Day 4 of the WSOP Main Event proved to be a moving day of sorts as less than 300 of the 1,084 players who entered the day moved on to Day 5. Scott ‘Sblum2711’ Blumstein started Day 4 top-10 in chips and maintained his stack around the 2,000,000 mark all day and will bring approximately that amount into today’s restart.

Blumstein is a contrast to most of the Day 5 as most of the field is either a recreational player who is in Las Vegas taking a shot in this event or a pro playing out the string of a long summer. Rather than grinding out a live summer, Blumstein has been at home in New Jersey honing his craft online and improving his fitness which has paid dividends through the steep days of the Main Event.

“More than my physical health, my mental health has been pretty good. I’m in a good state of mind these days. I can’t stress it enough, mental health is the be all-end all for poker and anything else. If you train your brain to act a certain way, anything is possible. I’m fresh and [I have] putting in the work online while everyone has been out here grinding live tournaments. All that combined is why I’m here on Day 5 with a chance to win this thing.”

The Main Event is famous for some of poker’s most infamous blowups and the pressure of the moment getting to players when the equity is at its peak. Blumstein isn’t worried about that just yet but admits a place on the feature table might create some nerves that didn’t exist before.

“I’m still in the moment and there are 300 people left. There’s a long way to go. I don’t want to start getting overwhelmed yet. If I were to ever find myself at one of these streamed tables, that might change just because I’ve never played on one before. For right now, I’m happy to fade that because I’m not sure I’m ready for it [laughs]. I don’t think it’s going to hit me until when I bust or I’m sitting at the final table because I’m just treating it like any other tournament.”

Blumstein started to peak on Day 3 after the dinner break when he was one of the chip leaders on the bubble and has continued to accumulate since that point. Some players by this stage of the tournament have a hand or two that they can point to that got them to this point but Blumstein says nothing specific stands out at this point.

There’s over 360,000,000 in chips in play and Blumstein realizes that he has a long way to go before the finish line comes close to being here.

“I don’t know how I have 2,000,000 chips. 360,000,000 chips in this thing and I have 2,000,000. How can I even start worrying about [the final table]? There’s so much poker left. Sure, Day 5 is cool and the pay jumps are starting to accumulate, but there’s still a long way to go until the final table.”

Tomorrow is a new day and Blumstein brings an edge that most players don’t have with him into one of the most important days of the poker year. By the end of play, the payouts will have gone from $35,267 to close to $100,000. Blumstein says he is not worried about the dollar factor and is focused on playing the best poker he can to win the tournament.

“I’m just trying to accumulate and put myself in a position to make a run in this thing. I came here to win, I’m not here to worry about the money. I also think at the end of the day, it allows you to play the best poker when you can put the money aside and worry about getting all the chips. Honestly, I’m still waiting for my heater.”