It’s Day 1 of the fourth and final H.O.R.S.E event of the 2021 World Series of Poker, as the biggest names in mixed games battle for the $10,000 championship and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet. Earlier in the series, Jesse Klein took down the $25,000 buy-in, Anthony Zinno won the $1,500 tournament, and Jim Collopy earned the $3,000 title.
The field will play through a five-game rotation that includes Limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better.
Players start with 60,000 chips, and Day 1 action is scheduled for 10 one-hour levels. The field gets a 15-minute break after every two levels.
The limit flop games begin with 300/500 blinds and 500/1,000 limits. Stud games start with a 100 ante, 200 bring-in, and 500/1,000 limits.
Greg Mueller
Back in 2019, Greg Mueller defeated a field of 172 entrants for his third WSOP bracelet and the top prize of $425,347.
Stay tuned to the PokerNews live blog for updates on the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. event!
Brandon Shack-Harris always brings a fun and unique atmosphere to any table he plays at, and today that includes "30 Minutes of Happiness".
For the current dealer down, any pot won by a player at his table postflop in flop games, or after fourth street in stud games, also receives a cordial round of applause from the rest of the table.
Recently, Joe Hachem and Nick Guagenti won pots and a round of applause, with Guagenti saying "I played my hand for the clap equity".
Shack-Harris also wanted to let it be known that "Peetie Sweetie" was the first winner in "30 Minutes of Happiness".
PokerNews will keep you posted if this evolves to 60, 90, or even more "Minutes of Happiness" here in the Amazon room.
Chad Eveslage was short on chips in three-way action on sixth street with Perry Friedman and Christopher Vitch. After Friedman bet and Eveslage threw in his final bet, Vitch folded.
Chad Eveslage: /
Perry Friedman: /
Eveslage was behind the whole way, and was unable to improve as he mucked his final card and headed to the rail.
Minutes earlier at a nearby table, Tim Frazin was also knocked out.
A round of preflop raising left David Williams all in against Eli Elezra and Brandon Shack-Harris. The flop of and turn saw Elezra and Shack-Harris both check, before a bet and call on the river .
Elezra revealed two pair with , which was good enough to scoop the pot as Shack-Harris and Williams mucked.
At nearby tables, Scott Lake and Thomas Taylor joined Williams on the rail.
The top of the field heading to Day 2 of Event #40: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. will be tightly packed, but Qinghai Pan vaulted above everyone in the last two levels of the night to take the biggest of the big stacks into Thursday’s play with 373,000 chips.
Several others were in contention for the chip lead before Pan soared past the field including Scott Seiver (261,000), Andrew Yeh (229,500), Randy Ohel (219,500), David Benyamine (219,000), and Brett Richey (215,000).
Wednesday’s event drew 139 entries through the first 10 levels of play, with 71 surviving, and late registration still open until Day 2.
Adam Friedman and Phil Hellmuth could be among the last entrants after they did battle in Event #36: $10,000 Dealer’s Choice, with Friedman defeating Hellmuth to become a three-time defending champion of that event.
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 1
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Qinghai Pan
United States
373,000
2
Scott Seiver
United States
261,000
3
Andrew Yeh
United States
229,500
4
Randy Ohel
United States
219,500
5
David Benyamine
France
219,000
6
Marco Johnson
United States
218,000
7
Jerry Wong
United States
217,500
8
Brett Richey
United States
215,500
9
Jesse Klein
United States
199,500
10
Nate Silver
United States
197,000
Defending champion Greg Mueller made it to Day 2
Elite Field Shows Up
The $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship always draws an elite field of mixed-game superstars, and this year was no exception, with 2019 WSOP Player of the Year Robert Campbell (181,500), Scott Bohlman (180,000), Max Pescatori (125,500), Yuri Dzivielevski (100,000) and defending champion Greg Mueller (30,500) among those surviving the day.
Others such as Eli Elezra, Daniel Negreanu, Brian Rast, Matt Glantz, David “ODB”, Baker, and David “Bakes” Baker were not as fortunate.
The atmosphere in the room was generally light as well, with plenty of conversation and an interesting table involving mixed-games star Brandon Shack-Harris (177,500) keeping things playful in the early stages of this battle for a bracelet.
Business will get far more serious Thursday however, as the players battle into the money, beginning at 2:00 pm local time with level 11, which comes with limits of 4,000 and 8,000. The levels also move from 60 minutes to 90, and the players will take a 60-minute dinner break after level 14.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage of this and every World Series of Poker Event live from the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.