Isn’t the world in a global financial crisis? Banks are failing, International companies are filing for Bankruptcy and Governments are shelling out Billions in stimulus packages to save their citizens. However, The economic crisis doesn’t seem to have affected some of poker elite players, as the largest televised cash game in history took place last night.

The Aussie Millions Invitational Heads-Up Cash Game has booked it’s place in poker history by providing the world with the never before seen spectacle of a Million Dollar Heads-Up Cash Game. The two brave souls who took on the challenge were known other than Tom ‘DURRRR’ Dwan and Patrik Antonius.

Dwan took on Antonius heads-up with each player buying in for well over 1 million Australian dollars,AUD. Antonius bought in for $1.5 million AUD, while Dwan bought in for $2 million AUD. With $3.5 million on the table and two of the world’s best poker players squaring off, I don’t think many could predict who would walk out on top.

Antonius eventually got that better of Dwan in this monumental showdown, winning over $500,000 from the young Internet phenom. According to reports, Antonius simply won all of the big pots throughout the night. Antonius won two back to back pots worth over $100,000, with Dwan mucking his cards to the final bet each time. It looked like there was finally some light at the end of the tunnel for Dwan, when he flopped the nuts straight. However, Antonius managed to keep running hot turning a gutshot straight draw on the turn to split the pot with Dwan. In the end it was just Antonius’ day.





When asked how he felt about the match, Antonius replied in his typical relaxed fashion, “I was getting some cards. I booked a Nice win, mentally it feels good.” I guess that’s the normal casual response after raking in over $500,000!?

Dwan, who was asked the same question, simply replied “It was fun.” Again, I guess that’s the normal casual response after losing over $500,000 in one night!? The interview with the two players post-match was so casual that you wouldn’t have known they had played any poker at all, let alone that the match was for the most money in Televised history.

Watching this interview put me into the tank. How much money do these players actually have? As I was calculating how much they have in their bankroll if that $2 million was 2% of their roll, $100 million in case you were curious, I realized that even though I couldn’t imagine having that amount, let alone playing heads-up for that amount, their demeanor is an example for all players. Obviously, Dwan doesn’t want to lose to Antonius or lose $500,000 but he keeps his emotions controlled at all times. This seems to be a common theme amongst most top-level players and can serve as an example for us all, whether we lose $2 on a bad beat or $1,000 in a coin flip situation.

So next time you are at the casino, online, or playing in the next million-dollar cash game on TV, take an example from these two great players!