It’s now 7:45 a.m. and we’ve played over 400 hands of poker at the final table of the $50k H.O.R.S.E. Over the last hour of play David Bach has at times been ahead by a 6-1 margin. Hanson has shown an incredible ability to play from the short-stack while playing Limit poker, however, and we’re nearly back to even.

The first pivotal hand of the last hour occurred in Stud with the boards reading:

Bach: (X)(X)9 6 2 7(X)

Hanson: (X)(X)Q 2 K A(X)

Bach raised on fifth street and Hanson re-raised for the last of his chips. Bach called and Hanson showed him Q 4 in the hole for a pair of queens while Bach could only muster J 9 for a pair of nines. Bach couldn’t improve and Hanson doubled up on the hand.

Shortly after that pot was awarded Hanson and Bach played a huge hand in Omaha-8 where Hanson hit a king-high flush and low while Bach had jack-high flush. In two hands Hanson had decimated Bach’s huge chip lead.

Here’s the latest chip counts from the final table:

It’s around 6:45 a.m. Las Vegas time, the sun is shining brightly outside, and inside the Amazon Room the two heads-up combatants are still in the midst of a an all-out war.

Several times now David Bach has had John Hanson to a 3-1 chip margin but Hanson will simply not go down easy.

Hanson just finished overcoming his latest chip deficit and the stacks are very nearly even.

In the most recent hand of Omaha-8 David Bach raised from the button and Hanson called. The flop came 5 2 2 and Hanson checked, Bach bet and Hanson re-raised. Hanson called and the turn came 9.

Hanson bet and Bach called. The river came 3 and Hanson fired off one more bet and Bach called. Hanson showed A Q 4 2 for the nuts. That drew the players about even.

As the morning wears on tournament organizers are starting to ponder the possibility of the heads-up final of this tournament to another day but we’ll see what happens.