The H.O.R.S.E. Tournament
Author: Kenneth Bateman

A tournament within a tournament, the H.O.R.S.E tournament that
took place during the current 2006 World Series of Poker at the
Rio in Las Vegas ended after three intensive days of
competition between some of professional poker's all-time best
players.

The tournament attracted 143 players in total and had a World
Series of Poker record buy-in of $50,000. The most prominent
participants were former World Series of Poker Champions Doyle
Brunson (1976-1977), Johnny Chan (1987-1988), Phil Helmuth
(1989), Jim Bechtel (1993), Huck Seed (1996), Chris Ferguson
(2000), Carlos Mortenson (2001). And Greg Raymer (2004).
Well-recognized professionals Mike Sexton, Mike Matusow, Annie
Duke, Todd Brunson, Jennifer Harmon, Erik Seidel, Lyle Berman,
Gabe Kaplan, and Daniel Negreanu, added to the all-star lineup.


For those unfamiliar with H.O.R.S.E, the game is a tournament
in which five variations of poker are played in rotation, each
game changing after the dealer button completes a round, or
after a predetermined time limit.

The games are:

- Hold ' Em
- Omaha
- Razz
- Seven Card Stud, High
- Seven Card Stud, Eight or better, or Hi-Lo

At the tournament's end, the recipient of the gold and diamond
encrusted bracelet signifying the winner of an event went to
Chip Reese, who last won a World Series of Poker event in 1982.
At that event Chip took home $92,500.

Back then, only a few hundred players participated. Now, with
unprecedented coverage by television and the Internet, millions
of fans follow these events, and thousands participate. In fact,
the 2006 World Series of Poker will have had nearly 30,000
participants by tournament's end.

No-limit Texas hold 'em was the only game played at the final
table instead of H.O.R.S.E due to a decision by management
(Harrah's). Probably influenced by the games dominant
popularity. The final table began with nine players, and lasted
twelve hours, beginning at 10 PM on Friday.

The nine players at the final table were the sole survivors of
the previous (second day's play) in which 127 players
participated. That game began at 2pm Thursday and finally ended
at 9AM Friday.

Former poker champions Chip Reese, the sentimental favorite,
veteran Doyle Brunson, and Jim Bechtel reached the final table
along with tournament veterans Dewey Tonko, T.J. Cloutier, Andy
Bloch and Phil Ivey, a popular and well-recognized television
poker player.

Doyle Brunson failed in his quest for a record eleventh WSOP
bracelet, busting out in eighth place, soon followed by all the
rest, leaving finalists Chip Reese and Andy Bloch to battle for
the big prize.

The play was neck and neck until 8:37 AM, when Bloch went
all-in with his last $300,000 with a nine-high, but Reese's
ace-high ended the game, and Chip walked away with his biggest
tournament paycheck ever, more than $1.78 million.

Coming in at the WSOP tournament's halfway mark, the HORSE
competition turned out to be the event's all-star game. Gary
Thompson, WSOP communications director said HORSE was added
upon the advice of many veteran players who were of the opinion
that competition at different games, with a five times higher
than any previous amount buy-in, was a needed high profile
event that would give the participants a chance to showcase
their skills at a variety of games.


About The Author: Kenneth Bateman writes numerous articles on
the subject of poker and its players. To read more player
profiles, visit http://www.xlpoker.com