Although the Main Event is still the one tournament every player would most like to win, the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament is seen as the poker player’s event in the purest form. It’s not just the hefty buy-in that narrows the field but the need to be well disciplined in other variants of poker beyond no-limit Hold’em. And, despite being a relatively new addition to the World Series, the heritage of the mixed game goes right to the heart of poker at the very highest level.

The first WSOP back in 1970 was built around different poker variants, and the winner – Johnny Moss – was decided by a vote.