David Bach wins the 2009 50K H.O.R.S.E.

July 1st, 2009

David Bach wins the 50k H.O.R.S.E and the coveted David Chip Reese Trophy. David Bach had to beat one of the hottest and fiercest final tables of all time. And to get the final table, David had to beat about 95 of the best poker players in the world. David Bach is not a household name in the poker world, but he will be soon. His career is on the rise and hes just won the “players main event”.

The final table was a grueling 20 hour session of poker, which was about an hour longer than the 2006 50K. Heads up play was 6 hours compared to the 7 hours back in 2006. This is good for the game in my opinion. To win the most prestigious event in poker, you have to have stamina and be able to beat people over a large number of hands. Mental focus and the ability to contain tilt are key attributes to being the best player in the world. This is unlike NL Holdem events where you get coolered in 20 minutes and the tournament is over, or you get lucky hitting a set vs AA. The blinds going up at slow levels makes the tournament almost a hybrid or the big cash game and a tournament. This structure allows big game cash specialists and tournament stars to play on a level field. This 20 session with 6 hours of heads up reminds me of the movie The Hustler, when Fast Eddie Felson takes on Minnesota Fats. In the beginning Fast Eddie (played by Paul Newman), is up an enormous amount of cash and whipping Fat’s but. Fats wants to end the night but Fast Eddie wants all of his money and wants the prestige of breaking Fats.

Fast Eddie Felson Vs Minnesota Fats

Minnesota Fats freshens up every hour, shaves, and doesn’t go on monkey tilt. Fast Eddie, on the other hand, starts drinking and rubbing it in. In the end a fresh Minnesota Fats wins all of his money back and wipes out Fast Eddie. You could say David Bach grinded down each player and survived by his humble low profile. I didn’t think he was going to win and barely noticed him at times because of the two players who were on hot streaks (Vitaly Lunkin and Ville Wahlbeck). Not to mention Erik Seidel trying to win his ninth bracelet. The point I’m trying to make is that a “heater” or luck is not going to win this event, It might get you to the final table, but your not going to be able to win.

Other players like Tony G made themselves huge targets by trying to intimidate or “tilt” other pros. Tony G got in a big confrontation with Freddy Deeb, and Freddy threatened him several times. I believe Freddy got a penalty at a key point of the tournament and that could have cost him a million. Tony G later admitted he will take any edge he can to win this high stakes tournament.

Vitaly Lunkin had a huge chip lead at one point and perhaps grew a little complacent. I saw a photo Poker News had taken of him with this big grin on his face (I had a bad feeling after that).
Here’s what his stack looked like:
Vitaly Lunkin 4,765,000
Erik Sagstrom 2,910,000
John Hanson 2,710,000
Ville Wahlbeck 2,335,000
Huck Seed 900,000
David Bach 795,000
Vitaly wins this, and I probably win my Full Tilt Fantasy league!

David was the shortest stack and overcame overwhelming odds to win just like Minnesota Fats in the fictional match between him and Fast Eddie.

David Bach has had some success as he cashed four times in last years WSOP. He finished in the money in Pot limit, NL holdem, Limit Holdem, and he finished 11th in the 50k H.O.R.S.E.! Congrats to David Bach for grinding his way to win the most prestigious event in poker!