When you start seeing spiders climbing all over the poker table, take that as a clear sign you should stop and take a break from playing. Probably a long one.

Unless, of course, you are Dave Cain. In that case, the action is likely just getting going.


Although Guinness has not yet declared the result official, word is set to come any day that Cain is the new Guinness World Record holder for poker playing endurance. He set the mark of 74 hours and 12 minutes at the Library Bar in Lincolnshire, England from Sept. 14-17. And it was nearly enough to send the Englishman over the edge.

"I had some pretty bizarre hallucinations," said Cain. "Everybody who played on the table signed the table and all the signatures turned into spiders at one point, which is pretty freaky. It was one of those scary times. I absolutely wasn't right."

And that wasn't the half of it. There were more than a few occasions where he thought he'd lost both his mind, and even worse, his ability to play poker.

"I was totally insane," said Cain. "Not so much at the end, but about five hours before the end I completely forgot how to play. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. There was a team of people around me and basically they had to explain the rules to me as I played each hand. I went complete blank for about an hour and a half. I knew where I was but with the poker I didn't have a clue."

For Cain, however, it was all well worth the insanity. He ranks the accomplishment right up there in terms of life experiences, and he is extremely grateful to all those who helped him out, especially his partner Kay Fahey.

In fact, she wound up playing Cain in the final hand after he failed to find what he considered a large enough bidder for the honor.

"It was a special moment," said Cain. "I think she was a bit surprised. But I couldn't ask for better. She's the absolute love of my life."

Fahey was just one of a large team of people Cain had to put in place to try and officially break the record. As to why the record has yet to be made totally official, it's because Guinness takes these things very, very seriously.

"There is a massive amount of information that needs to be compiled including witness statements, handover sheets, record log, match account details, video footage and even card by card hand details," said Cain.

"I am so grateful to all of the people who volunteered their time. It's like they broke the record with me."

The biggest motivator for Cain and the attempt to set the nutty record seems to be the potential to give back to the game he's been so fortunate to be a part of. Cain is currently a manager for the Live Pub Poker league, among the biggest leagues in the U.K., and said poker is a huge part of his life.

He was hoping to raise £10,000 for St. Barnabas and Louth and District Hospice, but the effort came up just slightly short. The money he and his group of dedicated volunteers did raise will nevertheless represent a significant boon for each of the charities.

You'd think that after such an ordeal, Cain might have second thoughts about ever trying something like this again. You'd be wrong.

"It's quite dangerous to your mind," said Cain. "The sleep deprivation really messes with you. It certainly took me to places I have never been before. Not places that I want to rush back to. If you asked me [after the record] I would have said absolutely not. I never wanted to touch another playing card again. [But] I would do it again."

As for what's next for Cain? Well, he'll go back to working and playing poker, but he's got his eyes on a couple of other stunts. In fact, he hopes that he might be able to set up something with the former World Record holder Larry Olmsted (72 hours and two minutes of continuous play) to see who can play the longest heads-up.

"I would like to play heads-up to say who can go the longest. But I haven't heard back from him yet."

Picture and article courtesy of Pokerlistings.com