{"id":30500,"date":"2022-02-04T11:00:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T17:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/?p=30500"},"modified":"2022-02-04T11:03:18","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T17:03:18","slug":"dan-jungleman-cates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/dan-jungleman-cates\/","title":{"rendered":"How Dan \u201cJungleman\u201d Cates Went From One Extreme To The Other"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you love\nhigh-stakes poker, you most certainly know the name of Dan \u201cJungleman\u201d Cates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, Cates\nhas been one of the most feared cash game pros around, crushing online and live\ngames. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in 1989,\n\u201cJungleman” is a part of the generation that got to enjoy the benefits of\nthe poker boom, and, like many of his fellow pros, he built his bankroll\nonline, almost from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cates was an\nextremely talented player and moved up the stakes with ease. After just a few\nyears on the virtual felt, he was already recognized as one of the best\nheads-up players around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, \u201cJungleman\u201d has achieved impressive results on the live and online circuits alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While online cash games have always been his bread and butter, Cates has also amassed well over $9 million in live tournament earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His results\naside, Cates is also one of the more controversial high-profile players around.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, it was\nbecause of things out of his control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, however,\nit seems he got a taste for being the center of attention, so he started to\nstir the pot himself every now and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dan
Image: World Poker Tour\/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Infamous \u201cDurrrr\u201d Challenge<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first time\nDan Cates was in the spotlight was right after poker\u2019s Black Friday in 2011. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time the DOJ went after Full Tilt<\/a> and other US-facing rooms, Cates and Tom \u201cdurrrr\u201d Dwan<\/a> were involved in a heads-up match with a $1.5 million side bet on the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Namely,\n\u201cJungleman\u201d took up the \u201cDurrrr” Challenge, where Tom gave three to one to\nanyone who could beat him heads up over 50,000 hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just before\nBlack Friday, things weren’t looking great for Dwan, as Jungle was up $1.2\nmillion after some 20,000 hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when online\npoker was shut down in the US, this was the perfect excuse for \u201cdurrrr\u201d to put\nthe challenge on hold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, it\nseemed like a reasonable thing to do and everyone, including Cates, expected\nthe challenge would resume at some point in the (near) future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That wasn\u2019t the\ncase, though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even today, over\n10 years later, Dwan and Cates are still to complete their challenge, and they\u2019ve\nbarely played any additional hands over the original 20,000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole\nsituation has been a source of controversy and an inspiration for countless\nforum discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Yo, anyone able to get in touch with @ViktorBlom<\/a> ?

Hope you\u2019re well buddy, have a cool spot for u… hit me<\/p>— Tom Dwan (@TomDwan) April 23, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>