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H.O.R.S.E. Much Anticipated at WSOP

The addition of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event has got poker players participating in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) excited, specially seasoned Canadian poker pro Daniel Negreanu.

"This new event has created such a buzz with the top players," Negreanu said recently by phone from Las Vegas. "This is the one where everyone's ego is on the line. Everyone's playing for pride and everyone's playing for what we consider the real world championship."

H.O.R.S.E. is a variation of poker that combines no-limit hold 'em, Omaha, razz, stud and stud eight. The game is a favorite of the high rollers who like to bet big, and is entered into by the most talented and best players in the league. Nagreanu, it goes without saying, is one of those players. He expects about 80 to 100 players to dole out the $50,000 entry fee. Preview: 5,619 entered the $10,000 main event last year: This year's field is expected to be about 8,000.

"It has a feel to it a lot like what the first World Series represented, which was 13 guys, all top pros, playing for high stakes," Negreanu said.

Though the main event of W.S.O.P has been surprisingly dominated by amateurs the last few years, the H.O.R.S.E. event is expected to be the area of expertise of seasoned poker professionals.

"You won't see any flukes because of the format," Negreanu said. "Hold 'em is a game a lot of people know how to play now. But to play all the different games, the only people who really do that are the elite, and it's going to crown the best overall player."

"There's no question in my mind it's going to become the most prestigious event in the world."

The World Series of Poker is scheduled to begin its nearly seven-week run Sunday at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas.

After making five final tables at the 2004 World Series of Poker, he hit a slump last year. After his struggle in last year's series, Negreanu vows to keep his focus this time around. "I'm playing a lot of golf and playing as little amount of poker as possible to try and stay fresh so I won't be so burnt out," he said. "Because it's going to be a long and drawn-out month."

Negreanu acknowledges the increasing difficulty in the WSOP. "It's tougher to consistently win when you're dealing with 1,500 players as compared to 300 people," he said.

09/18/2006, Monday
Matthew Dorst

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