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A few days ago, Team PokerStars Pro made a thoroughbred effort in the $50,000 HORSE championship, with Katja Thater and Chad Brown going way deep before busting just short of the money, Daniel Negreanu holding a penultimate day chip lead before fading and finishing 13th, and Barry Greenstein going all the way to the final table, for the second consecutive year, finally finishing sixth.

Today is something of a Groundhog Day for those of us who followed that tournament. It's day two of the $1,500 HORSE event at the World Series, and as we edge close to the final table, with 35 of an initial 803 left, Team PokerStars Pro again has three contenders still chipped up and stirring the mix. Chad Brown, vanquished in that championship event, is back stronger than ever here and has about 80,000. Joe Hachem, who missed the $50,000 event to focus on cashing in the Omaha hi-lo, has 62,000 and Victor Ramdin, with two cashes already this Series, has added a third. He has 60,000.

They're going to be playing into the wee hours in the Brasilia Room, ideally to fix a final table, but until 3am maximum if they don't, according to tournament officials. By that time, day one of the $1,500 hold 'em event, taking place in the Amazon Room, will be in the books. The bubble took a while to burst there, but when it did, Team PokerStars Pros Andre Akkari and Vanessa Rousso were on the right side of the exploding lather. Akkari was seen stalking out of the room not long after the watershed, but that'll be the Brazilian pro's first WSOP in the bag.

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During the dinner break in the HORSE, Victor Ramdin joined the video bloggers in the Champions Lounge at the Rio to have a game of pool. As we've established many years ago, he's no slouch around the poker table, but who knew of this pool-playing prowess as well?

Watch WSOP 08: Victor Playing Pool on PokerStars.tv

Everything about the World Series has grown bigger and more slick year-on-year since its inception. The most obvious representation is in the number of players and prize pool in the main event, and the advent of the HORSE championship three years ago also reflected the boom.

A couple of hours ago, I gained admittance for the first time this year to the ESPN inner circle, the makeshift television studio taking up a huge square in the corner of the Amazon Room to accommodate everything required to transfer the poker action from Las Vegas, Nevada, to your television screen anywhere in the world. It's safe to say that television coverage has moved on somewhat from the early years; they're not seating them in the middle of Freemont Street any more.

Here's what it takes these days.

Right in the centre of the action, of course, is a deck of cards in the middle of a kidney-shaped table with a raised, padded elbow rail in which are housed the hole-card cameras, or "holecams", to those in the know. Suspended above is an oval scaffold of lights, hanging from which is also the overhead "flop-cam" and four television screens, relaying what the cameras see to the live audience. The screens do not show the hole-cards, of course. If a pot doesn't make showdown, no one here ever knows what a player had.

Circling the table are the players, naturally, and ghosting around them, silently on casters, are four two-man camera rigs. One cameraman sits on board and guides the camera itself, the other is the rudderman who drives the rig. Both have headphones clamped over their ears and expressions of intense concentration painted onto their faces, tongues occasionally buckled out like an amateur pool player lining up a tricky cut shot.

On three sides of the arena are the bleachers accommodating family, friends and investors in the front rows -- often whooping, especially the latter. Behind them are the less personally connected, but no less excitable, casual fans, some of whom queued for about an hour to get anywhere near their heroes. On the fourth side is a row of laptops, behind which sit twitching media fingers and tournament officials. Beside the WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla is a table stacked with brick upon brick of hundred dollar bills.

Then, on a raised area at one end of the table is the viewing lounge, where they're four-deep to get an aerial view of the action. At the other end is a similar, smaller platform on which gleams the Chip Reese trophy and the shimmering winner's bracelet. Ringing everything is the light-encrusted curtain that you see a lot of on TV and makes us all feel as though we're on a strange rogue star -- Planet Poker, perhaps -- drifting ceaselessly through the galaxy.

It's only a couple of steps away from the bustling of the rest of the tournament area, but is another peculiar capsule within a capsule within a capsule that separates the feature table from the World Series, from Las Vegas from the real world. Please, just take me home.

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Home, unfortunately, is where Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein is now headed from his time spent in this bubble. "I can't win a hand," he lamented to a friend in the stands during a recent break, and won a consolation kiss from her instead. Then he shook a few hands and lapped up some compliments ("Barry, I think you're awesome," etc.) before returning to the table and hoping for a change in fortune.

