Nick Schulman Wins His Third World Series of Poker Gold Bracelet

Nick Schulman has become one of the most celebrated poker commentators, with his coverage of some of the biggest events on the tournament circuit garnering praise from fans and top players alike. With Schulman’s analysis drawing so much attention, some might forget that Schulman is a world class player that competes at the highest levels in both cash games and tournaments. Schulman reminded the world or his skills on the felt by taking down the 2019 World Series of Poker $10,000 pot-limit Omaha eight-ot-better championship. The 34-year-old New York poker pro defeated a field of 193 entries to earn his third WSOP gold bracelet and the top prize of $463,670.

“I’ve watched a lot of poker," said Schulman after emerging victorious. "To win [this event] right after commentating the $50,000 Poker Players Championship kind of makes sense. It’s a great reminder: Watch these streams if you’re trying to learn. Watch. Analyze. Play along. It’s one of the best ways to get better outside of playing… put some eyes on it and ask yourself what you would do. Run the hands by some friends. That’s what we do in the booth. I get to watch, and I’m thankful for it.”

This was Schulman’s second title and fourth final table finish of the year. He earned 840 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion. As a result, he climbed into 84th place in the 2019 POY race standings, which are sponsored by Global Poker.

Schulman came into the final day as the chip leader with seven players remaining. The very first hand of the day saw ultra-shortstacks Michael McKenna and Corey Hochman both knocked out in a double elimination. 2005 WSOP main event champion Joe Hachem made two pair to scoop both McKenna and Hochman, sending them home in seventh place ($58,918) and sixth place ($77,763), respectively.

Schulman scored his first knockout of the day when Chris Vitch got all-in preflop holding the AK42. Schulman had the AA98. The board brought all high cards with a pair of queens, and Schulman’s pocket aces in his hand were enough to scoop the pot and eliminate Vitch in fifth place ($104,688).

Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Brian Hastings scored the next bustout. He called the all-in of Denis Strebkov with a wrap straight draw and the second-nut low draw. He was up against top set and an inferior low draw. Hastings hit his straight on the turn and held from there. Strebkov earned $143,700 as the fourth-place finisher.

The next big showdown took place with a board of A108K. Hachem got all-in against Schulman, with the hands as follows:

Schulman – QJ109
Hachem – J942

Schulman’s broadway straight and higher flush draw would scoop the pot as long as a low card didn’t hit the river. The 9 sent the entire pot to Schulman, eliminating Hachem in third place ($201,041).

With that Schulman took more than a 2-to-1 lead into heads-up play against Hastings. The two battled it out for roughly four hours, with numerous big all-ins resulting in chopped pots. Hastings was able to fight his way back into the lead at one point, but Schulman found a key double up to regain control. He got all-in with a boat and held up against Hasting’s flush draw and overpair.

In the final hand Schulman min-raised to 400,000 from the button with A1054. Hastings three-bet to 1,200,000 holding A632. Schulman four-bet the pot, putting Hastings to the test for his last 2,870,000. Hastings called and the board ran out 887QJ. Schulman’s A-10 high was enough to scoop the pot. Hasting fell just short of his fifth bracelet, earning $286,570 as the runner-up finisher.

“Brian is super tough. Legend. He has four bracelets and I was like, “This guy is going for five.’ I mean everybody’s trying to win,” said Schulman after finally putting Hastings away. “At the end of the day, the poker decisions are really all we can control. So I tried my best to focus on that, but the emotions were going. My heart was pumping a few times.”

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

For more coverage from the summer series, check out the 2019 WSOP landing page, complete with a full schedule, results, news, player interviews, and event recaps.

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