Also during the WSOP, 888poker's David Tuchman continued his interesting concept of featuring a number of world-famous poker names in his vehicle. One of them was the legendary Tom Dwan, who, during the 888ride ride-along show, talked about his current private cash games, the allegations against his unpaid debts, and how much he truly enjoys the game he has been playing for many years and still plays at the top level.

At the time of the interview, the 2024 WSOP was still underway, and although Dwan downplayed the importance of bracelets, he admitted that he would be playing "some PLO events." Despite having made a reputation for himself as an online crusher, however, Dwan's distraction from the WSOP has not been online poker, but live cash games. "Online used to be much more prevalent," Dwan explained. "Now playing online high stakes is much more complicated. I didn't see that coming. If you had told me in 2009 that I would be playing more live than online, I would never have believed you."

Tuchman asked what Dwan said about the move to higher-stakes private games. Some players liken the move to footballers leaving for unattractive leagues (e.g. Saudi Pro League), where the allure of the game goes by the wayside and the focus is purely on earning money.

"Maybe many people are against it, but that's just the way it works, those games would have been there without me and other players would have turned up sooner or later. Part of the reason it's there is because the power structures have for a long time listened to the loudest people, who were almost exclusively professionals. The result of the industry's desire to cater to the professionals is the alienation of recreational players and thus the emergence of more and more private games. If you don't spend a lot of time thinking about what business and recreational players want, then someone will start a private game that satisfies that. And those players will quickly and happily find their way there."

On the (dis)love of poker
 

At one point in the interview, Tuchman flashed back to 2009 and the record-breaking 1.1 million pot dealt between Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan. "It was probably one of the biggest televised pots we've ever played," Dwan admitted modestly. "But we were playing big pots in Macau and places like that at the time, so it wasn't anything special to me. This one maybe meant a little more to other people than it did to me, just because it was on TV."

With almost fifteen years having passed since that iconic game, Tuchman asked what the next 15 years of Dwan might look like. Surprisingly, from the answer, it didn't seem like it would be a period that revolved solely around poker. "I like poker. I know a lot of people say they love poker. I'm not sure they're all sincere in those statements. But I certainly don't love poker."

Asked if it was once different, Dwan continued: "No. I never really loved poker. I think there are some really interesting things about it. If I haven't played in a month, it was always fun to go play for a few days. But if I'm sitting at a table for a week playing 12-15 hours a day, I'm not really looking forward to playing for the 16th hour."

A new passion these days, like many other gamers, Tom has found in cryptocurrencies. "The last two or three years I've been devoting a lot more time to cryptocurrencies. I think there's a good chance that will continue. I just think the opportunities that are out there are pretty strong. There are some things that I think are more beneficial and it happens that there's a lot of overlap with poker."

How does he cope with celebrity status?
 

With such a big name comes a big responsibility, and Tom Dwan meets fans on a daily basis who want to say hello, exchange a few words, or take a photo. How does he cope? "In general, I try to always make time for the fans. It's just a minute of my time and it can stay with that person for a long time and it can mean a lot to them. I think 90% of the fans are decent people that I have no problem talking to. Of course there will be people who don't respect your privacy and space, but I guess that's part of life."

The entire interview lasts twenty minutes, and Dwan and Tuchman cover several other topics, including Dwan's interest in artificial intelligence or the various controversies that have followed him throughout his poker career.

Sources - YouTube, PokerNews, PokerStrategy