Final Table Takedown -- Nick Schulman

Nick Schulman is one of the first successful online cash and tournament players to crossover and win big on the “live” scene. He won the 2006 WPT World Poker Finals. That year he also won the WPT Battle of Champions IV event. In 2009 Schulman won his first WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 World Championship no-limit deuce-to-deven draw event, defeating a final table that included John Juanda and David Benyamine. Schulman has over $5,400,000 in career tournament cashes and is tenth on the all-time WPT earnings list.

Hand No.1

Stacks: Nick Schulman – 40,000; Villain – 36,000; Villain 2 – 48,000
Blinds: 200-400
Antes: 100
Players Remaining: 9

Key Concepts: Sometimes a good read isn’t good enough.

Craig Tapscott: I’m curious. What got you into no-limit deuce-to-seven draw lowball?

Nick Schulman: I started playing it in mixed games, and from there transitioned into playing straight no-limit deuce-to-seven in Los Angeles. I always liked the purity and simplicity of the game.

Villain raises to 1,200 from the cutoff. Schuman calls on the button holding 2-4-5-7-7.

CT: Would a reraise have been appropriate?

NS: Well everyone on the table was deep, and it’s a good hand to play a multiway pot with. With that said, reraising is also a viable option.

Villain 2 calls from the small blind.

Pot: 3,400

Draw.

NS: I looked down at my card, a 4! I had 2-4-4-5-7, not exactly a premium hand.

Villain 2 bets 3,500. Villain folds.

CT: What do you make of his lead-out bet?

NS: I sensed weakness. It just screamed weakness. I decided there was too decent a chance he paired the 5-6-7-8-9 maybe even 10. Or, possibly made a straight with a predraw hand of 4-6-7-8 catching the 5. So I decided to call it.

Schulman calls

NS: He said, “You got it.” And I waited. Finally in disgust he flipped up…

Villain reveals 2-3-3-6-9. Villain wins the pot of 10,400.

NS: Even though I lost the pot I was happy my read was right. I guess I could have raised but I wasn’t sure and raising just in case he has treys or deuces didn’t seem worth it at that juncture.

CT: Many of our readers are starting to expand into mixed games as their popularity is on the rise. Can you give us a rundown of key points to beginning strategy in no-limit deuce-to-deven draw lowball.

NS: A lot of this game depends on position, and stack sizes. There are so many variables to take into consideration predraw, but, if everyone is deep you can open a decent range of hands.

CT: Can you be a little more specific as to what types of hands?

NS: You should be opening most one card 9 draws or better from any position, because the antes in this game are quite high. Two card draws also play well, but only when deep. The most difficult hands to play are pat tens and pat jacks, and in certain spots those can be folded. In other spots however, you should reraise with them. It’s hard to describe when, but what I can say is no-limit deuce-to-seven is an extremely physical game and having a good gauge for tells is very beneficial. You would be hard pressed to find a great single draw player who doesn’t have this attribute.

CT: Can you shed some light on post-draw strategy?

NS: Post-draw. One concept I think is important for this game is not getting married to your hand just because you made it. An example of this would be the cutoff raises, and you call the button with 3-6-8-10-10. Let’s say you both draw one, and you catch a 9, for 10-9-8-6-3. Now he bets, and you really sense strength. It is difficult to fold though, because some human nature elements take over. Maybe the initial frustration of playing that hand to begin with and the “well I’m here now, let’s see it” mentality. Or maybe you feel you should have reraised before the draw as opposed to flatting, and now find yourself in a tough spot. The truth is none of that is really of any concern when faced with this bet. What is [of concern] however, is whether you should call, raise, or fold. So, don’t get hung up on calling every time you draw to a hand and make it, you still need to be able to lay down when you think you are beat.

Hand No. 2

Stacks: Nick Schulman – 2,600,000; George Danzer – 1,000,000
Blinds: 15,000-30,000
Antes: 5,000
Players Remaining: 3

Key Concepts: A crucial hand versus another big stack is key to winning a tournament.

CT: Do you have any experience playing against Danzer?

NS: I know that he is an excellent player, very active while mixing it up, unpredictable and hard to read. In this hand the stack sizes posed an interesting dynamic.

Danzer raises to 60,000 from the small blind. Schulman is dealt 5-6-7-8-10 in the big blind.

CT: What are the best options in this spot – small blind versus big blind?

NS: Now, a 10-8 is this spot is well ahead of Georges’ range, but at the same time it can be a tricky hand to play. If I reraise and he moves in he puts me in an awkward spot, especially considering my dominating chip position. With that said, there are enough tens and pat jacks I beat where reraising/calling might be best. Not to mention his good one card draws. I elected to…

Schulman raises to 180,000. Danzer moves all-in.

CT: Now what?

NS: Well now I had a decision to make. If I call and he’s pat, I have to be pat as well. With a 5-6-7-8 I’m drawing at a 2 or a 3. Obviously a hand like 2-6-7-8 is much better as I have a 3, 4, 5 and 9 to improve. Not saying I would break the ten, but it’s nice to have two-way hands. Well after a decent sized tank on my part I decided to call and stay pat behind him.

Schulman calls. Danzer shows a 10-9. Schulman wins the pot of 2,005,000.

CT: Can you share your thoughts on reads and putting players on hand ranges in this game?

NS: Certain players are easier to play with then others. For example, I’ve played with people who tend to over-raise predraw and give away the strength of their hand (usually a pat ten or worse). Conversely these players will make small raises predraw with premium draws, such as smooth 7 or 8 draws, for example, 2-4-5-7. Sometimes you can pick up a tell when a player has a marginal draw based on his behavior, but be wary of people hollywooding.

CT: And post-draw?

NS: After the draw you have players that would never value bet a ten or worse, and players who will value bet queens. You have tricky players whose bet sizes are hard to read and players who telegraph the strength of their hand if you have a keen eye. All this comes with experience playing with the same players, and paying attention when you are not in the hand. You need to be always observing their tendencies.

CT: I’m intrigued. Can you share more info about physical tells in this game?

NS: OK. Because I believe the biggest component in this game is the ability to read people physically, and to do so in a variety of ways. People tend to repeat themselves, even in the most subtle things, and even when trying to not do so, myself included. In this game, everything from the way someone looks at their hand, to the way their chips hit the pot, to the way they are behaving mean something. The old adage of “strong is weak” and vice versa doesn’t apply that much anymore in the realm of professional poker and picking up tells. Many pros are very wary of not giving anything off, and try to appear the same throughout a hand. A great example of this is Phil Ivey.

CT: Any hints on how to work on this skill?

NS: Try to experiment not just at poker, but away from the table to, for people’s tendencies in life do crossover to the poker table. Very slight facial changes when someone is lying, a subtly confident demeanor when someone is doing something they excel at, or discussing something they excel at. The list goes on and on. All these minute details can help you when confronted with a tough poker decision in the live arena. ♠