Event #35: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship
Day 4 Completed
2019 World Series of Poker
Event #35: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$1,146,800
Entries
122
Level
23
Limits
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
0
Level 23
: 60,000/120,000, 0 ante
Just 372 days ago, Adam Friedman won his second World Series of Poker gold bracelet in the 2018 WSOP Event #18: $10,000 Dealer's Choice, and now he joins the elusive club of back-to-back winners after he successfully defended his title to win the 2019 WSOP Event #35: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship for $312,417 and his third career WSOP bracelet.
"This year definitely means more (than last year). Being able to repeat in what I still believe is the most difficult of the $10k's to play," said Friedman after the win.
"The players who I love playing with in these tournaments are the no-limit big-bet players. Several players, they're phenomenal, but when you get them playing hands in Badeucey and Badacey, they don't know the basics. It's free chips in a lot of situations. Whereas no-limit, they'll have a tiny edge but I don't have to play a pot whatsoever unless I have it, but if you can't help yourself and you don't know what the starting hands are, I'm going to win so much more than you could ever win in a no-limit hand."
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Adam Friedman | United States | $312,417 |
| 2nd | Shaun Deeb | United States | $193,090 |
| 3rd | Matt Glantz | United States | $139,126 |
| 4th | David Moskowitz | United States | $100,440 |
| 5th | Michael McKenna | United States | $72,653 |
| 6th | Nick Schulman | United States | $52,656 |
Four days ago a total of 122 players took a seat in the fifth installment of the Dealer's Choice Championship to create a prize pool of $1,146,800 that would pay the top 19 spots. Each player would be tested on their all-around skills over a variety of flop, draw, and stud games, and with 20 games to choose from, players needed to apply both their skills to actual gameplay along with game selection as they looked to gain edges over the competition.
With the money being reached during the middle stages on Day 2, WSOP bracelet winners Chris Klodnicki (16th), Max Pescatori (13th), Matthew Schreiber (12th) were all eliminated before play ended. When play resumed on Day 3, Jeff Lisandro (10th), Bryce Yockey (8th), and Phillip Hui (7th) all fell short of the final table.
With players down to the final six and play expected to end for the day, Nick Schulman asked to keep playing because he was short, and he was eliminated the very next hand to leave the final five to play out the level before break. When players returned, WSOP Tournament Supervisor Dennis Jones ruled that play would conclude and the final five would return on Monday to play down to a winner.
Final Day Action
Shaun Deeb led the final five players into the last day of play, and out of the gate, the action was a little spicy as Michael McKenna called clock on Deeb after thinking about a decision for 20 seconds. As Matt Glantz and David Moskowitz saw their chip stacks slowly dwindle, it would be McKenna becoming the first player eliminated. During a pot-limit 2-7 Triple Draw orbit, McKenna three-bet shoved all in after the first draw and ran into Deeb's 
. McKenna was drawing live with his 
, but after he bricked two draws, failing to find a five or a six, he was eliminated in fifth place.
Moskowitz would be eliminated in fourth place when during his game of choice - Pot-Limit Omaha - he committed what remained of his stack with double-suited tens but ran into Friedman's single-suited kings. Although Moskowitz flopped a straight draw, he was unable to improve and collected $100,440 for his efforts.
With just three players remaining and Glantz the severe short stack, it would be Friedman who began his ascent up the leaderboard in two big no-limit hold'em hands against Deeb. The first saw him bet big on the river to force Deeb to fold the second-nut straight, and the other saw him bet big on the river again and Deeb folded as Friedman climbed over the 4-million-chip mark. Just a few hands later, Glantz would be eliminated in third place during a 2-7 Triple Draw orbit when he was all in pre-draw and couldn't outdraw Deeb, who made a ten-eight on the second draw.
Heads-Up Play Begins
With Friedman holding a slight lead over Deeb, the first hand of heads-up play saw Friedman extend the gap and hold onto it for the majority of the next game selections. Deeb managed to claw back to take the chip lead on a few occasions, but Friedman continually kept snatching it back as he balanced aggression and patience throughout the heads-up match. As players were about to head to break, one final hand of no-limit hold'em was dealt and it would be the last of the tournament.
