As a die-hard sports fan, Nick Schulman has a deep appreciation for his nomination to the Poker Hall of Fame.

The poker player in him is a little more conflicted about the honor.

“That would mean a tremendous amount to me, but I also feel that the Poker Hall of Fame is a bit tricky,” Schulman said. “I know there are a lot of great players who probably won’t ever even be nominated, and I feel like other sports aren’t really like that.”

Schulman was named one of 10 finalists for the Poker Hall of Fame last week in his first year of eligibility. And while the 40-year-old may feel a bit of imposter syndrome, Schulman’s poker resume speaks for itself.

Earlier this month, the Las Vegas resident won his seventh career World Series of Poker bracelet, which are awarded for tournament victories. He is one of 14 players in the exclusive club of seven-time champions.

Schulman also owns a World Poker Tour title and is a hugely popular commentator for the streaming service PokerGO during the WSOP and other events.

The lone inductee to the Poker Hall of Fame will be announced in July, with the living members each casting a vote. Schulman is one of the favorites to be selected, along with seven-time bracelet winner Scott Seiver. Other nominees include Jeremy Ausmus, “Miami” John Cernuto, Phil Galfond and Mike Matusow.

“I’m just proud that I woke up one day and realized that I wasn’t doing the right things and that I would be on my way out if I don’t reinvent myself as a player, and I did. That took a lot,” Schulman said. “I would say the thing that means the most to me is just you get sentimental thinking about all the nights sitting in there, all the nights after you play where you talk about hands and break stuff down, all the great players I’ve been lucky enough to play with.”

Grateful for success

Schulman spent most of his early teenage years hanging out in New York City pool halls and dropped out of school his freshman year of high school.

He was introduced to poker during a pool tournament in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and slowly transitioned to playing cards full time by age 18.

Schulman was a successful online player before he could legally enter a casino, then at age 21 won the World Poker Tour’s 2005 World Poker Finals for more than $2.16 million. He was the youngest winner of a WPT event.

Along with his success in tournaments, Schulman is a respected high-stakes cash game player.

“A lot of great players did drop off or decide that poker’s not for them, and that’s cool,” Schulman said. “But for me, I’m OK still playing. I like it. It still gives me something. … Poker is one game or sport that you can age the most gracefully.”

Schulman won the WSOP $10,000 buy-in No-limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship on June 11 after nearly eight hours of heads-up play against Darren Elias. It was his third victory in the event after bracelets in 2009 and 2012.

He also had a healthy chip stack Saturday afternoon in the $50,000 buy-in High Roller Pot-limit Omaha event with fewer than 60 players remaining.

Schulman has more than $23.7 million in career live tournament earnings, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database.

Working ‘Night Shift’

For the past several years, Schulman also has appeared as a commentator on “High Stakes Poker” and other PokerGO streams. He plays the straight man to announcer Ali Nejad as part of the “Night Shift” announcing duo.

“That’s the big secret of our act. It’s all real,” Schulman said.

Schulman plans to join the WSOP Main Event broadcasts during his off days from the tournament or if he gets knocked out of the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship.

“My dad is a writer and we grew up watching sports, and he really instilled an appreciation for great commentary,” Schulman said. “I didn’t really want to, but I gave it a shot. It became something that means a lot to me, and I’m very grateful that I did take the plunge.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.