$1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack (Event #82)

Skokie, Illinois' Tom Koral, 35, won his second career bracelet after besting a 2,589-player field to win the 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #82: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack for $530,164. It was the biggest score of Koral's long-standing poker career and his biggest victory since winning his first bracelet in a $1,500 Stud event in 2017.

Koral denied Dutchman Freek Scholten his first — and Holland's seventh — WSOP gold. Two-time bracelet winner Barry Shulman finished in third place and crossed $5.5 million in lifetime winnings.

While Koral is primarily known for his mixed game chops, winning his second bracelet in the most ubiquitous game of all was special to him.

"It means a lot to me specifically because it's hold'em," Koral said to assorted media directly after his victory. "I think a lot of people look at me as mixed games primarily, so this was kind of my way of showing I could still play hold'em," he chuckled.

"It feels great, it feels incredible, and it's sure gonna take a day or two to settle in."

Koral's career dates all the way back to 2005, and an impressive poker resumé of over $2 million in lifetime cashes on The Hendon Mob shows he's been successful at all the different poker formats for a long time. Koral shared his secrets for staying fresh, sharp and on top of the game.

"I have a brain that's constantly wandering, so especially when I'm out here for six weeks I can really get in the zone and constantly think about poker and poker hands. Always just analyzing myself: win or lose the hand, I'm always analyzing. It's the constant analysis of my own play to get me to where I am."

"Being very self-reflective and being honest with yourself is probably the most important quality you can have as a poker player and I think I do that pretty well."

Final Table Results

Paying to learn

In order to become the all-around player he is today, Koral's skills were sharpened by the tough Chicago games that fellow Chicago pro Brett Richey introduced him to. Richey was on the rail to support his friend towards a second victory.

"He got me into the idea of playing some of these mixed games. When I started, actually, I was probably playing way too high of stakes, and I was really bad. I was probably the guy getting followed around at the tables. I was the soft spot," Koral laughed.

Koral, however, was willing to pay to learn and saw his investment pay off down the road as the former "mark" now has a second bracelet donning his wrist to join the exclusive club of multiple WSOP bracelet winners.

Final Table Action

Koral came back at noon local time together with seven other competitors for an unscheduled third day to play down to a champion. The American was flanked by four countrymen, Scholten from the Netherlands, and two players from India: Kalyan Cheekuri and Kunal Punjwani.

For the Indians, however, the final table would become one to quickly forget. Cheekuri made a move with an underpair but ran his lone pocket fours into a set of sixes to be the first to leave the final table. Punjwani followed him quickly out of the door when his trip sevens got cracked by another pair of sixes, this time improving to a runner-runner straight.

After playing six-handed for a while, the others would drop off one by one as stacks grew shallow with the 40-minute levels. Darren Rabinowitz lost his final scraps to Shulman before Adam Hendrix had to bow to Scholten in the biggest pot of the tournament at that stage. Hendrix four-bet shipped pocket tens into pocket queens, saw no improvement, and had to depart while being second in chips. Scholten propelled himself to a monster stack as a result.

Koral on Key Heads-Up Hands

Scholten also knocked out Philip Scaletta then denied Shulman his attempt to win a third bracelet to start heads-up play sporting a slight lead over his adversary. However, a key hand would soon take place that saw Koral improve to a lead he wouldn't give up. In the pivotal hand, Koral raised with ace-five first to act and saw Scholten throw in a three-bet.

"First of all, he was a very good player. I think good players like to step on the gas early, to let their opponent know they're not going to be pushed around," Koral explained. "So I was expecting to get three-bet early in the heads-up match. I have an ace heads-up and having position is so valuable."

The flop came jack-jack-ten rainbow and Scholten threw out a small continuation-bet. Bets are often polarized here, according to Koral, and he called figuring his ace-high was still good often enough to call one bet. The turn brought an offsuit deuce and Scholten checked. Koral bet 8.5 million, around 40% of the size of the pot, and Scholten called.

"I want to bet my ace-high for value, a little protection. But I also have position, I can put hands like pocket sixes or ace-nine in a really weird spot," Koral explained. As it turned out, Scholten would check-call with king-queen for king-high and the Broadway draw. An offsuit trey landed on the river and both players checked to award the key pot to Koral.

