Justin Cohen raised to 200,000 and Mark Schmid re-raised to 650,000. Cohen made the call and the flop came . Schmid led out for 650,000 and Cohen raised all in. Schmid called as fast as humanly possible and the players turned over their hands.
Schmid:
Cohen:
Schmid had flopped top set which was the current nuts and would only need to avoid running jacks or running spades that didn’t pair the board to double up and running straight straight cards to avoid a chop. The turn was the which had Cohen drawing dead the river was the . Schmid doubled up to take back the chip lead again and an overwhelming one at that.
Daniel Negreanu sweated the last $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em final table but we need him here today. After raising his button to 200,000 preflop, Justin Cohen continued for 800,000 on a flop. Schmid folded and then proceeded to ask Cohen a question.
"Have you ever read Daniel Negreanu's book, Small-Ball Poker?" Schmid joked. While Negreanu does not have a book by that title, Schmid is referring to the school of thought made famous by Negreanu often referred to as "small-ball poker". The general idea behind it is that smaller, more controlled pots give you the opportunity to have a larger effective stack size and allows you to outplay your opponent, therefore you shouldn't overbet a pot but rather keep them small. Cohen didn't respond.
We have definitely seen two different style's of play all day from these worthy opponents. Schmid was easily the most involved player of the day but rarely found himself in a large pot. On the other end of the spectrum, it seemed as if every time Cohen entered the pot, he was there to get his money in and usually had the best of it. Only time will tell which player has been making the better decisions, but tonight we will only see another 20 minutes of it before we stop play and continue tomorrow.
Mark Schmid limped and Justin Cohen checked his option from the big blind. Both players checked the flop and Cohen checked the on the turn as well. Schmid bet 250,000 and Cohen made the call as the players saw the on the river. Cohen checked once more and Schmid bet 450,000. Cohen moved all in and after asking for a count, it was 2,375,000 total for Schmid to call. He said “I don’t see how I can fold” and made the call. Cohen said “It’s yours” and turned over for trip sevens on the turn. Schmid showed for the nut flush which was good to eliminate Cohen.
Ironically, both players held these exact same hands, Schmid and Cohen , when Schmid flopped top set to double through Cohen a mere 15 minutes before. In any case, we congratulate Justin Cohen on his impressive 2nd place finish.
It was a back and forth battle for all parties involved here on the final day of Event #34. But the patience and skill of Mark Schmid was able to outlast all the drama, all the suck-outs, coolers and bad beats, but most importantly, all of the players. He entered the final table with over a 2 to 1 chip lead on the second highest stack. He had a clear strategy entering the final table which was to play small-ball poker and executed it in style. He was able to put pressure on his opponents by staying involved and having the ability to have any two cards at any time.
Early on it felt like fireworks were happening every other hand, except no one was busting. All in after all in, players kept sitting back down in their seat after having been on the brink of elimination. If you search back through the major hands that involved Schmid during these crazy hours, you'll find that despite losing many of the critical pots, his chip stack kept increasing. Three handed, Schmid was able to get his in against the of Andrew Rudnik for well over half of the chips in play. Despite flopping a Queen, the turn and river gave both players a wheel and the pot was split.
Ever focused, Schmid regrouped and found himself heads up with Justin Cohen facing a nearly 3 to 1 chip deficit. Cohen had been playing tight aggressive all day and found himself on both sides of the swingy final table. Cohen was even one card away from the title before Schmid snatched it away. The two players got it all in on a board. Cohen held and just needed to avoid a King, Nine or Six to beat the of Schmid. But it wasn't to be. Schmid breathed new life with the river. Later, Cohen was able to get Schmid short again. But another all in with Cohen drawing near dead gave Schmid a lead he refused to relinquish. On a board, Schmid held against the of Cohen and he bricked out. Ironically, it would be these same two hands that would give Schmid his bracelet.
On the final hand, Schmid limped his button and Cohen checked his option. The flop came and both players checked. The turn was another Seven, the , and Cohen check-called Schmid's bet of 250,000. The river completed a four-flush with the and Cohen checked for a third time. Schmid bet 450,000 and Cohen announced he was all in. Schmid told Cohen, "I don't see how I can fold," and made the call. Cohen knew immediately that he was beat, despite having for trips. Schmid tabled for a flush and a new WSOP champion was crowned.
For having beaten an incredible field of 3,144 players, Mark "pimpindonks" Schmid will take home $488,283 but most importantly his very first WSOP gold bracelet!
![[user196616]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. Schmid led out for 650,000 and Cohen raised all in. Schmid called as fast as humanly possible and the players turned over their hands.
which had Cohen drawing dead the river was the 
. Schmid doubled up to take back the chip lead again and an overwhelming one at that.
flop. Schmid folded and then proceeded to ask Cohen a question.
flop and Cohen checked the 
on the river. Cohen checked once more and Schmid bet 450,000. Cohen moved all in and after asking for a count, it was 2,375,000 total for Schmid to call. He said “I don’t see how I can fold” and made the call. Cohen said “It’s yours” and turned over 
for trip sevens on the turn. Schmid showed 
for the nut flush which was good to eliminate Cohen.
, when Schmid flopped top set to double through Cohen a mere 15 minutes before. In any case, we congratulate Justin Cohen on his impressive 2nd place finish.
and just needed to avoid a King, Nine or Six to beat the 
of Schmid. But it wasn't to be. Schmid breathed new life with the 
river. Later, Cohen was able to get Schmid short again. But another all in with Cohen drawing near dead gave Schmid a lead he refused to relinquish. On a