Online Poker Press

The day started out with ten hopefuls waiting to be condensed to the final table of the Deuce to Seven NL Event 23 at the World Series of Poker. Roland De Wolfe was the first to fall which was not much of a surprise being that he was the short stack. Then Justin Smith took the fall, and players were down to the final table.

The day started out with a lot of excitement as two more players were unable to build their chips. Michael Binger was a short stack and moved all in from early position. John Juanda made the call. To everyone’s surprise, Binger opted to draw two cards. This seemed to perplex Juanda as well, and he took a moment to decide how many he was going to draw. He decided to stand pat, which turned out to be the right decision. Juanda turned over 10-8-6-4-2, and Binger was out pairing his nine for 9-9-K-7-2.

David Benyamine would be the next to go out after he moved in over the top of Sung’s raise. Sung made the call and stood pat, leaving Benyamine to draw one card. It wasn’t the card he need as it paired his nine to make 9-9-6-5-4 against Sung’s J-8-7-3-2.

At this point, six were left. Vince Musso started off the day as the chip leader, but John Juanda and Ville Wahlbeck were the favorites to win the event. Nick Schulman had been riding his short stack to stay alive, and Steve Sung had been gaining momentum with his aggression. Archie Karas was the silent contender at the table.

Vince Musso has lost the chip lead, but was able to double up through Juanda. After Musso raised to 36k from the small blind, Juanda pushed him all in. Musso called and each player drew a card. Musso showed an 8-7 low which was good against Juanda’s 9-8 low.

Musso wasn’t able to hold onto his chips though. He jammed once again, and Ville Wahlbeck called. Wahlbeck stood pat, and Musso decided to draw one. Walkbeck table a perfect 7-5-4-3-2 leaving Musso drawing dead with a 9-5 low.

Archie Karas was the next victim and moved in against Steve Sung who called. Both players rapped pat, but it was Sung who came out on top with 10-9-8-7-3 against J-10-8-5-2.
John Juanda, who was once the chip leader at the final table, had lost some substantial pots. He lost a big one to Steve Sung when Juanda put Sung in for his tournament life. Sung called after tanking for a few minutes and both players stood pat. It was a close showdown as Juanda showed 9 8 6 5 4 for low, and Sung showed 9- 5- 4- 3- 2 to best him. This was a critical pot, and after losing this Juanda was the short stack with only 250k left.

Juanda did end up moving all in against Nick Schulman who made the call. Each player drew one card and Juanda turned over 9- 6- 5- 4- 3, but Schulman had the best of it with 8- 7- 5- 3- 2. Juanda became the 4th place finisher of this event.

Nick Schulman was playing incredibly well at this point. Despite the aggression coming from Steve Sung, he was able to take down a few nice size pots without a showdown . In a three way pot, Schulman was able to bet his way to winning over 500k. Then Sung decided to stand up against Schulman after he raised to 60k. Sung came over the top for 170k, and Schulman insta shoved on Sung. It was a decision for his tournament life, and the chance at another bracelet for Sung, so he went into the tank. Ultimately he decided to call. Sung stood pat, and then it was Schulman’s time to tank. He decided to stand pat as well. It was extremely close. Sung turned over T-8-5-4-3 against Schulman’s T-8-5-4-2. It turned out to be a very good pat from Schulman.

In the heads up match between Nick Schulman and Ville Wahlbeck, it became an uphill climb for Wahlbeck very quickly. Schulman had Wahlbeck 3:1, and Schulman was a strong contender at this point. He was aggressive, and he was getting great hands against Wahlbeck. In smart heads up play, Schulman was patiently cautious about lending Wahlbeck too many chips. In the end, it all came down to a bluff and a perfect hand.

Schulman opened for 75k, and Wahlbeck came over the top for 250k. Schulman called and each player drew one card. Wahlbeck quickly moved all in. Even more quickly, Schulman made the call. Wahlbeck knew he was crushed when he turned over a busted low with 9-9-8-5-2 against Schulman’s perfect 7-5-4-3-2.
In a dramatic ending, Nick Schulman became the champion of the No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw tournament for 2009. He took home an impressive $279,742 for 1st place and the most sought after bracelet in the world.