Event #24, No-limit 2-7 Single Draw (or Kansas City Lowball) is one of those games that not a lot of people play, and not a lot is written about. That’s a bonus to this year’s No Limit 2-7 Single Draw champion, Tom “luvgamble” Schneider. Schneider, who has had tremendous success in live tournaments with 2 World Series of Poker bracelets in 2007 and the WSOP Player of the Year title for that year, says “I like games that don’t have any educational material available. I believe that my advantage is that I’m able to figure out games without having to rely on written material.” And he’s obviously figured out lowball games, with both of his WSOP bracelets having a hi/lo component and now his WCOOP bracelet in No Limit 2-7.

The field was stacked for the first ever No Limit 2-7 Single Draw event at the World Championship of Online Poker, with Daniel Negreanu, Lee Nelson and Gavin Griffin all cashing, and Team PokerStars Pro Bill Chen barely missing the final table. The final table players were no slouches either, with Schneider, newhizzle and Mills23, who made the final table of Event #4 – 2-7 Triple Draw at this year’s WCOOP all among the competitors. Finally, after a tough final table, Schneider took down the title and his first WCOOP bracelet.

Schneider started playing poker professionally when the company he was working for began struggling. “I decided to try poker and then go back to business if it didn’t work out. My wife told me that I could always find a job with a struggling company.” With over $1.5 million in lifetime winnings, it looks like Schneider will be able to avoid picking up a day job anytime soon!

Schneider’s success on the live tournament circuit is well-documented, but the 2007 WSOP Player of the Year and author of Oops! I won too much Money: Winning Wisdom from the Boardroom to the Poker Table logged his largest online cash with his $42,000 win in Event #24. Although he admits to not playing too many online tournaments prior to the 2008 WCOOP, he did cash for $14,000 in last year’s WCOOP HORSE event, and plans to play the WCOOP Main Event this year as well.

Predominantly a live tournament player, Schneider characterizes the online players as “pretty tough. Playing online points out your weakness very quickly. It is a great learning tool. No limit online players are fearless.” Like many players, Schneider enjoys the convenience of online play, having been on PokerStars for about 3 years now. “Playing online is so convenient. I like to be able to multi-task, which may not always be good for my bankroll.” With his success in the WCOOP this year, we don’t have too much fear for Schneider’s bankroll! Joining Brent Carter, Mark Gregorich and Shaun Deeb, Schneider adds his name to the growing list of top pros that have claimed WCOOP gold this summer!