Freeroll result

The Five Star H.O.R.S.E. Classics in association with Full Tilt got off to a cracking start on Tuesday night with well over 300 runners sitting down to play.

This tournament was the first in a series of five, with a different H.O.R.S.E. disicpline being played in each. First up was Limt Hold’Em.

Perhaps because it’s unfamiliar game for some in these days of No Limit global domination, playing styles and standards were mixed, but the tournament settled down and some good poker was played.

The night belonged to long time reader and occasional contributor Alex Scott.

Alex has been reading the magazine since issue 8 and his postings on various forums attracted the attention of the InsideEdge team who asked him to write a strategy article for the magazine. But until now he has remained a reader first and a writer second.

Following his win in the first of the Classics we’ve decided to make him a full part of the team, and you will find him each month in the magazine.

He will be writing the remainder of the strategy guides for the H.O.R.S.E. tournaments starting with Razz in the April issue of the magazine.

Sadly for him, and luckily for the rest of you, that means he won’t be able to win any further tournaments.

Alex wins a 2007 WSOP package courtesy of Full Tilt and was obviously pleased with the way he played. “I picked up some quality hands at the right time, and I didn’t make too many big mistakes.”

“At one point I was close to being eliminated on the bubble of the final table. On a key hand my desperate push (or as much of a push as you can in Limit) with A-3 offsuit (no hearts) was called in two places. There was an Ace on the board with four hearts and it held up – both other players had King high with no heart.

As for the heads-up battle, Alex went with an ultra-aggressive strategy. "I’d build the pot preflop with a raise, and then take it down postflop when I felt my opponent was weak (or when I had a hand). My opponent seemed to go a bit card dead and I managed to grind him down, and won the last hand with pocket Sixes.

Alex has been to Las Vegas before and was planning to go this year, but will doubly look forawrd to the trip now.

“I was going to play a couple of small events (a Razz event and a NLHE) but this is a nice bonus – it’ll save me a lot of money on the hotel and airfare, plus I get to play an extra event. I might also play the Main Event if I can fluke my way in.”