After the key hand, the Chicagoan widened the gap even further before laying a trap that would finish the talented Dutchman off for good. Holding pocket aces, Koral limped the button. Scholten pushed with the queen-trey of diamonds and Koral snapped it off. He held up to become the fifth player of the summer to win the final hand of the tournament holding the blades.

Hand #124: Freek Scholten limped and Tom Koral checked. On the     flop, Koral check-called 2,000,000 and the dealer placed an   on the turn. It checked through to the   river and again both players checked. Koral tabled    and it was good for the pot.

Hand #125: Koral opened and Scholten folded.

Hand #126: Scholten limped the button, Koral raised to 6,100,000 and took it down.

Hand #127: Koral raised and Scholten called. The flop fell     and it went check-check. The   turn brought a fourth club and they both checked again. The river was a   and neither player wanted to bet. Koral flipped over    and his pair of deuces was good against Scholten's   .

Hand #128: Scholten limped and Koral checked. On the     flop he check-folded to Scholten's 1,600,000 bet.

Tom Koral	103,300,000	14,800,000
Freek Scholten	27,200,000	-14,800,000

Players will take a short break now before returning to play heads up.

Hand #116: Tom Koral opened the button and Freek Scholten three-bet all in for 52,000,000, which got folds from both his opponents.

Hand #117: A walk for Scholten.

Hand #100: A walk for Tom Koral.

Hand #101: Koral limped the small blind and Freek Scholten checked. The     flop went check/check, as did the   turn.

The   river brought a 2,400,000 bet from Koral and a fold from Scholten.

Hand #102: Koral raised to 2,500,000 on the button, Scholten three-bet to 9,000,000 from the small blind. Barry Shulman folded and Koral inquired about Scholten's stack. He took around a minute before laying his hand down.

Hand #103: Scholten raised to 2,500,000 on the button. Koral three-bet to 10,000,000 from the big blind and Scholten folded.

Hand #104: A walk for Scholten.

Hand #105: Scholten shoved all in from the small blind and Barry Shulman called all in for 12,300,000 in the big blind.

Barry Shulman:   
Freek Scholten:   

The flop was     to keep Schulman ahead with ace-high. The   on the turn sealed it for the two-time bracelet winner, making the river   merely one for the statistics.

An excited Allyn Shulman bounced up and down the rail as she watched the action unfold in her husband's favor.

"That's my boy!" she yelled. "Let's go honey!"

Tom Koral	55,900,000	3,000,000
Freek Scholten	48,500,000	-11,700,000
Barry Shulman	25,200,000	8,700,000

Hand #97: Barry Shulman raised all in 16,500 on the button and no one wanted to call.

Hand #98: Tom Koral limped in the small blind and Freek Scholten checked in the big. The flop came     and Koral checked to Scholten who bet 1,800,000 and Koral called.

The turn was the   and when Koral checked again, Scholten barreled for 4,700,000. Koral called and the river was a   brick. After Koral checked a third time, Scholten set 12,000,000 over the line. Koral asked for a count and made the call with   . It was the right one, with Scholten showing    for a missed straight draw turned bluff.

Hand #81: Freek Scholten raised to 2,000,000 from under the gun and won the hand.

Hand #82: Tom Koral raised all in for 12,600,000 from the small blind and won the hand.

Hand #83: Koral raised to 2,000,000 on the button and Barry Shulman defended the big blind. The flop was     and Shulman checked. Koral bet 1,700,000 and Shulman folded.

Hand #84: A walk for Philip Scaletta.

Hand #85: Scaletta raised to 2,000,000 in the small blind and Tom Koral called in the big blind. The flop was     and Scaletta checked. Koral bet 1,600,000, but Scaletta had cooked something up and breached some old-school poker etiquette by check-raising to 4,600,000.

Back on Koral, he considered the action for a bit before giving it up.

Freek Scholten	67,900,000	0
Philip Scaletta	29,100,000	4,600,000
Barry Shulman	19,100,000	-3,500,000
Tom Koral	13,500,000	-1,100,000