Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Let us know in the comments.
Today in the 3-Bet we ruminate on the unending poker roller coaster ride of Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, the unbelievable absence of Tom "durrrr" Dwan and the unabashed love of poker of Les Pendergraft.
1) Isildur1: Up $1m; Down $1m
Keeping track of Viktor Blom's endless bankroll swings is a lot like watching Walter White careen through the methamphetamine trade on Breaking Bad.
He's just enough gangster to make you think he can pull it of, but still too much high school chemistry teacher to believe it can go on forever.
We reported yesterday that Blom was up $1.5m or so over the last couple of weeks but, as he is wont to do, he carried on to make it a full 20-hour (!) session and gave a good $200k (at least) back.
Trying to keep a handle on Isildur's swings is a Sisyphean task. As soon as the boulder hits the top of the hill you know it's going to roll right back on you.
Thankfully we'll leave that up to HighStakesDB.com (which does a fantastic job).
Until it ends (it has to, right?), we'll just marvel at how, after over half a decade clashing daily at the highest stakes with the best players in the world, Blom has the stomach (or bankroll) to do it at all.
2) Searching for Tom Dwan
We could start this section off in any number of ways reminiscing about the above-mentioned Blom's one-time nemesis.
The essence of the matter, though, is for our money there's never been a poker player on the planet more exciting to watch than Tom Dwan.
Not Ivey. Not Negreanu. Not Ole Schemion or Benny Spindler.
Watching durrrr play poker - either live, on TV or online - was appointment poker. And all about what might happen. At any moment.
He terrified even the most veteran pros of the day - not because they might lose money to him but how they might lose money to him.
They were afraid of looking stupid. And, oftentimes, they did. We haven't really seen that before or since. And it was pretty special.
Maybe he has a new screenname and plays some big pots online. Maybe he'll play the $500k Super High Roller Bowl at Aria this summer (he's on the current player list).
But it's safe (we think) to say "the durrrr era" is officially over. And that's a big hole the poker industry needs to fill. Jungleman, too, we imagine.
3) Les Pendergraft Loves Poker
Great series form the Salt Lake Tribune on people's passions in life featuring Salt Lake City poker dealer Les Pendergraft today.
If only durrrr had Les' love for the game. Who knows where (he) we might be today?
Visit www.pokerlistings.com