Tom “durrrr” Dwan is a professional poker player infamous for his reckless style of play. He’s one of the few pros who isn’t afraid to lose millions of dollars at the table. Dwan has made millions playing online poker and has also found success at live tournaments. As of 2023, Tom Dwan has a net worth of $10 million.
Background
Hailing from Edison, New Jersey, Tom was born on July 30, 1986 and began playing online poker at 17 years old. He got $50 as a birthday present and deposited the cash at one of the first online card rooms, Paradise Poker.
He adopted the username “durrrr” as it was the sound he and his friends made while they were acting stupid. Within a year, this $50 grew to $15,000! Dwan enrolled at Boston University to study engineering but dropped at the end of third semester to pursue poker full-time.
Online Poker Career
Tom’s foray into poker began with low stake sit-and-go’s in the early days and progressed to multiplayer cash games, followed by heads-up cash games. Dwan mostly played online at PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.
From Full Tilt Poker alone, he earned over $300,000 in 2007. However, in the same year, he reportedly lost $2 million. But Tom Dwan is a player who doesn’t get discouraged from big losses.
With his mindset, he was able to recover quickly. In 2009, Tom challenged anyone, except personal rival Phil Galfond, to play with him in an online poker room for a $1 million prize. The challenge died out after roughly 20,000 hands.
Professional Poker Career
Tom isn’t just interested in online poker and has taken part in live competitive matches. He played No-Limit Texas Hold’em at the European Poker Tour at 19 years-old and finished 12th.
Dwan played in the 2007 World Poker Tour and finished fourth in the No-Limit Hold’em Championship event. In 2010, the New Jersey native nearly won a World Series of Poker bracelet but finished second to Simon Watt. Despite the loss he still took home over $381,000.
In 2008, he also played in a couple of live tournaments. Perhaps his most notable entry was in NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Here he started a rivalry with Phil Hellmuth by beating “The Poker Brat”.
His aggressive style suited TV so it’s no surprise he appeared on TV shows such as Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker. The airtime helped build Tom’s profile as he wasn’t afraid to mix it against the likes of Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu.
Net Worth and Earnings
Online poker is what initially built Dwan’s fortune. In 2007, he bagged $312,800 from Full Tilt Poker and won over $1.1 million at Full Tilt Poker’s Million Dollar Cash Game.
Even though he has lost millions on multiple occasions, Tom always manages to win his money back. As for his live tournament earnings, his winnings stand at $6.45 million. Dwan’s poker pursuits earned him a $10 million fortune.
Personal Life
Nowadays, you can watch Tom Dwan on Hustlers Casino Live. Since 2016, he has played poker in places such as Macau and the Philippines. Tom’s friendship with Paul Phua has gotten him access to super high stake games in Asia.
In 2018, he announced plans to marry Bianca Rossi on Twitter but no recent news has been shared about their relationship status. Despite his impressive wealth, Daniel Cates claims that Tom owes him a hefty debt and is waiting to get paid!
