Jared Bleznick Gives Expert Insight on WSOP 2-7 Single Draw Event

The final table of the World Championship in No Limit 2-7 Single Draw was won by Nick Shulman after a 13-year break. The charming slacker and unique player won his seventh WSOP bracelet. Three of them were won in this ancient and rare game, which many consider the purest form of poker. There are only two streets of betting: “preflop” when players receive five cards and trade, fighting for the blinds, then the first and last exchange, the goal of which is to collect the weakest possible combination of five cards by normal poker standards (23457 is the nuts), and then the final round of betting. Extremely limited technical information – only positions, sizings and the number of cards that the opponent exchanged are known – forces you to constantly use your intuition. And few can compare with Shulman in this. Not only has he won this championship three times, but he has also been to the final table three more times – 2nd, 3rd and 5th places.

Nick has long been considered the best poker commentator. He combines deep knowledge of poker, friendliness, a velvety low voice and a good sense of humor. But of course, he could not comment on his own game at this final table, so Jared Bleznick was invited to the PokerGo studio to be an expert. Bleznick has been among the best in any kind of poker for two decades, but his reputation has been tarnished by ghosting, multi-accounting and questionable behavior at the table (although he is far from Martin Kabrhel). Such a background, it would seem, does not correspond to what you expect from a top commentator. However, this time Bleznick exceeded the wildest expectations.

It was four hours of elite educational content on air. Bleznick constantly predicted the players' moves, including some very unusual ones, accurately guessed their sizings, revealed the intricacies of tournament strategy, shared reads and gave advice. The players at the table also regularly worked miracles.

However, not even close to winning a bracelet (thanks in large part to their astonishing folds), the finalists went to rest, and the broadcast did not resume the next day: PokerGo's resources were needed at the final table of a more traditional game.

Nevertheless, Bleznik's master class (as well as Schulman, Eveslage and other participants) was so outstanding that the GipsyTeam editorial team decided to show you the most striking hands from the first day of the final table with his condensed commentary.

I remember Alexander—very aggro, plays a lot of pots, gets involved a lot. I believe he's from Chicago.

Yes, squeeze. Very interesting! But I don't approve. Johansson will fold now, no doubt, but what will happen next is intriguing! Dan Smith has to make a decision. Alexander raised to 360k, only 590k left in his stack. The situation is unusual...

The key factor in single draw is whether there is a chance to win a big pot. Dan Smith, if he calls and makes the hand, can win a maximum of another 590k; on the other hand, he will almost certainly get paid and will definitely not lose too much.

I expect Dan Smith to fold. The pot odds aren't good enough. The call is too expensive. His outs are sevens, eights, and nines. Tens are also outs at a discount, and he'll win against a jack in this case, but Dan won't be able to make anything after the draw with a ten. I expect him to fold.

– Dan calls and changes one card. Alexander keeps all five cards.

Frankly, I don't like Dan's decision. Let's see if he can catch the right card.

– Dan goes all-in, we don’t see his cards, but this is not the player’s intention– it’s just that the electronic chips in the cards are poorly read in the corner position where he sits.

In this spot he's betting all the bluffs – any pair, straight – and all made hands from nine. He'd check a ten.

Alexander is in a tough spot. The pot odds are almost 1 in 4. However, his hand is at the very bottom of the range. He probably shouldn't have a jack in this spot at all. I think he's in so much pain because he made a mistake on the previous street.

I have a feeling he'll throw it away eventually.

– Alexander folds and then we see Dan Smith's cards – he caught a seven.

Let me remind you that when you have a ready jack, you are a favorite against a one-card draw. At the same time, the most serious mistake people make in this game is to outplay a ready jack. If you play it like Alexander, you will lose a lot of money.

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Schulman has a very strong hand – technically a made jack, but also a very strong draw on occasion. It’s always a raise. Chad Eveslage also has a great hand – a draw to eight and, crucially, a second deuce, a valuable blocker. Many in his place would play through a three-bet, but Chad is too good to make such a mistake. He’s playing against the chip leader and the strongest player at the table, so I expect a call.

– Chad calls. Dan Smith calls too, we can't see his cards. The rest fold.

I expect Smith to draw to nine. Now everyone will change one card.

– Everyone changes one card. Both Schulman and Eveslage improve.

You don't need to know Dan's cards to conclude that he's behind 99% of the time. I expect Nick to lead with a nine, probably 200 to 250k, and Chad will always raise.

– Schulman bets 75k.

Oh great, I like this sizing a lot better. Great play, looks like it's inviting a bluff. But...

– Eveslage reraises to 380k. Smith folds.

Super interesting! For those of you who aren't very familiar with the math of this game, it's important to note that making a nine is not easy, it's a strong combination. However, Nick is only beating a bluff here. Chad would never reraise for value with a worse hand, and Nick knows it. Not many players in the world can throw away a ready-made 9-8 in this spot, but he'll think about it for a bit and get it done.

Chad is a very aggressive and talented player, he knows how to bluff and he is not afraid to bluff. Nick knows this too. But he also knows that Chad called the chip leader's raise from second position. That means he has a very good draw. Seven or ten years ago, most players with good draws in his position would have 3-bet, but these days everyone is more passive, making combinations. I think Nick is getting ready to fold. If he does, it will be a phenomenal fold!

– Schulman shakes his head in disbelief and folds, as if not believing his eyes. "The hardest fold of my life!" he says to his neighbor.

If you compare what Nick did to no-limit Hold'em, you could say he folded a backdoor flush to eight that he made on the river. In Omaha, it's a flush to king. That's a powerful fold – and he was right! It's hands like that that make me personally think Nick Schulman is the strongest single-draw player on planet Earth.

