There's already been some interesting table talk in the first few minutes of the tournament. A minute or so before the cards were in the air, Allen Kessler announced that the tournament should start at 300-600 rather 400-800.
"He's already complaining!" David Baker shouted to another Allen - Allen Bari.
A few minutes later, David "Bakes" Baker sat down directly across from David Baker, prompting Kessler to ask, "We have the good David Baker, and the bad David Baker, but which is which?"
"I'm the worst," Bakes responded. "I haven't reached a World Series of Poker final table this year.
The older Baker finished third in Event 22: $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, earning him $59,925.
To no one's surprise, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow is awfully chatty. "I'm surrounded by second-place finishers," he said moments ago.
Matusow is referring to his tablemate Brett Richey, who finished second in Event 26: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, and David Chiu, who's sitting behind him, and finished second in Event 27: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. earlier today.
Ylon Schwartz, the winner of Event 27, hasn't arrived yet, is also in attendance.
There are already dozens of familiar faces in their seats, including Allen Kessler, Allen Bari, Mike Matusow, Barry Greenstein, David Baker, Daniel Negreanu, Ben Yu, David Chiu, Brett Richey, Brock Parker, and Jeffrey Lisandro.
In 2006, when the World Series of Poker wanted to create an event exclusively for the best of the best to battle it out on the felt, there's a reason why they picked H.O.R.S.E. In order to go deep in a H.O.R.S.E event, you need to be proficient in a multitude of games, including limit hold'em, limit Omaha eight-or-better, razz, stud hi, and stud eight-or-better. David "Chip" Reese won the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship, defeating Andy Bloch in a marathon heads-up match. When Reese passed in December of 2007, the trophy was named after him as a thank you for everything he did for the game of poker.
In 2010, the event was renamed as the "Poker Player's Championship," and the format was changed to eight-game. H.O.R.S.E was not forgotten however, it was simply reduced to a $10,000 buy-in championship event, and the inaugural winner was Ian Gordon. He bested a field of 241 runners to capture the bracelet and $611,666. Last year, Fabrice Soulier defeated Shawn Buchanan heads up to win the event, overcoming a field of 240 runners - just one less than the year before - to win $609,130.
This year, we expect more of the same, and it all starts in ten minutes. We hope you join us as we journey from Day 1 to the final table, and eventually crown the 2012 $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Champion.