Dan Bilzerian, who is worth a billion dollars, is a wealthy poker player who has stirred up controversy. Forever eager to take a chance, he also shows up in accounts of very high-stakes cash games, in which tens of millions of dollars change hands.
This past Monday (the 27th), professional poker player Chance Kornuth referenced one of these anecdotes about the American “playboy” and his costly poker fights with other billionaires in a post on his Twitter account.
“Almost nine years ago, Dan Bilzerian decided to contact me out of the blue. With a gravelly voice and a no-nonsense manner, he said that he was a few days away from playing a heads-up match versus a millionaire for a million dollar buy-in, and that he needed some assistance getting ready.”
When Dan Bilzerian called me out of the blue 9 years ago, I was completely taken aback.
He spoke to me in his deep voice and no-nonsense manner, explaining that he required assistance in getting ready for a heads-up battle versus a millionaire in a few days. The buy-in was $1 million.
Here is when the wild plot twists come in
February 27, 2023 – Chance Kornuth (@ChancesCards)
Chance didn’t learn much about the playboy until they squared off against one other in a cash game, but he remembered the epic battles that took place in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio. Bilzerian’s $70,000,000 house was the site of the million-dollar heads-up match versus Alec Gores.
Apparently the playboy had gone for Andrew Robl, but Robl was too busy and nominated Kornuth for “training,” as related by Chance. The tournament’s minimum buy-in was $1,000,000 and the blinds were set at $5,000/$10,000.
Once Dan pledged $10,000 if he won over a million, the “training” contract fell through. Chance agreed to the terms based on his assessment of the confrontation: “On average, Dan would win $1,000,000 every 55% of the time. My EV for that three hours of instruction was about $1800. I asked Dan if there was anything in particular I could do to be ready for the session, attempting to contain my enthusiasm “Recalling, Kornuth said.
Eder Ferronato, who has played in several events at City Center Iguaz, thinks the KSOP GGPoker will be a turning point in the scene and predicts that players will want to return.
While Alec Gores would open $100,000 raises in the dark, equaling 10% of Bilzerian’s stack, Dan was just curious about defensive ranges. To defeat the billionaire, Chance Kornuth planned the strategy and outlined the rules of the conflict.
“When Gores opened to $100,000 without showing his hands, we realized that Dan could economically push with any two cards since Gores only expected to pay a shove with A8s+, 55+, or KQs.
Based on Gores’s opening to $100,000 dark with the assumption that he would only call a jam with A8s+, 55s+, and KQs+, we deduced that Dan could jam any two for a profit.
February 27, 2023 – Chance Kornuth (@ChancesCards)
Kornuth had just finished plotting his attack on Alec Gores over the phone and was calculating his $10,000 in winnings. Chance said he woke up to the message, “I owe you $10,000,” and immediately felt better about the million-dollar issue. The playboy’s winnings were later revealed to be $10,800.00 when Chance inquired about them.
Even after nine years, Chance still remembers this event vividly, even if he admitted at the conclusion that it was lacking: “I’ll never forget the day I got a strange phone call from Dan Bilzerian and ended up guiding him through the biggest moment of his life in a parking lot in Colorado. The only thing I would change is to have insisted on a 1% freeroll rather than the $10,000.
One of the most memorable moments of my life was getting a phone call from Dan Bilzerian in a parking lot in Colorado and helping him through the toughest spot of his life.
A 1% freeroll would have been preferable to the $10,000, and I now regret not demanding it.
February 27, 2023 – Chance Kornuth (@ChancesCards)
