Poker pro Nick Schulman has accumulated greater than $8.3 million in live tournament earnings. Although the 32-year-old poker pro is primarily a cash game player, he has won two World Series of Poker gold bracelets and an international Poker Tour title. He has had a superior year at the tournament circuit in 2016, finishing third within the WSOP $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship and second within the Bellagio Cup XII for $557,388. That Schulman has continued to search out success at the felt isn't surprising. What's noteworthy is the success Schulman has found as a poker commentator this year.

Schulman’s first major gig behind a mic was alongside veteran host Ali Nejad covering the 2016 $300,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl for CBS Sports. His mixture of strategy insight and breezy banter was lauded by fans and fellow poker pros alike, with big names like Phil Galfond and Mike Sexton taking to social media to sing his praises.
Card Player recently caught up with Schulman, who was traveling abroad to compete within the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker, to speak about his foray into the sector of poker commentary.

Card Player: How did you find yourself entering the commentary side of poker? Did you catch the bug whilst you went on one of the most live streams of WSOP final tables with David Tuchman?

Nick Schulman: I FEEL those streams were my first times behind the mic, yeah. I ACTUALLY got more considering it though when my pal Mori [Eskandani] over at Poker PROductions approached me and asked if I’d have an interest in commentating. It was never really my idea.

CP: So it was Mori’s idea so that you can do commentary and analysis?

NS: Actually I FEEL a man I play with in high stakes cash games, David Grey, recommended me as a candidate to Mori and he then approached me about this cash game that he was doing, the Super High Roller Bowl cash game or whatever it was called. Everything has ‘Super’ attached to it now! (laughs)

CP: Indeed. So this summer the WSOP live stream host David Tuchamn told a narrative several times on air about the way you came to him trying to actively work on polishing your commentary game. What lead you to do that?

NS: I appreciate the positive feedback I had gotten, but I FEEL that commentating is something that I understood is a craft in it’s own right. I NEEDED to encounter as professional and that i had little or no experience, so I WISHED to take it seriously. I didn’t need to just show up, so I spoke to Tuchman and asked for advice. I also reached out to other color commentators in other fields to boot about walking the fine line between being just someone else within the room while maintaining a degree of professionalism. Now that i'm doing more of this commentary work i wished to take it as seriously as possible.

CP: Within the poker community there may be an ongoing debate about how the sport is portrayed on television. Everyone seems to agree that it’s difficult to balance having a broad appeal and being ‘good for poker’ with providing high-level strategic insight and analysis of hands. Did you locate it hard to stroll that line?

NS: It’s an ideal question and something I definitely wrestled with. I FEEL for me I NEED it to be accessible because I REALLY LIKE the speculation of someone who's casually eager about the sport watching a show with my commentary and catching the poker bug. I BELIEVE having fun and having the ability to attract the mainstream, casual fan is a huge deal for the expansion of the sport going forward. But however I BELIEVE that the live stream format is superb for in-depth, high level analysis of poker for terribly advanced fans. I did my best to offer something for both players, sometimes even inside the commentary on one hand. I FEEL while you can get very detailed and advanced it’s great, but you can’t leave people behind who aren’t quite there yet. Walking that tightrope is the goal and it’s really tough, but I’m going to do my best whenever I AM GETTING the opportunity.

CP: Doing commentary for several days of a tournament back-to-back should have been mentally taxing. You essentially put yourself in numerous players shoes every hand are there until the general card is dealt. Was it tough?

NS: They're long days evidently and it may be extremely tiring, however it could also be very rewarding and also you get kind of lost within the moment. I USED TO BE more tired after it was all over, and that i felt like I had are available second in that I USED TO BE there the entire time but didn’t necessarily get the high of winning. The article about playing, not that it is a great habit but I BELIEVE most players succumb to this, is that you may sometimes end up taking a couple of hands off mentally. You'll just play tight and fold a couple of hands and zone out. If you find yourself doing commentary you can’t really take a hand off. it’s an excessively interesting experience that I MIGHT recommend any serious player try sometime. Attempt to just watch a tournament begin to finish and check out to commentate on it yourself. it is pretty eye opening and also you don’t get to take those mental breaks. In some way I FEEL it improved my poker game and that i felt like I USED TO BE clicking to begin the WSOP and cash games this summer. I felt very thought-process oriented versus just showing up and it’s like riding a bike, just playing on auto-pilot. For that I’m very to have had the opportunity, because although it was tiring it truly is great for a player to experience.

CP: Yeah, you get to place yourself within the headspace of playing while being far from actually playing the hand yourself.

NS: From the sideline you spot something that you just may not catch should you were within the hand. It provides you with a distinct approach and a special have a look at situations. If you find yourself thinking out loud and presenting other ways of proceeding, it helps open up your poker mind and expand your horizons. It will probably promote creativity and permit you to understand your individual game better. If you end up within the moment and playing a large number of times you don’t have enough time to explore all of these possibilities.

CP: So that you said that doing the commentary for the Super High Roller Bowl had you in an even place going into the summer, one of the crucial busiest times of the year in terms for poker pros. You had some good tournament scores within the month or in order that followed, cashing for over $730,000 while still playing numerous cash games.

NS: I FEEL doing the commentary did help me this summer, but in addition recent years i've put more do something about preparing clear of the table and taking my game more seriously. That combination was nice. So far as those tournament scores, a few hands went my way within the way that may be essential to have a deep run in a tournament. But overall, I BELIEVE I'M embracing the type of professional attitude that may be had to compete at a high level in poker and that i hope I WILL BE ABLE TO keep that up.

CP: Do you propose on continuing to perform a little commentary? Are there any gigs you might have lined up?

NS: So far as specific events I’m going to commentate, I’m undecided yet. I FEEL there’s a superb opportunity that there'll be some high stakes cash games that I'D work on and if the Super High Roller Bowl returns next year I’d certainly have an interest in doing it again. As of at this time I don’t have anything lined up, but my phone is on. (laughs)

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