up to Dwan and save himself from losing a hefty amount of cash. Their holecards:

Dwan: K 8 7 7
Antonius: K Q 7 6

A setback for Dwan, but he is still holding strong in his attempt to get unstuck against Antonius.

Jedlicka Doubles His Stack -- Felts Laak

Phil Laak raised to $3,500, Patrik Antonius made the call, and Niki Jedlicka reraised to $20,500. Laak reraised to $103,000, and Antonius mucked. Jedlicka moved all in, and Laak made the call for his entire chip stack. Their cards:

Laak: A K
Jedlicka: A A

The dominant hand held up for Jedlicka, and he now holds over $400,000. Laak was down to the felt, but he bought back in for $200,000, thanks to Tom Dwan lending him another buy-in.

Pickering vs. Dwan

Jamie Pickering raised to $3,500 preflop, and Niki Jedlicka made the call. Tom Dwan called, as well, and then Chris Ferguson raised to $20,300. All three opponents made the call, and the flop was dealt A 6 4. Dwan bet $31,400, and Ferguson mucked. Pickering made the call, and Jedlicka mucked, as well. The turn fell 2, and Dwan bet $41,800. Pickering made the call again, and the river fell 9. Both players checked, and Pickering turned up A-K to defeat Dwan's pair of deuces.

Crazy Hand -- Run it Four Times One Time

Patrik Antonius raised the pot to $3,500 preflop on the button during pot-limit Omaha, and Andrew Robl reraised to $12,000 from the big blind. Antonius called, and the flop was dealt A 7 4. Robl bet $16,000, Antonius raised the pot ($72,000), and Robl moved all in for $103,000. Antonius called, the two players decided to run it out four times, and they turned up their hands:

Robl: A Q Q J
Antonius: 9 8 6 5

Run 1: K, 2 -- Robl wins one-fourth of the pot

Run 2: J, A -- Robl wins one-half of the pot

Run 3: 10, K -- Robl wins three-fourths of the pot

Run 4: 3, 10 -- Robl amazingly wins the entire pot

Robl more than doubles up to $225,000 to get unstuck just before the end of the night. Antonius is knocked down to $1.8 million.

Last Laugh for Dwan

The last hand of the night saw a flop of K Q 3 hit the table with Tom Dwan, Jamie Pickering, and Phil Laak, who all limped in preflop. Dwan bet $3,400 from the button, Pickering mucked in the small blind, and Laak made the call from the big blind. The turn fell 4, and Laak checked. Dwan bet $8,800, and Laak made the call. The river fell 2, and Laak checked again. Dwan bet $62,200, and Laak went into the tank. After agonizing about the decision, Laak made the call, and Dwan turned over 8 6 to win the hand with a flush.

After the hand, the players began to bag up their chips. Laak returned the $200,000 he borrowed from Dwan after the Unabomber had hit the felt earlier. He was left with $15,000 in his stack after that. He was stuck $185,000.

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