In a three-bet pot, Deeb continuation-bet an eight-seven-four rainbow flop, only to see Friedman raise. Deeb called, and then check-called a bet when a seven paired the turn. A jack hit the river and after a Deeb check, Friedman moved all in having the four-time WSOP bracelet winner covered. Deeb called off and tabled ace-jack offsuit for jacks-up. Friedman tabled his eight-seven offsuit for a full house, and Deeb was eliminated in second place.
Friedman has now accomplished one of the rarest feats not only at the WSOP but in all of poker history - going back-to-back to defend a title. Friedman topped the 111-player field in 2018, and now the 122-player field in 2019 to join a list that includes the likes of Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Johnny Chan, James Moore, Thang Luu, and Phil Hellmuth that have successfully defended a WSOP bracelet.
"In terms of poker accomplishments, this is my second best poker accomplishment I've ever done. It will never touch my number one (never going broke) in terms of poker. Accomplishments are nice, but like I said last year at the end of the day it's just about being able to build a foundation, build enough stake, and being able to take care of myself and if I can keep investing my money along the way, which I do quite frequently, I'm pretty sure old Adam will be taken care of quite well."
At the final table, Friedman chose a wide variety of games in comparison to his opponents. Friedman was also very balanced in game selection in 2018 when he battled Alexey Makarov (3rd) and Stuart Rutter (2nd) before he collected the victory during the Stud Hi-Lo orbit.
"You've got to be able to play all 20 games, and the ones that you aren't experienced in you have to have basic common sense in. You've got to be prepared for anything."
Adam Friedman's Final Table Game Choices
| Pick: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badeucey | 2-7 TD | Big O | Big O | 2-7 TD | Big O | 2-7 TD | 2-7 TD | 2-7 TD | NL 2-7 SD | |
| Pick: | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 2-7 TD | 2-7 TD | 2-7 TD | Badeucey | Big O | Stud | Stud | Badacey | Hold'em | Badacey | |
| Pick: | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | ||
| Stud Hi-Lo | Badeucey | Big O | Stud Hi-Lo | Badacey | Big O | Big O | Badacey |
Congratulations to Adam Friedman on winning his third WSOP bracelet and going back-to-back in the Dealer's Choice Championship.
Stay tuned right here to PokerNews.com as we continue to provide live coverage of all the events from the 2019 World Series of Poker.
Photos courtesy of Joe Giron.
Level 23
: 60,000/120,000, 0 ante
| David Moskowitz | Nick Schulman | Shaun Deeb | Matt Glantz | Michael McKenna | Adam Friedman | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pick 1 | PLO | Omaha Hi-Lo | 5-Card Draw High | Razz | Stud Hi-Lo Regular | Badeucey |
| Pick 2 | PLO | -- | NLH | Hold'em | Stud Hi-Lo Regular | 2-7 TD |
| Pick 3 | PLO | -- | NLH | Omaha | Big O | Big O |
| Pick 4 | PLO | -- | NLH | PL 2-7 TD | -- | Big O |
| Pick 5 | -- | -- | NLH | NLH | -- | 2-7 TD |
| Pick 6 | -- | -- | NLH | NLH | -- | Big O |
| Pick 7 | -- | -- | NLH | NLH | -- | 2-7 TD |
| Pick 8 | -- | -- | NLH | NLH | -- | 2-7 TD |
| Pick 9 | -- | -- | NLH | NLH | -- | 2-7 TD |
| Pick 10 | -- | -- | NLH | NLH | -- | NL 2-7 SD |
| Pick 11 | -- | -- | NLH | NLH | -- | 2-7 TD |
| Pick 12 | -- | -- | NLH | NLH | -- | 2-7 TD |
| Pick 13 | -- | -- | NLH* | NLH | -- | 2-7 TD |
| Pick 14 | -- | -- | PL 2-7 TD | -- | -- | Badeucey |
| Pick 15 | -- | -- | PL 2-7 TD | -- | -- | Big O |
| Pick 16 | -- | -- | PL 2-7 TD | -- | -- | Stud |
| Pick 17 | -- | -- | PL 2-7 TD | -- | -- | Stud |
| Pick 18 | -- | -- | Badugi | -- | -- | Badacey |
| Pick 19 | -- | -- | Badugi | -- | -- | Hold'em |
| Pick 20 | -- | -- | NLH | -- | -- | Badacey |
| Pick 21 | -- | -- | 5-Card Draw High | -- | -- | Stud Hi-Lo |
| Pick 22 | -- | -- | 5-Card Draw High | -- | -- | Badeucey |
| Pick 23 | -- | -- | 5-Card Draw High | -- | -- | Big O |
| Pick 24 | -- | -- | NLH | -- | -- | Stud Hi-Lo |
| Pick 25 | -- | -- | NLH | -- | -- | Badacey |
| Pick 26 | -- | -- | NLH | -- | -- | Big O |
| Pick 27 | -- | -- | NLH | -- | -- | Big O |
| Pick 28 | -- | -- | NLH | -- | -- | Badacey |
Note: Matt Glantz picked the first game at the final table.
* First game chosen during heads-up play was No-Limit Hold'em by Shaun Deeb as his 13th pick.
Level 23
: 60,000/120,000, 0 ante
No-Limit Hold'em
On the last hand of the level, Adam Friedman raised to 60,000 from the button. Shaun Deeb three-bet to 250,000 from the big blind and Friedman called.
The flop was 
, Deeb continued for 175,000, Friedman raised to 530,000 and Deeb called.
The turn was the 
, Deeb checked, Friedman bet 670,000 and Deeb called after about 30 seconds.
The river was the 
, Deeb checked, Friedman shoved for effectively 1,725,000 and Deeb called all in after about 15 seconds with 
for jacks and sevens.
Friedman, though, turned up 
for sevens full of eights to win the Dealer's Choice Championship for the second straight year.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
7,320,000
3,210,000
|
3,210,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 23
: 60,000/120,000, 0 ante
Badacey
Shaun Deeb raised on the button and Adam Friedman called. Both players drew three and Friedman bet out.
Deeb called and stood pat after Friedman drew two. Friedman checked dark, and Deeb bet 120,000. Friedman check-raised to 240,000 and Deeb called.
Friedman drew one and Deeb stood pat. Friedman bet and Deeb called.
Friedman tabled his 
for a seven-low and a six-dugi, and Deeb mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,110,000
390,000
|
390,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,210,000
-390,000
|
-390,000 |
|
|
||
Level 23
: 60,000/120,000, 0 ante
No-Limit Hold'em
Shaun Deeb raised to 75,000 from the button and Adam Friedman called from the big blind.
The flop was 
, Friedman checked, Deeb bet 60,000, Friedman check-raised to 225,000 and Deeb folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,720,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,600,000
-300,000
|
-300,000 |
|
|
||
Level 23
: 60,000/120,000, 0 ante
Big O
Adam Friedman raised to 60,000 on the button and Shaun Deeb defended the big blind.
The flop landed and Deeb led out for 50,000 and Friedman called.
Both players checked down the 
and 
and Deeb tabled his 
for the nut straight and Friedman folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,900,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,420,000
-250,000
|
-250,000 |
|
|
||
Level 23
: 60,000/120,000, 0 ante
No-Limit Hold'em
Adam Friedman raised to 60,000 from the button, Shaun Deeb three-bet to 250,000 from the big blind and Friedman called.
The flop was 
, Deeb continued for 155,000 and Friedman called.
The turn was the 
, Deeb bet 375,000 and Friedman called.
The river was the 
and both checked.
Deeb showed 
for eights and threes, Friedman mucked and Deeb won the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,670,000
-620,000
|
-620,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,650,000
620,000
|
620,000 |
|
|
||
Level 23
: 60,000/120,000, 0 ante
No-Limit Hold'em
Adam Friedman raised to 60,000 on the button and Shaun Deeb called in the big blind.
The 
board checked down to the river where Friedman bet 105,000.
Deeb check-raised to 400,000, and Friedman thought for over a minute before calling.
Deeb tabled his for ace-high, and Friedman tabled his 
for top pair to collect the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,290,000
370,000
|
370,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,030,000
-370,000
|
-370,000 |
|
|
||