Poker Writer
After a fan nomination period and a vote from the living members of the exclusive club, Nick Schulman was selected as the 2025 Poker Hall of Fame inductee.
World Series of Poker officials announced the news in mid-July. They gave an official induction ceremony during one of the breaks on Day 6 of the 2025 WSOP main event.
Having turned 40 last fall, the seven-time WSOP bracelet winner was selected in his first year of eligibility. He became the fourth member of the club to get in during his first try. The native New Yorker joined Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and Brian Rast as the only players to get in at 40 years old.
Here are the requirements for induction:
- Respected by their peers: A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition.
- Must be a minimum of 40 years old at the time of nomination.
- Played for high-stakes.
- Consistent Excellence: A player must have played consistently well, gaining the respect of his peers.
- The player must have “stood the test of time.”
- Shaped the game: For non-players, the person must have contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.
Talent On The Felt And On The Mic
Schulman’s playing resume alone was probably enough to get him in eventually. He burst on to the scene as a 21-year-old and won the 2005 World Poker Tour World Poker Finals at Foxwoods for more than $2.16 million.
Additionally, Schulman grossed more than $24 million in tournament cashes, won seven pieces of WSOP gold and played high-stakes cash games as well.
Many top pros of Schulman’s era were no-limit hold’em specialists. But he wasn’t cut from that cloth. Schulman was proficient across many types of poker games.
Just look at how many different variants Schulman owns a WSOP bracelet in:
- 2025: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship
- 2024 WSOP Paradise: $5,000 The Closer No-Limit Hold’em Turbo Bounty
- 2024: $25,000 NLH High-Roller 8-Handed
- 2023: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud
- 2019: $10,000 PLO 8 or Better
- 2012: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship
- 2009: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship
Those are just his wins. He has final table appearances in nearly every format.
But if that wasn’t enough, he also became one of the most beloved commentators in the game. He was and still is the voice of some of the biggest broadcasts in poker.
Schulman’s broadcasting resume includes the World Series of Poker, High Stakes Poker, Super High Roller Bowl, Poker Masters, High Stakes Duel and other top-tier poker programming.
With impressive accomplishments on both sides of the felt, he beat out several other talented players, including Phil Galfond, Scott Seiver and Jeremy Ausmus.
Fixing The Hall Of Fame’s Problems
In the post-pandemic era, the Poker Hall of Fame has only inducted one player per year. But it made an unprecedented exception this year by instantly inducting Michael Mizrachi following his Main Event victory.
The move to induct Mizrachi on the spot, and the overwhelming log jam of deserving players, several have argued to expand the induction process. Before 2020, the Hall of Fame inducted two players every year.
The Poker Hall Of Fame today admitted it's system is flawed: more than one person should get in every year. They know it and hopefully it'll change.
Grinder should've been a HOFer before this year. His resume was already enough.
— Owais Ahmed (@oerockets) July 17, 2025
