Dave Cain Breaks Poker Endurance Record

Dave Cain has landed himself in the Guinness Book of World Records by breaking the all-time poker endurance record.

The previous record was held by Larry Olmsted of the United States. Olmsted played poker for 72 hours and 2 minutes straight at Foxwoods in 2004, taking 15 minute breaks every eight hours so that he could change his clothes and brush his teeth. Olmsted played at low limits, starting with $100 in chips and finishing his three-day marathon with a stack of just under $1,000.

Cain's attempt was to be slightly more challenging. Instead of just playing in a full ring game, Cain decided that he was going to break the record while playing heads-up, deep-stacked poker. This made the event that much more mentally taxing, and the accomplishment that much more impressive.

The event took place at the Library Bar in Lincoln, UK. Cain started his attempt on September 14th, and just broke the record a couple of hours ago.

Before the record-breaking attempt, Cain stated that he wanted to "smash" the record by playing for 100 straight hours, "possibly more."

Seeing how he has already broken the record, it will be interesting to see how much longer Cain hangs in.

The money raised from the event was going to go to two charities: St. Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice and Louth & District Hospice.

Organizing this event was quite the undertaking, and I'm a bit surprised that Cain (and crew) was able to pull it off. According to the Poker Playing Marathon website, Cain needed 1 steward, 1 practicing nurse/doctor and 2 official witnesses for every hour of the attempt, as well as dealers and IT support. Not only that, but Cain stated that he wanted to play as "many opponents as possible", meaning that there needed to be a steady supply of players at all hours of the day as well.

Cain's accomplishment has apparently been certified by Guinness, and Cain now possesses the world record for "longest time an individual has continuously played poker". The exact length of the record is still to be decided.


Poker King

News Added: 18 September, 2008

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