During a poker tournament, the common situation of a poker player being down to 15 big blinds – or less – arises. Everyone deals with this situation differently, so what will the WSOP bracelet winner, Circuit ring holder and World Poker Tour champion Daniel Weinman make of our ‘15 Bigs’ – devilish questions determined to beat the best.
Can he make it through each one without folding? Will we get a ‘raise’ out of the 2022 WSOP Player of the Year runner-up? Weinman will need all his wits in order to double through and battle on…
1. You’re on a long-haul flight and can only choose one TV Show or Movie to watch on repeat, which is your pick?
I’d watch a whole season of Survivor. I got addicted to the show during COVID and it’s about the only thing on TV that can keep my attention these days.
2. If you were stranded on a desert island with one book for company, what would it be?
How to Survive on a Deserted Island by Tim O’Shei, $12.87 on Amazon.
3. What’s the song you could listen to on repeat forever?
Spotify recently told me that I listened to Innerbloom by Rüfüs Du Sol more than 99.99% of users. I’ll go with that.
4. What’s your favourite place to play poker and why?
In the Thunderdome at the World Series of Poker. There are a ton of great poker rooms I’ve played in all over the world, but nothing lives up to the pressure and excitement of playing for WSOP gold under the lights with a big crowd.
5. If you were to be shot at dawn, what would be your last meal and drink?
20 orders of yellowtail japaleno, 2 black cod miso, 10 orders of new-style wagyu beef. Every desert on the menu. Will probably down a few lychee passion fruit drinks along the way as I’m not much of a drinker. Can you tell I’ve been missing Nobu?
6. Where’s your favourite non-poker holiday destination?
I made the mistake in my 20s of always associating travel with poker. I rarely got to see much of the countries I travelled to outside of the casino. Recently I’ve been changing that and have taken a couple of trips to Japan which have been incredible. The food, culture, and kindness of the people is unmatched. I can’t wait to go back.
7. You can play poker every day for a year or play no poker for a whole 12 months – which do you choose?
I’m way too much of a degenerate to not play poker for a whole year. Plus, who would pay for Shaun Deeb’s enormous food bill if I wasn’t gambling with him daily?
8. Who is the person you don’t have around anymore that you miss the most?
My grandmother passed about five years ago and was the first person to teach me cards and was still incredibly sharp into her 80’s. She was never a huge fan of me playing poker for a living but could still kick my ass at Gin.
9. Which person would you most like to meet but never have?
I’d love to play a round of golf with Tiger Woods. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have played some awesome rounds of golf in the past with some really interesting people ranging from ex-presidents to PGA Tour Players to Hall of Fame athletes, but a round with Tiger would be life-changing.
10. When’s the last time life put you on tilt?
This year at the WSOP I was seated in a $1,500 9-game mix event with Eli Elezra. Eli and I enjoy playing props at the table and commenced our usual game. Within the first few levels he was $15k winner, and I think he busted the tourney on purpose to lock up the win!
11. If you couldn’t play the WSOP Main Event next year, which family member would you put into the action in your place?
I’d put my dad into the Main Event. Although his tattoo of pocket aces might be a dead giveaway that he’s always got it.
12. What’s your best poker skill?
I think I learn and adapt to new games and situations much better than even some of the top players. Every time I come out to Vegas there seem to be 4 or 5 new games or variants thrown in the mix, and I pride myself on picking them up quickly.
13. And your biggest leak?
I’ve always gambled the biggest in my career against my close friends who happen to be some of the best players in the world. For some reason I enjoy playing sky high with friends more than people I don’t really know, even if the game is probably much better.
14. If you could make one rule change to poker, what would it be?
Shot clocks. Give everyone 5-10 minutes of time bank per level of a tournament, and when your clock is out you are on the rail until the next level starts. Most higher stake tournaments and cash games have realized that the pace of play is a big problem and have started taking steps to correct that which is awesome.
15. You have just ten seconds with the person of your dreams… what do you say?
I’d be busy for the first seven and apologizing for the last three.
All-in, Weinman has more than doubled up and is back in the game. Why did we ever think we could beat him?
