Tom Dwan on how poker has changed and his future plans

Tom Dwan is often called one of the most talented poker players of our time. After the events connected with Black Friday, he ceased to lead a public lifestyle, but still it was possible to learn about him in various Asian tournament games of high rollers, where he often goes to prizes. He also continues to show good results in cash games with big bets, beating rich Asians. He also managed to participate in the last Triton Jeju series, and even gave a short interview between the games.

First of all, he was asked about changes in poker games since High stakes poker. He replied that these changes were obvious, as the initial cards (2-5) were increasingly removed from poker games, playing with a short deck. According to him, probably poker is undergoing certain metamorphoses. Ten years ago, Tom participated a lot in online games, often fighting the same players, and now there are a lot of people in the rooms who are constantly changing. At the same time, the same poker players take part in tournament competitions.

When asked if he had changed over this decade, Tom also answered in the affirmative, because, as he believes, he has matured in that time. At the same time, he joked that he recently had to tuck his leg, and he paid attention to it, although he would not have bothered at all before.

He was also asked about where he was most interested in playing poker and what journey he most remembered. He singled out the Maldives, although there he only participated in online games. Tom also likes Vegas, although you still can't play with a shorter deck there. In addition, he likes London and Montenegro, because there are many picturesque places in the summer. Such trips to local attractions give him pleasure, even if the game did not end very well.

As you know, Tom always shows composure and poise during the game. According to him, he simply understands that disastrous moments must happen in the life of every poker player, so he easily suffers losses, waiting for him to be lucky the next time.

When asked what advice he would give himself to a young man, Tom replied that he regretted not having had time to learn Chinese in his youth, because, having matured, it became more difficult for him to learn new languages.

Tom said in an interview that he doesn’t often have such periods in his life when he completely quits the game for a long time. Sometimes he switches to other matters and sometimes he may simply not play for several months.

He was also asked if he loves poker as much as before. Tom replied that he could not answer this question for sure. He likes to start playing after a long break, but if his sessions last too long (sometimes 20-30 hours), he starts to get very tired, and then he needs to have a good rest. At the same time, if his game lasts long enough, it can only mean that he is lucky at that time.

He also commented on the popularization of the shortened poker format. He likes this variety because it is simply more fun, and there are fewer aggressive players here, which looks good against the backdrop of the fact that recently new players began to play more and more aggressively. Because of this, many wealthy amateur players lose their passion for poker over time, because they simply no longer enjoy playing with such opponents. A short deck at the same time can make the game more relaxed, and therefore now there are more and more rich poker players.

At the same time, Tom believes that he has a clear advantage in the game with a short deck, unlike many other players, since he was able to deal with this format much earlier than everyone else. At the same time, more and more players are now appearing who are also beginning to be well versed in this game variety. For example. A year ago, playing here was much easier, but now you can increasingly meet poker players who really figured out the new game mechanics. Earlier, his opponents made critical mistakes much more often.

Also, Tom commented on the question of whether he was going to completely leave poker. He said that, most likely, at some point poker will cease to be his most important hobby, but he will continue to play anyway, because he really sincerely likes to do it.