Sammy George Takes on the Durrrr Challenge

The Durrr challenge is bringing high stakes live poker to London in the autumn. Whilst Tom Dwan had announced his matches there was no clarification on the identity of his opponents and it was indicated negotiations were ongoing with a number of players. I expected Phil Ivey or David Benyamine to be the first to throw their respective hat into the ring to face the online superstar, but the first player to sign up to face Dwan is none other than high stakes player Sammy “Any 2” George.

As I mentioned in a previous article the poker player who has cash and cares about their profile would be interested in playing this match with Dwan, as the positive PR they will receive will be huge. They will instantly become a face in the poker industry and probably secure some high profile sponsorship and invites to big tournaments. Sammy George is a player whom being in the spotlight and in the action comes naturally to this player. He is a controversial character with an imposing presence at the table and he is tailor made for the image of the action player that many poker rooms enjoy associating with.

A quick search online after the announcement of George’s participation in the challenge saw a flurry of forum posts asking who George was and there is a surge of interest in this larger than life character. George does have one good poker tournament result to his name with a 21st place finish in the WPT Bellagio Cup V No Limit Championship held on 13th July 2009 for $23,245. George is primarily a cash game player and avid poker viewers may know him from his appearance on the Pokerheaven.com European Cash game which featured notable players including Peter Eastgate, Andy Black and Neil Channing. He is also a regular at the £25 – £50 cash game at the London Victoria casino and his nickname comes from his propensity to play a hand with any two cards.

George is often dismissed as a bad player due to his gambling style of playing any two cards at any time. This is a dangerous style that few players can show a profit utilising. Sammy is a successful businessman in the UK and uses this wealth to fund his poker activities. This style may be dangerous for the player, but it also creates doubt in the mind of his opponents who find it very difficult to put him on a hand. What do you do if he raises you? It is not easy to play unpredictable players and we will see big pots with Dwan and George not believing their respective bets indicate strong hands. For this reason the first challenge match should be full of action and be fantastic viewing.

George has commented in a previous interview on Dwans skills. He said “I’ve watched him play a few games online. I’ve watched him on TV, I’ve watched him live and to be honest, he has some moves, but you want to see if they have the same moves when their pockets are short”. (CardplayerEurope.com August 01 2009). This suggests that he believes that Dwan is a player who, like Sammy, makes elaborate moves at the poker table because he can afford to lose. Perhaps George is the best man to face Dwan, a player who has played in the largest cash games in Europe and will face the young superstar and dare him to bluff. Dwans skill comes from reading his opponents and betting his hands strongly. Facing a player who does likewise will be explosive.

This match up is eagerly anticipated and will certainly start the challenge match series with a bang. Make sure you tune in to find out if “Any 2” can beat “Durrrr” when the challenge begins.

By Malcolm Clarke

Popularity: 14% [?]

Related posts:

1. Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge Results Tom “Durrrr” Dwan is a massive name online and with...
2. Tom Dwan Brings His Poker Challenge to London There has been no action in his challenge match against...
3. Isildur1 Dominating Massive Online Cash Game Action Since signing as a Team Pro for Full Tilt Poker...
4. High Stakes Poker Action This Week High Stakes poker is a crazy world inhabited by skilled...
5. Poker News Snippets February 2010 There is always plenty of poker news flying around the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags: durrrr, live poker, poker