It didn't come. He got it all in against Scotty Nguyen in a stud eight or better hand, but by seventh street had been scooped by the Prince of Poker and is now on his way out. Scotty's girlfriend carried a copy of Barry's "Ace on the River" as Barry exited.

STOP PRESS: Actually, Barry didn't go home. He's now taken his seat in the $1,500 HORSE and is back in the thick of the action. That's a poker player.

Barry Greenstein isn’t one of those players who carries a rabbit’s foot or wears some talisman at the tables. Apart from decades of poker experience, the only thing he brings to the felt is a copy of his book “Ace on the River,” and he only carries that to give away to whomever sends him to the rail. So, suffice it to say, Greenstein isn’t one to believe in omens.

So, when he showed up at noon today to play in the $10,000 PLO event (three hours in advance of the HORSE final table), he probably didn’t think way too much about what happened upon his arrival. The flopped set of kings getting outrun by quad queens for a 50,000 chip pot was just a bad turn of fortune and not a sign of things to come for his HORSE final table appearance.

A more superstitious person, though, might have thought otherwise. In the first few minutes of final table play today, Greenstein managed to make a 7-6 in Razz and find out it was no good for the big pot. At the break, he had fallen down to around 1.3 million in chips. His face looked no different than it ever does. He could have half the chips in play and look the same as he did during the break.

Back at the table, they sat seven-handed. Patrick Bueno had made his exit in the first level of the day. Greenstein stayed in action, but picked up precious little traction as they finished Stud-8, Hold’em, and O/8 rounds. When he raised in hold’em, he got three-bet by PokerStars-sponsored player Matt Glantz and had to fold on a raggedy flop. When he played a sizable pot in 0/8, it ended in a chop.

By the time they had made it back around to Razz, Greenstein had around 1.2 million, barely less than what he started the level with. The remaining Razz hands saw Greenstein in action, but not making it to showdown. It took until the Stud round that Greenstein raked a pot worth stacking.

Once they reached the Stud round again, Huck Seed hit the rail in seventh place. Six-handed, Greenstein sat on the shortest stack. That said, he was down to 600,000 yesterday and managed to climb back to 2,000,000 in short order. Nothing to say he couldn't do that again.

They will be headed to break in just a few moments. Upon their return, expect to see some fireworks. The blinds and limits will be going up again. Few people are safe and one big hand could send any of a few players to the rail.

While we wait, check out what Greenstein had to say before the start of play today.

Watch WSOP 08: Barry Greenstein Pre HORSE Final on PokerStars.tv

If you had ambled into the Amazon Ballroom at around 3.30pm today, you could have been forgiven for thinking you'd taken a wrong turn and wound up in the MGM Grand during a world title fight. Tournament director Jack Effel has clearly been practising his Michael Buffer impersonations in recent months, for when Effel took the microphone to introduce the final table players in the HORSE event, his did so with all the gusto of the legendary boxing MC, stopping only just short of the trademark: "Let's get ready to ruuummmmbbbblllllle!"

Instead, Effel filled us in on all the biographical details one could ever wish for on the eight players, a line-up including Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein, and PokerStars sponsored player Matt Glantz.

Greenstein is one of poker's best known and well-respected ambassadors, multiple bracelet winner (including this year), generous philanthropist and the only man to cash three times in all three renewals of this $50,000 HORSE championship at the WSOP.

Twelfth in 2006, seventh in 2007, Greenstein is a pretty good bet to go even further this year, maybe all the way to the top, a feat that would give him a near unassailable lead in the running for the Player of the Year accolade.

Glantz, on the other hand, is not quite a household name, but perhaps should and could be. He's a high-stakes cash player on the east coast, frequenting Atlantic City and Foxwoods, among others, to seek out the top limit games.

But he's also no slouch at tournament poker and is today earning his seventh World Series cash, on his third final table. He previously took $364,620 for second place in a $3,000 hold 'em event in 2005, and a couple of weeks ago finished third in the $10,000 mixed event, good for another $185,000. Today he's sporting the PokerStars livery as a sponsored player.

The HORSE event was always designed to be the one that really sorted the men from the boys at the World Series, testing players' skills across five poker variants, as well as their bankrolls. At $50,000 a seat, there were no make-weights in the field, simply taking a fly for the sake of it. In its first year, the man who came out on top was Chip Reese, consistently recognised among the top players as the best of the best.

