UK Soldier Sets New Record for Poker Endurance After 120 Hours and 20 Minutes

After 120 hours and 20 minutes of playing poker in a Manchester casino, Barry Denson of the UK has set a new record for poker endurance. In 2010, Phil Laak set the record of just over 5 hours and former soldier Denson smashed it. Much like the record holder before him, he experienced hallucinations.

“I expected to experience side effects. Phil Laak spoke after his record of experiencing visual hallucinations but my effect was slightly different in that I experienced aural hallucination. At one stage I was sure that I could hear small children laughing and playing around the slots, which were quite close to the table,” said Denson.

The training Denson underwent as a soldier for the military may have contributed to his success in this test of poker endurance.

“I prepared for the heat by gradually shortening my sleep over the period of five weeks until I was running on less than three hours sleep a night and this did help tremendously”, he said.

During the endurance test, the player may take one 5 minute break per hour. If not used, the time can accumulate. A Tweet from Denson said: “96hrs down and 19 to go. should coast it!”

Denson made his goal and raised $pound;1,000 for a selected charity.