Tom Dwan Looks To Win First WSOP Title
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The rail is stacking deeper and deeper here as Tom Dwan gets closer to the final table of Event #37: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. It seems that players and fans of poker alike love to watch Dwan play and root for his success. It's no wonder why Dwan has become such a prolific and popular name within the poker world, as this 24-year-old from New Jersey frequently competes with some of the most well-known players in the biggest cash games in the world. His poker career and reputation are amazing given his young age, and today he hopes to add one more item to his list of successes by grabbing his first World Series of Poker title.
Dwan began playing online poker at age 17 and over the past seven years, he has been able to build a reputation as one of the most skilled young players in the game. Dwan began playing poker online in $6 sit-n-gos after a deposit of just $50. After crushing those, he moved over to cash games where he grinded his way up the ranks. Dwan admits to having run extremely well and shooting up in limits within a few months. Before everyone knew it, “durrrr” was a staple in the biggest nosebleed limits possible.
When he was in his teens, Dwan was unable to play poker in the U.S. due to age restrictions and forced to play either online or outside of the States. In 2005 when he was just 19 years old, Dwan cashed in the Main Event on the European Poker Tour. His next tournament splash wouldn’t be until he was 21 at the World Poker Finals held at Foxwoods in Connecticut. At that event, Dwan placed fourth for nearly $325,000. That was in 2007.
In 2008, he placed second in an event at the Aussie Millions Championship for over $100,000 and then went heads up with Mike Sowers in a prelim event of the Borgata Winter Poker Open. Dwan finished second for over $225,000 there.
Although Dwan regularly plays cash games at the highest limits, it seems that glory within the poker world is often measured in WSOP tournament bracelets, and it is in this area that Dwan has since fallen short. Although he's been able to gain seven WSOP cashes over his career, the gold bracelet has eluded him thus far.
His first year of the WSOP came in 2008, but it was a solid first appearance. He made the final table of the $10,000 Mixed Championship. The final table included Sam Farha, Michael DeMichele, Eli Elezra and James Mackey. Dwan went on to finish eighth. He also finished eighth in the $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw with Rebuys event, just missing the final table by one person.
Also in 2008, Dwan placed ninth in the Five-Star World Poker Classic for $184,670. The same year he competed in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and defeated Phil Hellmuth after cracking his aces with pocket tens.
Last year's WSOP was a big year for Dwan, as he had a huge number of bracelet bets with several other pros. Early on in the 2010 series in Event #11: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em , Dwan came closer than ever to capturing the bracelet when he went heads up with Simon Watt. The Amazon Room was electric with many players disregarding events that they were playing in to watch Dwan as he battled head to head with Watt. Eventually, Dwan was defeated and Watt took home the bracelet. This victory lifted Watt up to the status of hero to many players for saving them millions of dollars by stopping Dwan from getting his first bracelet.
Today it looks likely that Dwan will make his second WSOP final table and possibly attain his first bracelet. All eyes in the poker community and throughout the Rio are watching as this wunderkind attempts to gain the prestige, glory, and respect that comes from winning a gold bracelet. Stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the most up to date coverage on Dwan's quest for WSOP immortality.