Reese died in December last year, at the age of 56, and the poker community was united in its desire to honour such a great player. None would argue with the decision to name this event in Reese's honour, and this year HORSE players have been battling for the Chip Reese Trophy, which was unveiled for the first time in the run up to this final table.

The trophy is an appropriately sizeable thing: 60 pounds of black marble, topped by a poker hand rendered in gold. Not just any old hand, of course, but the one held by Reese when he wrapped up the inaugural title. The base is engraved with the slogan "Standing the Test of Time" and the winners' names will be added year on year.

Reese's daughter, Taylor, joined Doyle Brunson in making announcements ahead of the final table. Brunson paid tribute to his friend and sparring partner, describing him as "certainly the best player I ever played with," which is some compliment coming from the celebrated rounder.

Taylor, meanwhile, quoted her father as the final eight looked to book their own place in poker folklore: "As my dad would say, 'May the best man win,'" she said.

Those eight are now trying to do precisely that. We'll let you know how they get on.

Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein's career poker record doesn't need too much repeating. He's won WSOP bracelets. He's won WPT events. He's won just about everything. There is barely a poker statistic of any importance that doesn't have Greenstein's name on it.

Well, here's a new one.

In the three-year history of the $50,000 HORSE event, Greenstein is the only person to cash every year. In year one, he nearly made the final table. In year two, he finished in seventh place. Now, he is headed into tomorrow's final table with the third-highest chip stack. The star-studded event will set up on the ESPN stage at 3pm PST. Here's how all eight players stack up.

Seat 1: Matt Glantz 1,445,000
Seat 2: Huck Seed 1,200,000
Seat 3: Patrick Bueno 695,000
Seat 4: Lyle Berman 1,430,000
Seat 5: Scotty Nguyen 3,535,000
Seat 6: Barry Greenstein 1,955,000
Seat 7: Michael DeMichele 905,000
Seat 8: Erick Lindgren 3,680,000

Greenstein's off-table demeanor following his finish tonight was barely one degree off from his stoic appearance all day long. His face betrayed precious little emotion as he signed some autographs and bagged his chips. It's all in a day's work for him.

Where many players at this point would be contemplating their final table strategy, it's second nature for Greenstein. In fact, as he readied himself to leave, the only thing he seemed unsure about was whether he would be able to make a TV interview at 2:30pm. It seemed curious that he might not be able to show up half an hour early. No, it wasn't that. Thing is, he might have other plans. The $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha championship kicks off at noon.

Noting how long the PLO hands take, Greenstein said, "It's the best game to multi-table."

That's Barry Greenstein. He's near the top of the leaderboard in one of the most important poker tournaments in the world, and he very well may play two tables at once. With all due credit to the online pros who can play 20 tables, I don't think they have anything on Greenstein.

If Greenstein plays the PLO event, he will very likely see fellow Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu there. Negreanu made a very good run for the final table in the HORSE event, but finished up just a little short. He finished in 13th place for $142,000.

Joining Greenstein and Negreanu in the money is PokerStars Supernova Elite Joseph "bigjoe2003" Michael. Michael bought into the $50,000 event with his PokerStars Frequent Player Points. Though he just missed the final table, he turned those FPPs into $142,000 for his 14th place finish.

Before his exit, Michael offered us these thoughts on the HORSE event.

Watch WSOP 08: Joseph Michael SuperNova Elite on PokerStars.tv

Here's a wrap-up of HORSE Day 4 from the PokerStars Video Blog Team

Watch WSOP 08: Horse Day 4 Update on PokerStars.tv

Greenstein may not be the only one we're watching at a final table on Sunday. At this hour, PokerStars-sponsored player Kirill Gerasimov is one of fifteen players remaining in the $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event. More than 2,300 players entered, and Gerasimov is not wasting his opportunity to fight for the $700,000 first prize.

Coverage will resume here tomorrow with the $10,000 PLO event. See all today's coverage by clicking any of the links below.

Another wave floods into the Rio
Team out in force for $1,500
Gerasimov again among the leaders
The entertainment budget
The outer fringe of the Amazon
Greenstein, Negreanu control HORSE
From FPPs to $142K
RaiNKhaN doing what he does best
The Kiril System
Negreanu misses final table
From short-stack to contender

Photography © 2008, Joe Giron/IMPDI

After four days of paced, measured play in the $50,000 HORSE event, it's a bit unsettling to watch the fortunes change so drastically. The blinds and limits are such that one or two close hands can take a player from the top to the bottom in no time at all.

