The 50k event

I really should be writing more about the 2007 WSOP that's going on.

The $50,000 buy-in HORSE event should be finishing up in a couple of days. Today is the third day of a five day marathon.

I don't know what to think about the event. Martin Derbyshire of PokerListings seems to think it's a big deal

...the $50k H.O.R.S.E. event seems to be the tournament most top pros feel is the one that will decide who the best poker player in the world is, making it the true main event of the 2007 WSOP.

I think it's more accurate to say that many top pros want it to be the one that will decide who is the best poker player in the world.

Not because of the HORSE aspect, although that's what they might tell you. But because of the $50,000 part -- that's the part that makes it self-selecting elite.

It's a 5 day event with only 148 entries.

I used to be that pros went for the money and let the amateurs have the bracelets. It was a pro that took the money in exchange for taking a dive to let Maria Stern win a bracelet a few years ago. I took such a deal a few years ago in a small tournament in Bay St. Louis when Casino Magic was giving out cheap trophies to winners of their daily tournaments. When we got heads up I took the money and let the other guy have the trophy. But because of the fame and endorsement opportunities, it's the pros who are willing to buy off competitors to increase their chances at a bracelet.

Of course an event with few entries will be attractive to most fame-seeking pros. But that has nothing to do with determining who's "best".