On July 1 (Monday), an American poker pro managed to earn his third gold bracelet after winning Event #65 of the 2019 WSOP.
2019 WSOP Event #65: $10,000 PLO Hi-Lo 8 or Better
Buy-in: $10,000
Date: June 28 to July 1, 2019
Entries: 193
Prize pool: $1,814,200
Nick Schulman outlasted a player field of 193 to take home the prize money worth $463,670.
A resident of Manhattan, NY, the 34-year-old former billiards pro started to play poker in 2002 when he was 18 years old, and a year later he turned professional.
He recently provides highly-lauded commentary on poker games. His first big gig was with veteran commentator Ali Nejad for the $300,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl for CBS Sports in 2016. He received praise from fans and peers for his pleasant personality and fabulous insight. He also won the Broadcaster of the Year award at the 2018 American Poker Awards.
Schulman took down this event still fresh from providing live-stream commentary for Phil Hui's victory in Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, and he said his time behind the mic allowed him to improve his own gameplay even better, "I don't know where I'd be. Watching some of those guys navigate the high rollers, and preparation for commentating in general, I'm grateful for it. I've watched a lot of poker. To win it right after commentating the $50K kind of makes sense. It's a great reminder: Watch these streams if you're trying to learn. Watch. Analyze. And play along. It's one of the best ways to get better outside of playing."
Final Table Action
Schulman was on fire in the early stages of Day 3 in the 4-day event as the short-stacked players bust one by one.
The final heads-up match between Schulman and Brian Hastings (another multi-bracelet winner from Fort Lauderdale, Florida) went on for a while. Schulman entered heads-up play against Hastings with about a 2:1 lead and they clashed for many hours.
There was a time when Hastings was able to win a huge pot to take the lead, but Schulman landed a double-through a mere few hands later to re-take the lead once again, and he never faltered from then on. He said, "That's the way it goes. We both didn't have too many chips, all things considered. You lose three or four hands in a row, and the swings are big. It's really part of the game. It was a normal heads-up match, I'd say."
The final hand of the event:
Schulman's victory in this event ended a 7-year drought since his last bracelet win back in 2012, and he admits that the games have changed in the recent years, "It's a lot different for me and I think it's a lot different for everybody. The last seven years have seen a tremendous influx of new ideas. I've tried to hang along with the game... and here we are. I'm better, but everybody's better."
This is Schulman's 44th cash score and his third bracelet in the WSOP. He won his first two bracelets in 2009 and 2012 - both were $10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw events. He now has $11,847,606 in total live earnings, according to The Hendon Mob.
2019 WSOP Event #65: $10,000 PLO Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Final Table Results
|
|
Player
|
Country
|
Prize (USD)
|
|
1
|
Nick Schulman
|
USA
|
$463,670
|
|
2
|
Brian Hastings
|
USA
|
$286,570
|
|
3
|
Joe Hachem
|
Australia
|
$201,041
|
|
4
|
Denis Strebkov
|
Russia
|
$143,700
|
|
5
|
Chris Vitch
|
USA
|
$104,688
|
|
6
|
Corey Hochman
|
USA
|
$77,763
|
|
7
|
Michael McKenna
|
USA
|
$58,918
|
|
8
|
Bryce Yockey
|
USA
|
$45,551
|
Source:
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/updates/?aid=2&grid=1622&tid=17420&rr=5