Witness the fall of Daniel Negreanu. At the dinner break, Negreanu sat near the top of the leader board. Moments ago, he walked out in 13th place.

As has been mentioned more than a few times, Negreanu helped serve as the inspiration for this event's creation. After winning his bracelet earlier this Series in the $2,000 Limit event, Negreanu aimed to win his fifth. This looked to be one of his best opportunities.

Instead, his 13th place finish earns him $142,080 and the opportunity to play in tomorrow's $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship.

At this hour, Barry Greenstein is the only member of Team PokerStars Pro remaining in the $50,000 HORSE event. His fortune hasn't been much better in the last couple of hours. His girlfriend Alex described the past several hours with one word: "Rollercoaster"

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While we look for a bit better news to report, Joe Hachem has some ideas about how to balance math and instinct in big poker events. Check it out the video blog below.

Watch WSOP 08: Joe Hachem On Math on PokerStars.tv

Joseph "bigjoe2003" Michael is not a grizzled veteran of old Las Vegas, but as he sat in the three seat, he was firmly and deservedly in the big leagues. With Huck Seed on his right and Scotty Nguyen on his left, Michael looked as comfortable with the game as any of his opponents. After fouur days of high-stress poker, they all seemed to be buddies. When Michael was all in the first time, it almost seemed as if Scotty was rooting for him. Scotty peeked at Michael's hole cards as a side pot played out. Ultimately, Michael made two pair and scooped the pot.

"I am the best sweater, baby," Scotty said.

We have not failed to mention here that the Supernova Elite bought into the big event with his Frequent Player Points. It's not technically a freeroll, but it's pretty damned close.

After tonight, Michael is now not only a poker pro and business man. He is one of few people who can claim a cash in the the World Series $50,000 HORSE event.

Short-stacked going into the Stud rounds, Michael went on the attack. He doubled, he chopped, he picked up the antes. He, in short, did all he could to get back into serious contention. In the end, though, his two pair was not good enough to beat David Bach's bigger two pair. Michael's hand hit the muck and that was that.

With his brother on the rail cheering him on, Michael finished in 14th place for $142,080.

Congratulations, Joe on a great finish.

Meanwhile, the chip lead once controlled by Team PokerStars Pro has, for the moment, been given up. The last level was kind to neither Barry Greenstein nor Daniel Negreanu. Both have fallen below one million chips. That said, with the levels getting so high, we can expect to see some pretty dramatic swings over the next few hours and both members of Team PokerStars Pro still stand a good chance of making the final table. The 13 remaining players have taken their dinner break and will return in an hour and a half.

While we're waiting, check out this video blog with Daniel Negreanu as he discusses HORSE.

In most poker tournaments, the bubble's pop is cause for much revelry and no small amount of yelling. In the HORSE event, the only noise that we heard when Mike Wattell went out in 17th place was the door closing behind him. These seasoned professionals act like they've been here before...because they have.

Now, with 15 players remaining, Team PokerStars Pros Barry Greenstein and Daniel Negreanu hold first and second position respectively. You might recall, Greenstein took seventh place in this same event last year. He has since put up five more WSOP cashes, including the $1,500 Razz bracelet he won a couple of weeks ago. To say he is in good form would be a pretty sizable understatement.

Fellow Team member Daniel Negreanu is looking to win his second bracelet of this year's Series. After a very rough Day 1 in this event that saw him fall down near 20,000 in chips, he has been in top shape for the past three days. Negreanu's ideas helped inspire the creation of the $50,000 HORSE event, and now he wants to claim it for himself.

Finally, Supernova Elite Joseph "bigjoe2003" Michael has just turned his Frequent Player Points into at least $124,000. Michael used his FPPs to buy into the $50,000 event. He sighed with relief when the bubble popped. Now, he is setting about making his way to the final table. He will have some work to do, but it's not out of reach.

Play in this event will continue until we reach eight players.

In the meantime, check out this video blog with Greg Raymer on what games he likes the best, and why.