I'll tell you what's going to happen. Johansson will 3-bet, and that's the right play, to about 300-400k. Darren will move all-in. Johansson will call. Both will fold. What you're seeing is like one person holding jacks and the other one holding kings in Hold'em. There's no way around it.

– That's exactly what happens. Elias doubles up. Unlike KK vs JJ in Hold'em, in single draw the worst hand has 0% equity.

Nick defended the big blind and changed two cards, Daniel kept a jack. Nick improved to a ten. Many players would never go in with a ten in his place, but I believe in Nick and I think he will bet 150k now. If he changed one card, I would have approved a check, but after the change of two, I like the lead.

– Schulman bets 170k. Negreanu folds immediately.

You know, I'd like to see Nick 3-bet right now! Somewhere around 300k. He only has a draw to 9-8, but the cutoff raises and Nick has a pair in his hand. Change one of the fours to a queen and the 3-bet would immediately become much worse.

– Schulman 3-bet 300k.

Very, very good! Nick knows that Johansson is afraid of him and will not bluff in this situation. If I were Johansson, I would simply give up. He cannot call and keep the jack. He can try to exchange the jack in an attempt to make a ten, but what to do with it? No, I do not see any good options to continue. Only fold.

– Johansson folds.

– Johansson with the strongest draw goes under Smith's raise. Both change one card. We don't see Smith's cards again, and Johansson hits a seven – 76532 – and bets 200k.

It makes sense that Johansson didn't three-bet from the small blind with such a strong draw – he didn't want to play a big pot with an unmade hand out of position. An added bonus to playing it carefully is that if Smith bought an eight, he's in big trouble: Johansson's hand doesn't look particularly strong. Any eight should raise.

– Smith thinks about it and moves up to 900k – more than half of his stack.

It's highly unlikely that Smith is bluffing. Now Johansson will move all-in. And if Smith has 8-7, he's facing one of the toughest decisions of his career. Folding an eight against one opponent is incredibly difficult! Suffice it to say that I've only folded an eight in heads-up pots twice in my entire career. That was in single draw. In triple draw, folding an eight is routine. But when there's only one draw and you've made an eight, you're almost always better.

– Johansson goes all-in.

Yes, Smith has a problem. He raised Johansson's lead big and got shoved. Even if he had a perfect deuce, he only had 87432. He can't beat 87 for value. It's like making a flush to a queen in no-limit hold'em, raising your opponent's lead, and getting shoved. A strong flush, but in this situation, he's just a bluffcatcher.

Johansson has a very hard time coming up with a bluff. That's why I encourage people to bluff more often. Look at this: Smith is probably going to throw an 8-7 here! Consider this and think: why not bluff when you're trusted like that?

Smith is good at making tough folds. You can see he's suffering. But he's strong enough to find a fold. I've seen the best players in the world – Schulman, Seiver – fold in similar situations. I think that's why he raised so big – to give himself a chance to fold to an all-in.

Oh, finally his cards are read. He has 87543. He didn't buy a two, but he didn't buy a six either. It looks like we're going to see an incredible pass!

– Smith folds.

That was one of the best folds, dear viewers, that you will ever see in no-limit single draw. Phenomenal! Dan Smith is among the poker elite for a reason. Good job, King Dan.

Elias is in a tough spot in the BB. Most players would fold. I think he's leaning toward calling. He'll change one card and make a good eight. Leaving a ten against two opponents is suicide, of course.

– Elias calls.

Johansson also faces a tough choice. He has a bad made ten and a bad draw. He can't call and hold because he's in a sandwich; there's no way to play this hand well under those circumstances.

– Johansson calls. Elias changes one card. Johansson keeps a ten, Schulman keeps a nine.

Terrible, terrible play from Johansson, a disaster. When Elias cold calls, he obviously has a strong draw to an eight or seven. He's not going to go for a nine. And then there's Schulman, who has position and may have a stronger hand – as it turns out.

– Elias gets an ace.

Now we're going to see checks from Elias and Johansson. And Nick... Nick could basically check 98. He knows he's got Johansson beat, but why risk getting check-raised by Elias?

– Everyone is waiting.

Let me get something straight. That was a phenomenal check from Schulman! Even though he had the best hand. High class! You don't always have to hit when you have a nine.

Johansson raises. Chad calls, Dan calls too. He's very short, and if he makes his hand he'll double up, so I like his call. Both players in the blinds are going to change two cards, after which Johansson can refuse to draw, play "snow". The conditions for such a bluff are ideal – the draw is bad, the blockers are good.

Johansson already refused a similar bluff once, but here there is simply nothing else to come up with. Please do not disappoint me!

– Everything happens exactly as Bleznik said.

Chad bought two bad cards, check. We can't see Dan's cards, but he checks too. You see, Johansson's snow is so good also because Dan has no chips behind him. Now he'll bet about 225k, as if hinting at a possible re-push in the event that Dan goes all-in and both opponents fold.

– Johansson bets 225k.

Great! Wait, what was Chad thinking about?

Call? Wow!!

– Smith folds.

That was an incredible call! And I can explain it. Chad knows that when Johansson plays against two people who have drawn two cards, he will never draw thinly. So he has a very polarized range. Johansson plays this final table pretty carefully, he is unlikely to value bet even a ten. He raised from the cutoff – a loose position. So he either has a made nine or better, or a bluff. Johansson has a lot of chips, the chances of a bluff increase. Great read from Chad, my respects. Phenomenal play. There are very few players in the world who are capable of such calls.

When the broadcast ended, six people continued chasing the bracelet. They finished the game without cameras the next day. Result:

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