I love a challenge
Thursday, February 26, 2009 - COO
Hey UB’ers,
It’s been a pretty cool month for online poker. My highlights include a few challenges: Gus Hansen’s boxing match against Theo Jorgensen, Tom Dwan’s (aka “durrrr”) challenges the world to a $1.5million prop bet and Patrick Antonious accepted, and UB’s Steps Challenge.
I was pretty busy in 2008 and I did not make time for keeping myself in shape. This year I started boxing training, started back at the gym, and I am just trying to stay active as much as possible. I never liked going to the gym and it’s always been a constant struggle for me. I played ice hockey for most of my life and it was a great way to stay in shape, especially because I actually enjoyed playing. For the past four years, I’ve been living in places where ice hockey is not an option and staying in shape has not been easy. To be perfectly honest, I hate going to the gym, but thankfully I enjoy boxing which has become my new hockey. It’s something I want to keep getting better at, which motivates me to work hard and to keep going to training, whereas with the gym, I usually stop going after a while. But now, even going to the gym to lift weights has more appeal because it is helping me to become better at boxing (At least that’s what I keep telling myself).
I have always been a fan of boxing and recently I have also become a big fan of Mixed Martial Arts. So when I heard about two professional poker players (Gus Hansen and Theo Jorgensen) in a boxing match, I got pretty excited.
I think it was a great publicity stunt and a really fun bet between friends. I am just getting started with my boxing training but I can appreciate the hard work these two guys must have put in to prepare themselves for a 3 round exhibition fight.
The challenge: Hansen placed a handicap on himself in the match. Gus had to pay $35,000 if he lost and Jorgensen $25,000 if he lost.
In the first round I thought the fight was pretty even. Theo came out and landed a few in Gus’s face, which I think tilted Gus a little bit. Gus then came charging back at Theo for the rest of the round, landing a few really good right hands. The two exchanged a lot of punches and I think it was a very close round. However, I think Gus got too excited and was too eager to land a big right hand, which he was able to do a few times, but he also wasted a lot of energy in the process.
In the second round, I think it was a relatively even too, but Theo seemed a lot more calm and retained a lot more energy than Gus. In the third round, I think Theo pulled ahead by staying with his strategy and taking advantage of Gus’s fatigue. Theo continued to land solid jabs and right hands, while Gus came with solid punches when he had the energy.
I think it was a great amateur fight, even though to a lot of people it probably looked like two boys just throwing wild punches. Both fighters impressed me, but Theo was able to stick to a simple strategy of landing effective jabs and right hands without trying to land too many hooks or try anything fancy. He conserved his energy and stayed calm which enabled him to execute his game plan.
Thanks to both fighters for bringing some excitement to the poker world! And congrats to Theo on the victory and the $35K!
The Durrrr Challenge
Tom Dwan “durrrr” has made quite a name for himself in the poker world. At just 22, he has already become a legend through his success at the nosebleed cash games and tournaments.
Recently, Dwan issued the Million Dollar Challenge, open to any member of the poker community except Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond. The challenge requires opponents to play Dwan in 50,000 hands of $200/$400 or higher on four tables at a time. If either player drops below 75 big blinds in their stack at any point, they must reload.
At the conclusion of the Pot Limit Omaha or No Limit Hold’em hands, a winner will be crowned. If Dwan is ahead by $1 or more, his opponent must fork over $500,000. If Dwan’s opponent is ahead by $1 or more, he has offered to pay $1.5 million. In each case, the victor will also keep the spoils of the 50,000 hands of play. In addition to the money, the Million Dollar Challenge is about bragging rights.
So far Patrick Antonius, Phil Ivey, and David Benyamine have accepted the challenge.
Patrick Antonius was the first to accept and they are currently at just under 4000 hands and Dwan is currently leading by roughly $150K.
It seems that most people agree that Dwan has an advantage over the world’s top players when playing 4 tables. I’m wondering if it’s enough to justify the 3:1 odds against the best players in the world? Regardless, I think this challenge has created a huge amount of exposure for Dwan. This challenge and his appearance on some big poker televesion this year (including my fav show, GSN’s high stakes poker) , should make 2009 an even bigger year for Dwan than 2008.
We recently launched Steps on UltimateBet and we have come up with a promotion to celebrate it. The first 10 players who win all 10 steps (note: you have to start at the .10cent step to qualify) will win a WSOP package (value of $12,000) and an Aruba package (value of $8500)!
I believe this is the best value I have ever seen in a Steps promotion.
Check out the details here
I’m thinking about issuing a challenge of my own this year. I’m considering challenging other online poker CEO’s to a boxing or golf proposition bet. If anyone has any ideas for the challenge, comment on this post.
I will let you know if I come up with something.
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Tags: COO, Durrrr challenge, gus hansen, million dollar challenge, MMA, online poker tournaments, prop bet, STEPS tournament, theo jorgensen, tom 'durrrr' dwan
February 26th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
A knife fight is completely out of line, I guess.
What about everyone getting involved in something for charity? Poker’s the thing that unites all of the companies, but maybe something really goofy and fun like pig racing or the like? T
(That boxing match is BRUTAL, by the way. Wow. Remind me to never get Theo mad.)
February 26th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Hey John,
Yes i think a knife fight would definitely be out of line LOL. I think charity is a great idea though. I will definitely incorporate that into any challenges.
Chrz,
Paul
February 26th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Mr. Paul COO,
There was a prop bet where some guy 20kJay bet a few online players he could live in a Bellagio bathroom for 30 days, with no computer. http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/7/Crazy-prop-bet-2427575/p/2427575#2427575
I bet if you bet some sort of David Blane endurance type of shit you could raise some eyebrows. Or like, who can get around the world fastest while
1) golfing a round at Carnoustie
2) touching the statue in Rio
3) getting a suit made in Hong Kong
4) commanding some dog sleds in the artic
etc. Plan a route and then make some challenges. Set a budget and timeframe and see who can do it the fastest. Bring a camera man and youtube the whole thing. Crazy shit.
Just a thought.
March 5th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I would love to see a YouTube video of all the poker CEOs in a boxing tournament. I guess there are weight differences though that make it difficult… how big is everyone? LOL
I think a Rally car race would be pretty cool to add to the list of things you can compete in.
March 5th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Paul,
Great to hear you’ve taken up the sweet science. I’ve been boxing on and off since 1989. It’s how I keep my girlish figure! It’s the only way I can really stand being in the gym. Boxing is as much mental as physical and it keeps me from getting bored. I know this isn’t a challenge for you personally but I’d propose getting the UB team into the gym to do battle against another site’s pro’s. I’ll take Negreanu!
Cheers,
Scott
May 29th, 2009 at 3:44 am
I saw the whole boxing tournament and what an event! Gus Hansen entered the stage in a wheel chair!
One of the warm up fights between the former football player Stig Toefting and the wrestler wannabe Sidney Lee was one of the fastest fights I’ve ever seen. 9 sec. and Sidney Lee lay on the floor. I’m just glad that I didn’t pay any entrance fee