WSOP Event #49: Hasan Habib Leads the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event

The $50,000 H.O.R.S.E., also known as "The Player's Championship", is considered to be one of the most prestigious events in the WSOP calendar and it has started today after a one hour delay, to allow more late registrants to join in the action. 95 players signed up for the event at the close of registration.

As it was in the past years, the field for this event was filled with well known top pros, which included last year's winner Scotty Nguyen, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan, Jennifer Harman, Doyle Brunson, Patrik Antonius and many more.

With so many big names in the event and the high entry fees, the fans who were railing the event easily outnumbered the players. The number of entries this year dropped significantly as compared to the last 3 years since 2006, when it was first introduced. 143 signed up in the inaugural year, and 148 paid up the $50,000 in 2007 and 2008. This year's 95 players is a 36% drop in the number of entries from the year before.

For those who are not familiar with the H.O.R.S.E. game, it is a mixed event which consists of 5 different games. Limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud High and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Eight-or-better. In this year's format, players start with 150,000 chips and the blinds start at 400/800. The games are rotated after every hand and each blind level lasts 90 minutes, there will also be a 20-minute break after each level.

The winner of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event will be awarded the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy which was made in 2007 to honour the passing of the poker legend who was also the winner of the inaugural H.O.R.S.E. event. His win in 2006 ensured that he would always be remembered as one of the best all round players in poker.

In his first hand of the day (Hold'em), Johnny Chan (pictured left) was dealt and he went heads-up against Billy Baxter who was holding . Baxter, raised before the flop, Chan 3-bet and Baxter called. The flop came , giving Baxter top pair top kicker, and Chan the middle pair. Baxter checked it over to Chan who bet, Baxter called. The turn of was checked down by both players. Chan needed a J to win or a Q to split the pot and the river came , giving Chan one of the last two jacks in the deck. Baxter bet, and Chan called, probably wary of the straight.

The first set of quads for the day came in the 4th hand (Stud High), Steve Sung (X)(X)(X) was up against Andy Black with (X)(X)(X). Picking up the action from fifth street, Sung led-out, Black raised and Sung called. On the final two streets, Sung check-called bets from Black. Black turned up to give him the first set of quads for the event.

In a (Stud High) hand later in the afternoon, the action was played out between Gus Hansen (X)(X)(X) and Erik Lindgren (X)(X)(X) on sixth street.  Lindgren led out, Hansen raised, Lindgren re-raised and Hansen called. On the final street, Lindgren fired another bet, and Hansen decided to look him up. Lindgren turned over a full boat to take down the pot as Hansen mucked his cards. This took the W.S.O.P. 2008 Player of the Year up to 170,000, while the Great Dane dropped to 130,000 chips.

In another big name showdown (Stud Eight) involving Gus Hansen (X)(X)(X), he was now up against Phil Ivey (X)(X)(X). Hansen check-called Ivey on the fourth and fifth streets. With an open pair on the sixth, Ivey bet out, and Hansen called. He fired another bet on the last street, and Hansen called again. Ivey showed 36 for sixes and threes. Hansen turned over for the better two pair. Hansen scooped the pot as there was no low hand.

The first player to go out of this years H.O.R.S.E. event was Steve Zolotow who was knocked out on a hand (Stud Eight) on the fifth level. 3 players were involved in the hand, with Jennifer Harman (pictured right) holding (X)(X)(X), Patrick Bueno(X)(X)(X), and Steve Zolotow (X)(X)(X). The action got heated up on the fifth street where Zolotow bet's was raised by Bueno, Harman called and Zolotow moved all-in with his last 8,200 chips, both Harman and Bueno called. Harman check-called the sixth but eventually gave it up on seventh street after Bueno bet again. Bueno showed for a straight against Zolotows for kings and fours, which was not good enough for Zolotow.

Hasan Habib made massive moves up the chip count leader-board after this (Stud Eight) hand between him (X)(X)(X), Jason Gray (X)(X)(X) and Justin Smith (X)(X)(X). On fifth street, the pot was already getting really big when Gray bet-out, Smith raised which was called by the other two players. The players went wild on the sixth street. Gray again started the betting. After giving it considerable thought, Smith raised, Habib 3-bet, Gray 4-bet, Smith called, and Habib ended the action with the 5th bet which was called by his 2 opponents.

In the seventh, Gray and Smith checked to Habib who fired another bullet. Gray quickly called, but Smith took went into the tank again before eventually calling. Smith showed for Aces up, but it wasn't good enough against Habib's wheel with , Gray mucked his cards. The win took Habib up to 280,000 chips, with Smith at 217,400 and Gray down to 110,500.

In one of the last hands (Omaha Eight) of day one, Dan Shak was the last player to be eliminated on the first day of action. Dan Shak raised from the button, John Juanda and Jason Gray called from the Small and Big Blinds respectively, and the two limpers Gabe Kaplan (pictured left) and John Kabbaj also called. With 5 players still in the hand, the flop came, . Kaplan bet after the blinds checked, Kabbaj raised and Shak went all in with his last 2,400 chips. Both blind folded to the raises. Kaplan check called the turn and river which came, and . Kabbaj showed for a set of sevens, Kaplan mucked and Shak was sent to the rails pondering what could have been.

The elimination of Dan Shak who was the last of the 4 players out of the 95 strong field wound down the action for the day. He joined Steve Zolotow, Alexander Kostritsyn and David Singer in the rails and looking for new events for tomorrow. Of the 91 remaining players, Hasan Habib leads the field with 387,000 chips, after he took down a monster pot in the fifth level.

A few big names also made strong showings with David Benyamine sitting comfortably at 5th with 263,200 chips, Chris Ferguson with 242,000 at 7th, and Johnny Chan at 9th with 234,000. Erik Seidel and his 8 bracelets barely made it into the top 10, where he is tied for 10th with Michael Saltzburg with 230,000 chips.

Here is how the top 10 stack up after day 1: