Amazingly (or not, depending on your outlook), we are still three-handed in the $3,000 HORSE. Every time someone gets knocked against the wall, he comes fighting back. With the blinds, antes, and limits getting into stratospheric territory, all it takes is two or three bad pots to send you to the rail.

We've just begun Level 26. It's worth noting there are only 28 levels on the structure sheet.

The Tale of Marcel

After the close of the last level of play, Marcel Luske was in serious danger. But the big limits meant just a small handful of pots could swing him back into contention, and that’s exactly what happened.

He took one hold’em pot away from Jens Voertmann through sheer determination. Luske opened on the button and was called by both his opponents. When the action checked to him on the K J 4 flop Luske bet out; Doug Ganger folded but Voertmann came in for the check-raise. Luske then made it three bets, which Voertmann called. When the turn came the 5, Voertmann checked and Luske fired out again. The German mucked his cards and Luske showed Q 6 for a whole lotta nothin’.

Then a strange Razz hand came along that put Luske into the chip lead. Voertmann led the entire way with a board reading 3-6-K-10, and Luske called down with K-3-J-10. On seventh street Luske showed (A-A-5) in the hole for a jack-low; Voertmann turned up (6-9-Q) for queen-low, claiming to have misread his hand. That mental lapse gave Luske just over $1,000,000 in chips, while Voertmann was down to $780,000.

Big swings for the Flying Dutchman.

Holding Down the Voert-mann

Jens Voertmann ran into trouble against Luske during Razz, but he made up some of the lost ground when Stud came back around. He reclaimed the chip lead after taking down pots against each of his opponents. Shortly after that, however, Voertmann dropped two Stud pots to his Dutch rival’s trip jacks and two pair, sending the lead back to Luske.

Gangers and Mash

Doug Ganger is a virtual unknown to all of us here at the WSOP. A friend of his from back home in Fort Wayne, Ind., is hanging out by the final table and shared a little info with us.

Ganger, who is in his 40s with two daughters, plays mostly Stud-8 cash games and HORSE tournaments online. Last year he was one of two online qualifiers on Full Tilt Poker for the $50,000 HORSE tournament, but he decided to keep the cash rather than play in the big one.

All that online experience appears to have paid off, as Ganger has made it through a big field and has a shot at a bracelet. Whether he takes it down or not, however, is for anyone to guess.

Ye Olde Chip Counts

Here are the current chip counts, as reported by WorldSeriesOfPoker.com:

The atmosphere around the final table changed a bit just after Hoyt Corkins busted out in 4th place. More people came to the rail to cheer on Marcel Luske - there’s a string of them 20 long and two deep in some spots close to the table. Another 15 people or so are standing inside the ropes, one table length back, to follow the action.

This definitely feels more like a WSOP final table now. It’s not glitzy at all, being off to the side of the ESPN set, but that’s fitting of a grinding game like HORSE, isn’t it?

Luske has a stack like an accordion, always expanding and contracting.

Double Dutch

Marcel Luske has been the center of most of the chip swings at this table in the last hour, especially during the stud games. If he were to come back and win he would be the first Dutchman ever to win a bracelet, and it’s obvious he knows that as well as everyone else.

He stacked up quite a bit during Razz and Stud before losing a critical pot in Stud-8 that shipped the chip lead to Jens Voertmann. All three players were in to the river, and Voertmann’s bet was called in both spots. He showed trip 7s to scoop the pot, since there were no made low hands.

After that debacle Luske was down to $225,000 in chips, but he chipped up in the next O8,  Razz, and Stud rounds to find himself hovering around $700,000. He then chased a draw in Stud and fell to Voertmann’s two pair, leaving him back under $500,000 again.

If Luske doesn’t win, it certainly won’t be for lack of trying. He’s fighting with everything he has right now.

Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Chip Counts

Here are the current stacks according to WorldSeriesOfPoker.com: