Six years ago, most people in the poker world didn’t know who Tom Schneider was. Then he won two World Series of Poker bracelets and was named 2007 WSOP Player of the Year. Today, he’s a well-known poker player, albeit maybe not quite a household name, and he’s on his way to eclipsing his fantastic 2007 WSOP. Yesterday, Schneider won his second bracelet of this year’s Series, capturing the $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. crown and making a move towards the top of the Player of the Year leaderboard.
This win basically solidifies Schneider as the reigning king of H.O.R.S.E. As his previous bracelet this summer was in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, he has now swept the H.O.R.S.E. portion of the schedule. He has three other World Series of Poker H.O.R.S.E. cashes in his career, including a fourth place finish in the $2,500 event in 2007, which, combined with his two bracelets that year, earned him Player of the Year honors.
This tournament was also the sixth cash of Schneider’s 2013 WSOP, which serves as an illustration of how well-rounded his poker repertoire is. In addition to the two H.O.R.S.E. victories, he has cashed in Fixed-Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, and Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo. Schneider still has plenty of time to add to this year’s resume and possibly match or beat Konstantin Puchkov’s record of 11 cashes, set last year (coincidentally, Puchkov came in eighth in the $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament).
Schneider now has a legitimate chance to do something unprecedented in WSOP history: win two Player of the Year titles. This win pulled him up into the second spot on the leaderboard with 427.88 points, just 19 behind Daniel Negreanu (who could also become the first two win Player of the Year twice – he won in 2004). Nobody else is even close; Dan Kelly is next with 344.70. There are still many tournaments to go and the WSOP Europe counts, as well, so there is ample opportunity for Negreanu, Schneider, or others to rack up points. When asked for his thoughts on a second Player of Year title, Schneider told WSOP officials after the tournament, “I know the WSOP includes the gold bracelet events overseas. I had not planned on going over there (to Asia and Europe). If I win one more or if I have the point lead, I might go. I’ll see how it goes, but I’d like to close it out here in Las Vegas.”
Closing it out might require winning a third bracelet in a single World Series of Poker, a feat which has only been accomplished once. In 2009, Jeff Lisandro hit the trifecta, all in Stud events: $1,500 Seven Card Stud, $10,000 Seven Card Stud Eight or Better, and $2,500 Razz. Though the odds are against even the world’s greatest players to win a single bracelet because of the sheer number of opponents in a tournament, Schneider has confidence that he can pull off the triple. “I feel really good about it,” he said. “I am playing well. I am sensing other people and how they feel about hands better than I have in the past.”
2013 World Series of Poker $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. – Final Table Results
1. Tom Schneider – $318,955
2. Benjamin Scholl – $197,228
3. Greg Mueller – $129,600
4. Viatcheslav Ortynsiky – $94,664
5. Chris Klodnicki – $70,093
6. Adam Friedman – $52,613
7. David Benyamine – $40,039
8. Konstantin Puchkov – $30,876
