No-Limit Texas Hold'em may be the Cadillac of poker. It's popularity can't be denied. However, at the same time, there is a growing number of people who believe the best poker players in the world can't be determined by one game. These are the people who see true poker skill not on four tires from Motown but on the four hooves of a mixed game called HORSE.

In the past couple of years, HORSE has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, spawned in part by the World Series $50,000 buy-in championship and last year's WCOOP $5,000 HORSE event. This year, the first HORSE event of the 2007 WCOOP was a $215 contested by more than 1,600 players.

By morning eight people, including Team PokerStars' Lee Nelson were sitting at the final table.



Seat 1: Hikkespett (121290 in chips)
Seat 2: Cactus Benny (1161571 in chips)
Seat 3: TheBigViking (193611 in chips)
Seat 4: JJJanet (872019 in chips)
Seat 5: LeeNelsonP* (258981 in chips)
Seat 6: Phillyho (870321 in chips)
Seat 7: BBwinz (137704 in chips)
Seat 8: jaliks (1301503 in chips)

It took nearly an hour for the first player to bust. In the opening minutes of the Stud Hi-Lo round, BBwinz started with a three showing and a pair of sixes in the hole. He went up against Cactus Benny who had a pair of aces. Though BBwinz made two pair on fourth street, Cactus Benny made a bigger two pair at the same time. BBwinz never caught up and finished in eight place, adding $6883 to his bankroll.

Phillyho was the next to go. With a little more than 200,000 in chips at the 26000/52000, finding fold with AQ after turning an ace is pretty hard. The only thing harder was dealing with the fact that Cactus Benny held AK. Phillyho was out in seventh place for $9,934.

Team PokerStars' Lee Nelson must have seen the coldest run of cards in all of WCOOP. Over the next hour, he barely played a hand, and those he did, he couldn't show down. By the time the Razz round came up, he barely had any chips and ended up getting all-in with barely a chance at winning. That chance never presented itself and Nelson exited in sixth place, earning $13,112.

The Razz round didn't end without the loss of another final table player. JJJanet was the next to go. JJJanet started strong with a A4/7. At battle with Cactus Benny, it became a battle of sevens. JJJanet finished with a 7-6, but Cactus Benny had made a 7-4 by fifth street, sending JJJanet out in fifth place and a payday of $16,717.

While Cactus Benny had been having a good game, he fell on hard times and by the time the seven-card-stud round rolled around, he was down to the short-stack. With a pair of tens to start, he got to work getting his stack in. He was behind from the beginning against Hikkespett's jacks. Neither hand improved and Cactus Benny was out in fourth place, earning $20,651.40.

TheBigViking might have been the most tenacious of any WCOOP performer yet. For most of the final table, he simply had no chips. Yet, every time he got all in, he manged to survive. He was the Viking who refused to abandon ship. Ultimately, though, he couldn't survive past third place. His two pair just wasn't as big as Hikkespett's two pair. TheBigViking was finished with a $27,863 cash.

The final table began with jaliks holding most off the chips and it ended with him holding all of them. After a drawn-out final table, jaliks made rather quick work of Hikkespett, finally finishing him off with a sixth street straight to beat Hikkespett's two pair.

2007 WCOOP Event #12 Final Table Results

1. jaliks (Netherlands) $72,116.00
2. Hikkespett (Norway) $42,614.00
3. TheBigViking (Norway) $27,863.00
4. Cactus Benny (United States) $20,651.40
5. JJJanet (United States) $16,717.80
6. LeeNelsonP* (New Zealand) $13,112.00
7. Phillyho (New Zealand) $9,834.00
8. BBwinz (United States) $6,883.80

Full 2007 WCOOP Event #12 Results