H.O.R.S.E. Day Four - Down to the Final Table

Twenty-one players arrived at the Rio today at 2 p.m. to play hold'em, Omaha eight-or-better, razz, seven-card stud, and seven-card stud eight-or-better in hopes of making the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. final table. The eight spots at that table represented the most hallowed ground in professional poker. If the World Series of Poker is the playoffs, these are the finals. Last year the H.O.R.S.E. final table featured 10 players and the title was settled over no-limit hold'em to decide the champion. This year, nothing will change at the final table, and the mixed game champion will be crowned while staying true to the mixed game format of the event. A platoon of the best players in poker had already made their exit during days one to three, so making it this far was an accomplishment in itself. Each of the remaining players had only one thing on his mind at the start of day four, though, a seat at the final table.

That dream was a short one for Daniel Negreanu, as he busted in the waning minutes of the seven-card stud level that kicked off the day. He had jacks up heading into seventh street, but his hopes were dashed when Bruno Fitoussi made aces up on the final card. The river was also unkind to Pat Pezzin, who busted a few minutes later in 20th place. Mark Gregorich made an ace-high flush over Pezzin's jack-high flush.

Max Pescatori was the next to go, in 19th place. He was followed quickly by Justin Bonomo, who was Fitoussi's second victim of the day. The money bubble now loomed large, 17 players remained, and only one of them would walk away empty-handed. That unlucky soul was Noah Jefferson. Jefferson was halted before he left the tournament area though. It was discovered that Steve Wollf had moved all in on the same hand. If Wollf were to bust, the two would split 16th-place money. These hopes were crushed when Wolff made quad kings. He beat out the quad sixes of David Singer in a hand that only Omaha eight-or-better could produce. Action was now down to two tables and the players redrew for new seats:

Featured Table:

Seat No. 1: Chris Reslock
Seat No. 2: Amnon Filippi
Seat No. 3: Dewey Tomko
Seat No. 4: David Singer
Seat No. 5: Kenny Tran
Seat No. 6: Steve Wolff
Seat No. 7: Mike Matusow
Seat No. 8: Barry Greenstein

On-Deck Circle:

Seat No. 1: Bruno Fitoussi
Seat No. 2: Mark Gregorich
Seat No. 3: Greg Raymer
Seat No. 4: Tim Phan
Seat No. 5: Thor Hansen
Seat No. 6: Gabe Kaplan
Seat No. 7: Freddy Deeb
Seat No. 8: John Hanson

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow was the next to hit the rail, courtesy of a wheel that Wolff held. Matusow was surprisingly quiet; you could see that he had really wanted to make the final table, and anything less was viewed as a failure. Chris Reslock was the next player to make an exit when he ran into the 9-7 low of Amnon Filippi during razz. Filippi continued to play well and he increased his chip lead throughout the day. He was up to $2.5 million by this point, and the next-closest competitor had not even reached $2 million. During the next rounds of seven-card stud and seven-card stud eight-or-better, the short stacks in the tournament drew a line in the sand and made their stand. Many of them doubled up, or at the very least took the high or low halves of pots to survive.

The game then jumped back to hold'em and the results were brutal for some. Greg Raymer was all in and covered by John Hanson preflop. Hanson turned over pocket eights and Raymer showed down A 7. "I can't lose, it's my hand," said Raymer in reference to Hanson's two eights. The board suggested otherwise when it rolled out 9 5 3 4 Q. Raymer was eliminated in 14th place. Another familiar face joined him at the rail a few minutes later. In an Omaha eight-or-better round, Tim Phan bet $40,000 and both Gabe Kaplan and Freddy Deeb called. The flop was dealt J 8 7 and Deeb led out for $40,000 from the small blind. Phan called from middle position, and Kaplan called on the button. The turn brought the 6 and Deeb led out again, this time for $80,000. Phan made the all-in call, and Kaplan called as well. The J on the river was checked by both players in the side pot and Deeb turned up 10 9 8 4 for a straight. Kaplan revealed A K 4 3 to take the low, and Phan mucked his hand. Phan was eliminated in 13th place.

Still in Omaha eight-or-better, Wolff made his last stand before falling in 12th place. The players then went on their standard dinner break from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Three more players had to be eliminated when they returned. The players then returned from dinner and had some razz for dessert. It did not settle too well with Mark Gregorich and Dewey Tomko, though. They were eliminated in 12th place and 11th place, respectively.

The players then became very aware of their surroundings and the chip stacks of the players next to them. A couple of players even darted back and forth between the tables, in between hands, to survey chip stacks. What they saw was that Kaplan was on the short stack, and unless he doubled up soon, it was only a matter of time before the blinds and antes ate away at him. The final hand came during seven-card stud, and it was a hand befitting a finale. Kaplan raised to $100,000 on third street and both Freddy Deeb and Thor Hansen called. On fourth street, Kaplan bet $50,000, Deeb raised to $100,000, and Hansen made the call. Kaplan now faced an all-in decision and he decided to risk all his chips. In the battle for the side pot, Deeb and Hansen got involved in a raising war. This, when the dust settled, left Hansen with only $40,000. Deeb turned up his hand and exposed 6 6 (5 6 K J) 6 for quads. Both Hansen and Kaplan mucked. Hansen was crippled, Deeb eclipsed the $3 million mark, and Kaplan was eliminated in ninth place. "I just gambled with the two sixes and the five, which is a good connector," said Deeb. "If Gabe had a lot of money I probably won't play the hand because I don't want to get jammed in between both of them. Because Gabe had less than $200,000, I said I'll take a chance."

The final table was reached and here is how the chip stacks looked heading into tomorrow:

Amnon Filippi: $4,015,000
Freddy Deeb: $3,500,000
Kenny Tran: $2,445,000
John Hanson: $1,995,000
David Singer: $1,330,000
Bruno Fitoussi: $895,000
Barry Greenstein: $750,000
Thor Hansen: $40,000

"When you have a lot of chips the game really seems to come a little easier than when you're middle of the crowd or just average," said Filippi. "I've been playing my A game. Maybe I can play a little better, but I've been playing pretty well." Deeb will look to challenge Filippi at the final table, but he isn't going to forget what got him here to do so, "I'll play the same way I have been playing the last four days, nothing changes. Just wait for a good hand and I'll play according to how everyone else is playing." The final eight players will return tomorrow at 2 p.m. to battle for the prestigious championship. Filippi summed it up best at the end of the day, "Nothing is written in stone so we'll see what happens tomorrow."

Tune in to CardPlayer.com tomorrow at 2 p.m. to find out for yourself.

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