Doyle Brunson final tabled the inaugural H.O.R.S.E. and is probably the best mixed-game player alive
So what does he think of the prestigious tournament? Is it really the true indicator of the best player in the world? And what changes – if any – would he make?
The H.O.R.S.E. event is just such a great tournament – every year you’ll see a real pro win it. But you may never see a pro win the Main Event again, because you need a huge amount of luck. I always say it’s like hitting the lottery, it’s just some people have more tickets than others.
In contrast, I think the $50k H.O.R.S.E. tournament is the finest indicator of the best player in the world.
It’s the variance of H.O.R.S.E. that makes it more interesting – Hold’em is quite boring after a while. We play all the games in Bobby’s Room and that’s the beauty of H.O.R.S.E. – everybody has to play everything.
Usually there’s one game that people don’t play well and you need to try and find out what their weakest link is and exploit the situation. Nobody who plays in the Big Game is terrible at any game obviously, but people do have stronger games.
I’m not sure what my strongest game is, but my weakest is pot-limit Omaha. I did make the final table last year in the $10,000 PLO event so I’m competent, but the best way to describe it is that I’m not as comfortable playing Omaha as I am the other games. I think there’s more luck in Omaha, and that’s the reason I try to avoid it.
Would I make any changes? To be honest I like the H.O.R.S.E. tournament the way it is, but I was glad they switched the final table back to the mixed-game format. Playing it as no-limit Hold’em in the first year was a mistake. It’s a H.O.R.S.E. event, and it should have finished that way. I was second in chips on the final table in 2006 and Chip Reese was first. I went card dead, lost two or three hands and ended up finishing eighth.
It’s pretty disappointing after you’ve built your chips up with all the games, and then you get to the end, lose a couple of hands of no-limit and go out. Chip went on to win, though, and I think he was the best all-round player on the planet. I think they’re going to name the event after him, and I hope they do – calling it the Chip Reese trophy would be fitting.
I have got one gripe, though, which is that the hours are long. Someone told me they’re not going to start until five in the afternoon this year. It’s hard on the older guys and I can only play a certain amount of hours. I’m not on the WSOP committee so I don’t know how they got around to starting it so late. I haven’t even been asked to be on the committee, which is surprising in a way.
Never look a gift horse… If I had to tip one person to win the bracelet for the H.O.R.S.E. tournament, it would be me! I think the non-Hold’em events are my best chance to win another bracelet. The fields are so big in the Hold’em events, which most of the events are these days, and there’s such a tremendous element of luck in Hold’em. Plus, everybody’s a pretty good player these days.
It’s not like the old days where you’d get some people who didn’t know anything. The kids that play on the internet have probably played more tournaments last year than I’ve played in my life!
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