There are those that say tournament poker isn't a sport.  These people often ask where's the physical exertion?  How hard is it to sit and play cards?  Well I would say those that would ask such questions should perhaps study this year's World Series of Poker, $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event.

Event #49- the World Championship H.O.R.S.E., only attracted 95 players but among those players were without question, some of the toughest and most acclaimed poker competitors on earth.  The final table of the event held its fair share of those well known pros, along with a handful of lesser known but equally deserving folks, that together set a record for what is now believed to be the longest major tournament final table in history. 

492 hands were dealt at this year's H.O.R.S.E. final table, according to live updates provided by PokerNews, enough to make the ordeal last nearly 20 hours, but eventually a new champion was indeed crowned.

David Bach, around 10 a.m. this morning, finally defeated John Hanson to claim the impressive $50K H.O.R.S.E. title after an epic, seven hour, seesaw, heads-up battle between two respected players without a single WSOP bracelet between them.  For the victory, Bach not only earned his first WSOP bracelet, but also $1,276,802 and the coveted Chip Reese Memorial trophy.  Hanson, who finished third in this same event in 2007, was forced to settle for a $789,199 payday, after what must have been one of the most grueling, and physically exhausting five days of his life.

The final table finish positions for Event #49- the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship, were as follows:

1st.  David Bach- $1,276,802

2nd.  John Hanson- $789,199

3rd.  Erik Sagstrom- $522,394

4th.  Vitaly Lunkin- $368,813

5th.  Huck Seed- $276,610

6th.  Ville Wahlbeck- $219,655

7th.  Chau Giang- $184,087

8th.  Erik Seidel- $162,382

For more information on the World Series of Poker H.O.R.S.E. World Championship visit www.worldseriesofpoker.com.


Story by Mark Anderson

Sweet Tweets* from the $50K HORSE Final Table.

Last year: beer sponsor. This year: beef jerky. Waiter brings it to final table, players ignore it
-FlopTech Engineering

Many small pots: blind steals, flop-bet-folds, 1-betting and flat calling.
-FlopTech Engineering

Wait! Eric Sagstrom *is* actually eating the beef jerky.
-FlopTech Engineering

Huck Seed's patience pays off. Huck strong in 4th.
-Johndoe

Yeow. The Jack Link's beef jerky is actually pretty good. @BJNemeth just gave me some. TY BJ
-FlopTech Engineering

Very quiet play 3-handed. No chirping, no f-bombs, no Michelobs baby!
-FlopTech Engineering

Final table wants to make a deal. Hanson wants to play.
-Johndoe

Drama HORSE tourney blind and small blind incorrect for level. Try this with Eric Lindgren at the table.
-Johndoe

It's 8:30 am, and John Hanson & David Bach are nearly tied in chips in #WSOP49 ($50K HORSE):
-BJ Nemeth

Fellow UGA grad David Bach wins #WSOP49 ($50K HORSE) after a nearly 19-hour final table: http://twitpic.com/8ykoa (see above)
-BJ Nemeth

*A sampling of Twitter posts from Event #49, courtesy of the PokerRoad Nation.