2008 WSOP Event 22 H.O.R.S.E.

Individual Event Reports

Event 22 -- H.O.R.S.E. Day 1

In this round of H.O.R.S.E., there were 414 players who paid $3,000 each to get in on the action. The net prize pool rose to $1,142,640, with the champion receiving $298,227. Cash will go to the top 40 finishers. Eliminations began immediately with some players holding true to form such as when Jean-Robert Bellande busted after his A K fell to the other player who hit a runner runner straight. Bellande jumped up and began cursing so loudly and viciously to where a sailor would blush. In fact, it was so bad to where tournament officials apologized to 2 elderly women spectators that had to witness the low class reaction to a loss. Jeff Shulman ended up with a bad beat after his A K lost to an opponents straight, but Jeff simply got up from the table and left to move on to the next event. Following Jeff to the sidelines were Phil Laak, Jennifer Tilly, John Juanda, Sam Farha, Antonio Esfandiari, Bill Elder, Sorel Mizzi, Erica Schoenburg, Thomas Walroos and John Hennigan.

Others survived the day to make it to the next round including Marco Traniello 29,900, Stephen Zolotow 27,900, Mike Sexton 27,000, Chris Reslock 26,200, Vanessa Rousso 26,000, Tom Schneider 25,800, Marcel Luske 22,700, David Levi 22,600, Josh Arieh 22,300, Annie Duke 21,700, Mel Judah 16,300, Phil Ivey 16,000, Greg Raymer 15,700 and Kenna James 12,400. In total, there will be 133 to move on to Day 2.

1. Alexander Jung 54,300
2. Chris Gentile 50,300
3. Shannon Elizabeth 44,200
4. James Mackey 42,900
5. Todd Brunson 41,700
6. Marc Goodwin 41,500
7. Kevin Saul 36,800
8. Rostislav Tsodikov 36,000
9. James VanAlstyne 36,000

Event 22 -- H.O.R.S.E. Day 2

Final table payout schedule:

1. $298,253.00
2. $182,822.00
3. $110,264.00
4. $81,698.00
5. $61,702.00
6. $47,990.00
7. $36,564.00
8. $30,851.00
9. $25,138.00

1. Marcel Luske 350,000
2. Jared Davis 322,500
3. Jennifer Harman 249,500
4. Doug Ganger 245,500
5. Hoyt Corkins 220,000
6. Jens Voertmann 184,500
7. Blair Rodman 161,500
8. Steve Zolotow 144,500
9. Todd Brunson 124,000

Event 22 -- H.O.R.S.E. Final Table

Notes from the WSOP summary on this event:

H.O.R.S.E. is an acronym for the five most popular poker games played inside American cardrooms today. H.O.R.S.E. tournaments include a rotation of the following games -- Texas Hold'em, Omaha High-Low, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, and Seven-Card Stud High-Low (also called Eight-or-Better). Many purists consider H.O.R.S.E. to be the ultimate test of poker skill, since it requires that players play all games well in order to win. This was perhaps best illustrated at the 2006 World Series of Poker, where H.O.R.S.E. returned to the tournament schedule after a long hiatus. For more than two decades, the late poker legend Chip Reese had been widely regarded as the best all-around player in the world. Appropriately, he won the inaugural tournament which cost $50,000 to enter and became the first "H.O.R.S.E." world champion. The rotation of games in this tournament goes for eight hands. In other words, after eight hands of Hold'em, eight hands of Omaha High-Low are dealt, followed by eight hands of Razz, and so forth.

This was another star-studded final table. Three former WSOP gold bracelet winner were present � Steve Zolotow, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, and Hoyt Corkins. Well-known Dutch pro Marcel Luske was also a finalist.

The 2008 $3,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. champion is Jens Voertmann. He is a 38-year-old professional poker player. He was formally involved in banking and finance. Voertmann collected $298,253 for first place. He also earned his first WSOP gold bracelet. This was the second year Voertmann has played at the WSOP and was his first final table appearance. And the curse on defending champions continues. James Richburg won this event last year. He entered this year, but did not cash. This brings the current streak to 22 straight non-cashes for defending champions in their respective events.

And with 16 players it was an exciting final table for the spectators present. During a round of Omaha Hi-Lo David Levi busted in 15th and Mickey Appleman left in 13th after playing Razz. Eric Froehlich said goodbye in 11th and Blair Rodman in 10th during a round of Hold'Em. Paul Zimber was eliminated by Jennifer Harman in 9th while playing Omaha 8. But then Jennifer went out in 8th after losing to another players low in Razz. Rostislav Tsodikov was sent to the rail in 7th by the pocket Q's of Jens Voertmann during Stud play.

Steve Zolotow left in 6th and Jared Davis in 5th during a round of Stud. Hoyt Corkins picked up the payout for 4th after losing to the set of Aces held by Marcel Luske during Hold'Em. Marcel then went out in 3rd during Stud play when he was overcome by the paired Aces of Jens Voertmann.

For the heads up, Jens Voertmann had 1,630,000 chips to Doug Ganger having 870,000. During Stud 8, Ganger was crippled badly and went all-in on the next hand. In that hand Ganger received 8 8 9 9 A K 3 and Voertmann gained a better two pair with 5 5 7 A J J. And that ends the story of how Jens Voertmann became champion of this event.

1. Jens Voertmann $298,253
2. Doug Ganger $182,822
3. Marcel Luske $110,264
4. Hoyt Corkins $81,698
5. Jared Davis $61,702
6. Steve Zolotow $47,990
7. Rostislav Tsodikov $36,564
8. Jennifer Harman $30,851
9. Paul Zimbler $25,138