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Event #37: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.
Day 1 Completed
2026 World Series of Poker
Event #37: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.
Day: 1
Players Left 134 / 780
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
The first H.O.R.S.E. tournament of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was Event #37: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Its Day 1 saw 780 entrants, down from 867 in 2025, but there was no shortage of mixed game talent on show at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
After 15 levels of play, 171 players remained, and only two of them had larger stacks than Stephen Hubbard (312,500). Hubbard became a WSOP champion earlier this series with a victory in the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw. While that game isn't part of the H.O.R.S.E. rotation, Hubbard showed his mixed game prowess and heads into Day 2 third in chips.
Daniel Makowsky (390,000) and Clayton Mozdzen (383,000) are the players who bagged up the two largest stacks in the room.
Event #37: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Makowsky | Switzerland | 390,000 | 33 |
| 2 | Clayton Mozdzen | Canada | 383,000 | 32 |
| 3 | Stephen Hubbard | United States | 312,500 | 26 |
| 4 | Jonathan Nebbout | France | 285,500 | 24 |
| 5 | Philip Sternheimer | United Kingdom | 274,000 | 23 |
| 6 | Daniel James | United Kingdom | 247,500 | 21 |
| 7 | Eric Tran | United States | 245,500 | 20 |
| 8 | Scott Clements | United States | 232,000 | 19 |
| 9 | Cesar Alvarado | United States | 226,500 | 19 |
| 10 | Thomas Argyros | United States | 217,500 | 18 |
As mentioned, there was plenty of mixed game talent in this event, and many punched their Day 2 tickets. Scott Clements (232,000), Jon Kyte (215,500), David Bach (204,500), and Eric Baldwin (199,500) all have stacks large enough for a place in the top 20.
Lower down the pecking order but still battling away are the likes of Lawrence Brandt (180,500), six-time bracelet winner Brian Hastings (158,500), Philip Hui (141,500), Hall of Famer Nick Schulman (133,000), Christopher Vitch (87,500), John Monnette (83,000), James Obst (80,000), John Racener (76,000), Mike Matusow (70,000), and Todd Brunson (38,000).
Day 2 starts at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 11, with PokerNews' coverage of this event also starting then. Players return on Level 16, with betting limits of 6,000/12,000, and the plan is to complete another 10 levels.
Here are the Day 1 chip counts at the close of play, according to the WSOP LIVE app.
Texas Hold'em may be far and away the most popular variant of poker, but true grinders know the joy of switching it up with variants like Omaha, Stud and 2-7.
Some of poker's most decorated players have made mixed games their bread and butter. This includes Poker Hall of Famer Phil Ivey, who won three bracelets in a single summer way back in 2002, as well as Scott Seiver and Benny Glaser, who pulled off the same feat the last two summers.
From four-time $50,000 Poker Players Championship winner Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi to back-to-back-to-back Dealers Choice Championship winner Adam Friedman, here are some of the top mixed game players to look out for at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) this summer — and you can conveniently track them using the new PokerNews MyPlayers feed.
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
The total prize pool for this event is $1,035,450. The top 117 players are set to get paid, with $183,366 reserved for the winner.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $183,366 | 12 -15 | $8,479 |
| 2 | $122,206 | 16 -23 | $6,950 |
| 3 | $84,397 | 24 -31 | $5,817 |
| 4 | $59,324 | 32 -39 | $4,975 |
| 5 | $42,455 | 40 -47 | $4,348 |
| 6 | $30,944 | 48 -55 | $3,887 |
| 7 | $22,978 | 56 -63 | $3,555 |
| 8 | $17,390 | 64 -71 | $3,328 |
| 9 | $13,418 | 72 -79 | $3,192 |
| 10 -11 | $10,560 | 80 -117 | $3,040 |
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H.O.R.S.E. is a variant of poker that accommodates five different poker games in rotation. H.O.R.S.E. is the most common mixed game, incorporating five poker disciplines. As well as the core poker games of Texas Hold'em and Omaha, the rotation includes Razz and both Stud and Stud Hi/Lo.
H.O.R.S.E. is played with these five games in the following order. Each game lasts for one 'round' before moving to the next. Once the Stud Hi/Lo round is complete, the rotation returns to Hold'em. Each game is played as Fixed Limit, meaning there are no Pot Limit or No Limit games in H.O.R.S.E.
Here we go over the poker rules for H.O.R.S.E.
As players gathered around the feature table for the restart of the $50,000 High Roller final table, Anatoly Zlotnikov had one last item on his pre-game checklist.
A few minutes before cards went in the air, the Russian wandered over to Phil Hellmuth and asked the WSOP's all-time bracelet winner for a good-luck fist bump.
Given the heater he's been on lately, it's hard to imagine Zlotnikov needing any extra luck.
The 32-year-old returns to the final six with more than half the chips in play and nearly three times as many as his closest challenger, Santhosh Suvarna. Yet despite sitting in one of the most commanding positions of the summer, plenty of poker fans are still asking the same question:
Who exactly is Anatoly Zlotnikov?
