Daniel Weinman is a professional poker player who is well-respected for his skills and his surprisingly successful bluffing skills for someone of his relative youth. At just 28, he was considered one of the most promising poker players in the world. He finally showed off that promise on February 3 in the 2017 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open.
With his win, he celebrates not only his first World Poker Title, but his birthday. Turning 29, and $892,433 richer, he was excited to start celebrating with his girlfriend, who had been flown in at the last minute to see him win. Just how big was his win and what could it mean for his career?
This event hosts over 1,300 different competitors every year, each of whom pays in an initial $3,500 to start. By defeating all of these players, Weinman also earned 1,440 points in the “Card Player of the Year” standing board.
This board indicates the top players in the world, including their winnings, their points, and much more. Getting top marks on this board is the coveted goal of all professional poker players. His win moved up to seventh place on the list.
A Look At His Epic Win
The championship table was set up at six players, of whom Weinman was fourth place. Luck was with him as he won seven games to slowly increases his winnings. These wins were fairly small compared to his win on hand 26.
Here, he paired off against Richard Foster who went all-in on a losing hand. It didn’t take long once the cards fell to see who was walking away here, as Foster ended the next and his shot of winning. These winnings were the turning point of the game, as Weinman jumped into second place and in control of the table.
Slowly, but surely, he gained the lead as player-after-player dropped off. The blinds were as high as 150,000 with antes at 25,000. Against Tyler Kenney, he waged an extended and high-stakes battle in which Kenney went all in at 10,610,000.
Weinman, who had more than enough, finally called – when the cards were drawn, he was the clear winner and Kenney was eliminated. With his win there, Kenney was gone and it was down to just two players: he and Nathan Bjerno, a dangerous player who had been playing well all that night and during their game.
The Final Matchup
Bjerno was in a tough position starting out the last match, as he was down heavily to Weinman. Thanks to skilled play and some luck, though, he hung in for about 50 hands. His wins were sometimes substantial enough to cut into Weinman’s bank, but the latter had more chips and was a strong enough player to hold him off for good.
The final hand saw Bjerno go all-in on a hand that he just couldn’t win. As a result Weinman, who had fended off Bjerno’s comeback attempts quite skillfully, walked away with the big bucks. Bjerno still earned around half a million for his second place win, while Kenney came away with just under $330,000.
