Shelley Rubenstein and Dave Woods are railbirds at the World Series Of Poker most elitist event – the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E
Although the Main Event is still the one tournament every player would most like to win, the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament is seen as the poker player’s event in the purest form. It’s not just the hefty buy-in that narrows the field but the need to be well disciplined in other variants of poker beyond no-limit Hold’em. And, despite being a relatively new addition to the World Series, the heritage of the mixed game goes right to the heart of poker at the very highest level.
The first WSOP back in 1970 was built around different poker variants, and the winner – Johnny Moss – was decided by a vote. Since then the biggest players in the world have battled it out in Bobby’s Room, playing cash games across all the variants. Ironically, you couldn’t win a H.O.R.S.E. bracelet until 2002, when John Hennigan won the inaugural $2,000 event. Then, after Scott Fischman won the bracelet in 2004, Harrah’s decided to rest the H.O.R.S.E. event despite 166 people ponying up the $2,000 entry fee.
Back with a bang
The organisers clearly knew what they were doing though, re-introducing the event in 2006 and making it a $50,000 buy-in to give it a higher profile. The tournament, won by Chip Reese, was a massive success, despite the final table reverting solely to nolimit Hold’em as a concession to the TV cameras. It was so successful that many people started to say the H.O.R.S.E. might be a more important tournament to win than the Main Event. Not one single pro we’ve talked to has chosen H.O.R.S.E. over the Big One, but now, in its second year, it’s firmly established as the second most important tournament of the WSOP.
And as we walk into the Amazon Room just before midday on Sunday, June 24, it’s easy to see why. There’s a distinct buzz in the room, an excitement not usually felt, and as the players start assembling and sitting at their tables it’s clear that pretty much all of the world’s best poker talent is currently under one roof and ready to do battle.
The final table
Unfortunately it didn’t turn out to be the star-studded table we were hoping for. Barry Greenstein and Freddy Deeb were the only ‘name’ players to make the final eight and Greenstein was so short-stacked he needed to hit – and hit quickly – to stay in contention. David Williams gave us his thoughts on how the table was stacked: ‘Although it might appear that a lot of the players at the final table are unknowns, I know all of them, and I think that most of the top tier players also know them. They might not be well known outside of the elite players as they’re not no-limit Hold’em specialists, but we know them from the cash games.’
The denouement
As expected, Thor Hansen was first to go – he only came in with one-third of the big blind, moved all-in on the first hand and exited when his two-pair were bettered by John Hanson’s higher two-pair. Barry Greenstein, who’d been crippled just before the final table couldn’t fight his way back into contention and crashed out next after about an hour’s play. In an Omaha Eight or- Better hand he was on the button with 125,000 chips, but on a board of Qh-9h-9s-9d-4c Greenstein could only show Ah-10c-5h-4s to Filippi’s As-Qd-Js-6h. But despite being down to six players after an hour and with crippling blinds, it still took almost 14 more hours to complete the action.
The excitement that greeted the start of the action dwindled as the game moved into the early hours and only the hardcore remained until the end finally came at 5.15am. Freddy Deeb, who was a shortstack for most of the final table, sat back and eventually one won of the most coveted titles in poker history when he became only the second person to triumph in the $50,000 buy-in event.
This year 148 players – five more than last year – paid the $50k buy-in. As well as expected superstars like Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey and defending champion, Chip Reese, there were also a few unknowns keen to pit their wares against poker’s elite. We managed to persuade Bodog professional, David Williams, to tell us the story of the tournament from his perspective.
David Williams is a mixed game specialist at the highest stakes. The Bodog pro won the 2006 H.O.R.S.E. WSOP Circuit event at Caesars Palace, so we asked him for his thoughts on the event and how his H.O.R.S.E. tournament went.
‘The tournament this year wasn’t as difficult as it might seem and the play wasn’t on the level you’d have thought. People played pretty badly, and the structure got fast quite quickly. The first day I played badly – I couldn’t seem to focus. Some of my friends were there, and when we evaluated the table we agreed that everyone played badly except for RafiAmit.
At the end of the first day, I was lucky enough to have added 6000 to my stack, so I ended Day 1 on 106,000. For the second day, I came in focused. I think I played really well and I fought hard and got up to 350,000 close to the end of the day. Then I lost a huge Razz pot where my first four cards were A-2-3-4 against Barry Greenstein’s K-5-7-8. To lose that hand is pretty ridiculous.
Bust
It meant I started the third day on 220,230, which was shortstacked in relation to the blinds, but in the middle of the field. In the end my tournament came down to two Stud hands that John Juanda played miserably but ended up winning. When he turned the first hand over, Mike Matusow went nuts, laughing at him, saying, “You are so bad. You’re calling with Ace high on every street!” To make matters worse he did it again. Matusow chastised him again, but that was the end of my tournament.’
Barry Greenstein went into the final table short-stacked but with his mixed game experience he was still seen as a contender. It wasn’t to be though and he busted out in seventh.
Do you think the H.O.R.S.E. tournament is as important as some like to make out?
I don’t necessarily think it is. It’s just a limit event with a Stud bias. I’m hoping next year to get a true championship with some no-limit and pot-limit. There weren’t many big names in the latter stages.
Did this surprise you?
It was peculiar because one by one the players I looked at as potential threats kept getting knocked out. I think one of the reasons is that the [rest of the] field caught up a little.
Talk us through your tourney…
I was pretty disappointed. I’d tied the chip lead with about nine players left and I lost four big pots on the river. The worst one was when I made trip Fives against David Singer’s two Aces. If I’d have won that pot I would have been in the lead by about nine million chips, but David hit an Ace on the river.
What did you think of the structure and the payout?
I thought it was pretty decent. In any tournament at the end, you always feel like you don’t get enough play, but I think that you have an easy counter-argument when you bear in mind how long the final day went. As for the top-heavy payout, I have to take some of the blame. They sent me the structure and I never looked at it. It probably cost me about $100,000 in winnings!
Tough at the top
Out of 148 entries, these are the notable names that didn’t make it to 16th place and a money finish – just to give you some idea of how tough the field was!
DAY 1
Andy Black
Gus Hansen
DAY 2
Jennifer Harman
T.J. Cloutier
Doyle Brunson
Patrik Antonius
Howard Lederer
Chris Ferguson
Todd Brunson
Phil Laak
DAY 3
51st David Sklansky
49th David Williams
48th Scotty Nguyen
47th Chip Reese
45th Erik Seidel
42nd Phil Ivey
38th Allen Cunningham
33rd Erick Lindgren
32nd Andy Bloch
30th John Juanda
28th Eli Elezra
24th Phil Hellmuth
DAY 4
21st Daniel Negreanu
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