Tom Dwan has been on the poker scene for a while now, but I had never really paid too much attention to his offline exploits. I was familiar with his name and had seen reports of the online high stakes cash games for a while. But I’d not seen the guy on TV, so I couldn’t identify too much with him – unlike poker pros like Ivey, Negreanu, Hellmuth, etc, who I’ve watched and admired for many years.
This is the first time I saw a clip of Tom Dwan, at some point last year:
While Hellmuth doesn’t cover himself in glory with his usual antics, my first impression of Dwan wasn’t so great. He looked uncomfortable in the live poker environment, avoiding eye contact and so forth. He was also a bit too cocky for my liking. I thought to myself “stick to online poker kid”.
However, my opinion on Tom Dwan has totally changed since I watched that first clip on YouTube. He’s had a lot more publicity recently due to the Durrrr Challenge (which might finish before Christmas!), but my opinion has been shaped by his recent appearances on High Stakes Poker, Season 5. He has been a joy to watch, and has utterly owned the table.
Here’s a piece of truly world class play from Tom Dwan:
I’m not basing my thoughts on just one or two hands, but his overall play. He has been nothing short of magnificent. It’s funny to look back at the NBC Heads-Up Championship video and seeing a somewhat geeky guy, clearly uncomfortable with the surroundings, and then to see how he has evolved on High Stakes Poker – totally bossing the table. This kid can certainly play poker! I’m a big Tom Dwan fan, that’s for sure.
For getting an impression about Tom Dawn you have to watch him playing the next hand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TOws4pvb3Q
That what separates a true pro player from the others.
Thanks for sharing – I had not seen that first hand before. Great play!
I agree on Tom Dawn. He’s so cold. Really great hand that one.
I totally agree, i never really took to Dwann at first, never saw him playing tournaments but after seeing him on high stakes he is one of the best high stakes players around, prob the best. It seems he is even more feared then Ivey when other pros are in a hand with him, and Ivey has been regarded as the best for a few years now.