The countdown to the Main Event is on. This is part of a series of articles we'll release as the marquee event draws closer. Check back daily for more tips about everything from strategy advice on the felt to how and where to take your precious breaks.
Daniel Weinman’s close friends weren’t the least bit surprised to see him claw through 10,042 opponents and have a shot at the 2023 WSOP Main Event title. They never had a doubt. They knew him well.
The Atlanta native had previously achieved a poker resume that most players would be envious of during a lifetime of flops, turns, and rivers. Weinman owned some serious poker hardware, including a coveted WSOP bracelet, a WSOP Circuit ring, two elusive WPT titles, and $4M in career earnings.
Close friends make the difference
Weinman’s closest friends were no ordinary railbirds but experienced pros and Team Lucky members Shaun Deeb, Matt Glantz, and Josh Arieh. They expected him to win the bracelet and the mound of cash. They were his loudest supporters, advisors, and railbirds during the frenetic televised final table.
Ultimately, Weinman won a massive three-way all-in with two tables and 14 players remaining. He held two black jacks versus pocket kings and queens when a jack of hearts fatefully landed on the turn to rake the bulging mound of chips. Weinman would go on to close out the title and the $12M against eventual runner-up Steven Jones.
PokerOrg caught up with Daniel shortly before this year’s Main Event launches this coming week on July 3. We asked him to reminisce about the fantastical journey that crowned him the 2023 WSOP Main Event Champion.
Prep for this year’s WSOP
This year's been different from other years because I usually play more poker. I have usually played some home games in Atlanta, traveled around, played a few WSOP circuit stops, and some events on other tours. But not this year. I don't want to say poker has taken a back seat, but it's just not the main focus of my life anymore.
To be honest, I haven't played a lot of poker this year so far. I would say I was a little unprepared for this summer.
It’s weird. I don't want to say I was on my way out of poker, but I was definitely phasing it out. Winning the Main Event didn't really change that. Having money in the bank is nice, but I’ve been working with RF Poker for a few years now.
Prep for 2023
Last year, I was playing a lot of long hours to be ready for the long days and the grind. The biggest thing about the World Series is that you can sometimes play multiple events daily. They are 12 to 14-hour days long. It's tough.
I always ensured I ate well, stayed hydrated, and used the breaks well. It is not good to sit in a chair for 12 hours; it's terrible for your body, and it's bad for your poker game.
Main Event breakdown
Day 1 was a very steady day. You never know what you'll get on the first day of the Main. I had a reasonably soft table. I didn't make many hands, and I think I bagged about 100,000 after starting with 60,000.
Day 2 was much of the same. It was actually kind of a theme throughout the whole tournament. Nothing crazy happened. Everyone will talk about day seven, winning this big all-in. But I didn't have any crazy hands the entire event. I did make a lot of good hands, got a lot of value bets in, and stole a lot of pots. But still, it was kind of like a dream tournament from start to finish.
The first time I got all-in was on Day 5, I got all in with A-K versus Aces for about half of my stack. I won that hand, which got me near the top of the chip counts. But other than that, it was the pocket jacks hand with 14 left. Right. It was the first time I was really out there. It was amazing.
Final table bubble
The bubble of that Main Event was crazy. I think we had two or three very short stacks. Obviously, the money can change your life. But not just the pay jump; making the Main Event final table is life changing. So those of us with the bigger stacks were putting the pressure on everyone. I don't think it took all too long to get there.
With ten players left, I got in pocket Kings against A-4 suited and lost. But the final table was pretty much quick and painless.
Support on the rail
It was tremendous having all of those people in my corner. With about 50 players left, I think my friend Shaun Deeb was leading the charge. He had some people helping out with watching the tape, and we had a group chat.
The group chat was called 'Dan’s going to win the main event'. It was great having Shaun there to bounce ideas off of. And, of course, Josh Arieh has also been in that spot. It was invaluable to have my friends by my sides.
Prep for final table dynamics
I didn't do a ton. I had some people watching the tape. Some guys gave me possible tell information, anything egregious they had seen from other people. But you'll have good poker players at the end of the day, right? It was mostly just getting some rest and feeling 100% ready to go.
Shaun wanted to talk poker every night. I just wanted to go to sleep. I told him, “I will play tomorrow, and if I win, I win.”
Final hand
It's unbelievable. You know. I flop top pair and Jones bets, and I checked-raised. Steven ended up calling. Then you start to feel like, okay, this could be it. Then your safe card comes, and I bet, he goes all-in. When he tanked for four minutes, I talked about this before, but it truly felt like, I have it, you know, let me just make sure. I called. But to get it all in on the turn with 92% chance of winning is a pretty good feeling. It was pretty cool.
What has the last year been like?
It's been a little strange, I have to admit. I'm more of an introvert. The fame is never something I've chased in poker. It's never something I signed up for.
It's strange going into a poker room and having 50 people want to take a picture and shake my hand. Because at the end of the day, I want to make them happy. I got very lucky. Someone else will be lucky to win the Main Event this year. But it has taken some time to get used to.
At the end of the day, I'm incredibly fortunate. I can't complain about anything. As far as my present job goes, it's in the poker industry. It's something I'm passionate about. Our team is building a top golf-like experience for poker with RF Poker.
There is something like 10 million poker players in the US. But about 400 million people don't play poker for whatever reason. At RF Poker, we’re reaching out to that market to see if we can get them in this competitive socializing environment where poker is the game to play instead of golf or darts. It's very cool. We have a great team.