Watch WSOP 08: Greg Raymer On Prestigious Events on PokerStars.tv

There are a number of folks out there who see poker as entertainment. They put in their $200 buy-in and write off any losses as the cost of having fun. How many times have you heard such players say, "I would've spent more money at the bar than I lost tonight!"

Safe to say, the people who remain in the $50,000 HORSE event are not in it for the entertainment. As we inch toward the top 16 spots and the money, there are several people facing a harsh reality. They put in their $50,000. They put in more than three long days of work. They returned here today to work some more.

And they will walk away with nothing.

It's a sick part of any poker tournament, but the pain is compounded in this event. Not only was the buy-in huge, not only is the potential payout enormous, but these people have been forced into three overtime work days and won't get a paycheck. Just imagine having to pay your employer to go to work, toiling for a week, and then getting laid off without getting paid. It's not an entertainment budget. It's a less-than-mild form of masochism, and one only certain players in the world can withstand.

It is our unfortunate duty to report that Chad Brown is one of those players. After putting in his time and effort here, he has exited just short of the money.

Brown's departure and a few others leaves us with 20 players remaining. Among them and near the top of the leaderboard are Daniel Negreanu, Supernova Elite Joseph "bigjoe2003" Michael, and Barry Greenstein. At the start of play today, Phil Hellmuth reached across the rail and shook Greenstein's hand.

"I got touched by Phill Hellmuth," Greenstein said with a wry smile. It seemed clear, Greenstein wasn't counting on the luck of the Poker Brat to get him through the day.

Apart from the world class poker going on here, one of the most prounounced images of the day is the size of the rail that has formed in the past few hours. Railbirds are stacked three deep along the back side of the HORSE event. These players are used to the fans, to be sure. Regardless, the added pressure hundreds of leering people doesn't do anything to reduce the amount of stress already involved in this contest.

Day 4 is now two hours old. There is no time-limit on the night. They will play until eight remain. With this group of players, we could be in for a very long night.

With 34 players remaining at the end of level 15, a remarkable five of them were wearing the livery of Team PokerStars Pro while a sixth, Joe Michael, is a Supernova Elite who paid the steepest buy-in in live poker using PokerStars frequent player points. You can read all about Joe in a previous post, and you may have seen the occasional mention of Katja Thater, Barry Greenstein, Bill Chen, Daniel Negreanu and Chad Brown scattered through the entire blog.

Thirty-four players means five tables of action -- four with seven players and one with six -- enough, you'd think, for some separation among team-mates. Not so. Table number one, positioned furthest away from where we sit, features Katja, Bill and Joe, while table number two, right beside it, is the home of Chad, Daniel and Barry. They're sticking together for warmth beneath the ferocious Rio air-conditioning.

That second table might as well be called the television table, although it is not yet under studio lights. Rather, its denizens are somehow all TV-related: Chad is a former actor and presenter, while Daniel and Barry are regulars on "High Stakes Poker," the huge televised cash game from Las Vegas.

Also on that show is Erik Lindgren, who now is currently two seats to Daniel's left. And between them is Gabe Kaplan, who sits in the commentary booth.

Throw into the mix Marcel Luske, the singing, Flying Dutchman who has enjoyed his own share of TV time over the years, and you have a TV show right there without even any help from the producers.

At the moment, it is Barry and Daniel having the best of it. Erik is the short stack, on life support. He's been all in twice and both times the defibrillator doubled him up, keeping his heart beating for the time being. Chad is also struggling slightly, down to less than his last 75,000, which is few enough to put him all in by fourth street, should he choose to play. At the other end, Barry and Daniel are making hay. They're both comfortably in the top ten in this event, possibly the top five, where they'd also find Joe Michael.

We'll follow this HORSE all the way into the money tomorrow.

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Earlier in the day, Bill Chen, who was still going strong in the HORSE at the time of shooting, gave some insight to the video blog team into the acceptance of short-term luck in what is, in Bill's opinion, a largely mathematical pursuit. Unfortunately for Bill, just as I was typing up this introduction, he was sent to the rail in a coup with Doyle Brunson. Brunson surely exemplifies the fact that skill can prosper in the longest of long terms, but Bill seems to be right on the money with regard to that short-term luck element. Hard luck, Mr. Chen.

Watch WSOP: Bill Chen on Acceptance on PokerStars.tv

You can see more from the PokerStars video bloggers over on PokerStars.tv