Hugo's Blogspotting: 1 May

Live From the WSOP

You may remember a few weeks back there was talk of ESPN delaying the final table of WSOP Main Event for a possible live broadcast. At the time it seemed ludicrous and absurd – surely ESPN were taking the piss, right?

Well, according to Terrence Chan, the final table of the WSOP $10k Main Event, the Big Dance, the one that all poker players dream of winning, is going to be delayed until November. This allows them to broadcast the lead up to the final table (all nicely edited plus all their ever-important player profiles and crucial extras like the ever-so-funny “The Nutz” ) and then they can cap it all off with a “live” final table.

Before I even typed that last paragraph I was interrupted by one furious poker player who had already heard the news practically spitting nails he was so ticked off with ESPN and Harrahs. I have to agree. WTF are they thinking? I guess TV is the most important guiding force in the United States after all.

I can think of several arguments against this new development, but first here’s Terrence Chan:

“This is probably the single greatest argument against it. Consider this: they're running an experiment on the biggest prize in the game with something like a combined $20-25 million in player money at stake! It's ludicrous. You don't just dramatically change the format of the biggest tournament in the world with absolutely no precedent or trial run.

This is so stupid that I almost hope there's some massive clusterfuck. Not really, since that would be quite bad for poker and I'd feel really bad for any of the players affected, but seriously, the arrogance of a decision like this blows my mind.”

Well said. Personally I’m hoping every finalist is a foreign player and so Harrahs and ESPN have to fork out for a bunch of first class flights and hotels. What if one of these foreign players doesn’t get back in the country? America is so paranoid these days it is entirely within the realms of possibility.

Chan links to an article in USA Today which features thoughts on this twist from Johnny Chan, Daniel Negreanu and Greg Raymer. Raymer and Negreanu mention the ability to analyse your other opponents from having seen their hole cards from earlier shows and the potential of getting coaching before the live final.

“…Greg Raymer says he is torn about the new format because of the potential for coaching.

"It might be huge for the continued growth of poker; however, the down side is this long gap allows the players to become completely different people between the time they make the final table and when they play it,"

They famously had a row over the WPT lawsuit so it’s not surprising to see that Negreanu disagrees.

“They're going to watch the ESPN broadcasts and go, 'Oh, did you notice that? When he does this, he's bluffing,' " Negreanu says.

He says players also can get coaching. He likens it to Super Bowl coaches getting two weeks to make a game plan: "Great players and amateurs alike will have an opportunity to really devise schemes and plans for how they're going to play."

Shark in an Anorak

Meanwhile, Andy Ward has been playing in another type of Televised tournament, the Party Poker World Poker Open IV, a bunch of six man SNGs filmed in studio in glamorous East London.

We know that Andy Ward is a top player and consistent winner online, but how does commentator Jesse May see him?

“Jesse did the intros and described me as an "anorak". TBH I would have been on firmer ground to contest this if I hadn't been sitting in the corner reading a fantasy novel at the time.”

Presumably the fantasy novel was for image and meta-game purposes Andy…

Andy brings up something that one doesn’t hear much about and could be a big factor in live WSOP broadcast which is the issue of nerves.

“Once we were ushered onto the set I did have an attack of the nerves… …So much so that I couldn't remember my screen-name on Betfair when another player asked me, and they had to shoot an intro twice because I couldn't grasp the fairly straightforward instruction to follow the previous player onto the set.”

There are many players out there who get nervous and playing on live TV would be a real test. The embarrassment of making a bad call or a terrible bluff could really affect certain players. Mind you, that didn’t hold back John Duthie when he won the first Poker Million, broadcasted live on Sky, all those years ago. I guess that answers one of Terrence Chan’s concerns above about there not being a precedent for a live final table. Have ESPN and Harrahs consulted Barry Hearn and Ladbrokes?

It's the Way Doyle Tells 'Em

One player who wouldn’t get the yips if he made the final table of the live WSOP is Doyle Brunson. So what’s been happening with the godfather of poker this week?

“My phone rang and a friend of mine called and said Sammy Farha, Gus Hanson, David Benyamine, and some amateur had been playing in Bobby’s Room for 36 hours. I made a mad dash for my car, broke every traffic law getting to the Bellagio, and proceeded to play ten hours and lose over $400,000. That wiped out my eight game winning streak and put me in a bad, bad mood.”

Sometimes a game can be too good, know what I mean? Still it’s good to know that Doyle hasn’t lost his sense of humour.

“…if Gus Hanson and Patrik Antonius stick their heads out of the same window at the same time, would they be arrested for mooning?”

That’s actually quite funny, I wonder if Doyle thought that up by himself?

Waster Vs Devilfish

For a slightly weird slice of humour check out The Waster. His latest post is entitled “Devilfish pronounced Dead on the Inside”.

“Emergency medical technicians admitted today that they were two years too late to resuscitate David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott, who had apparently succumbed to a long battle with crippling disappointment.”

Does The Waster hold a grudge against the loveable and cuddly Dave Ulliot from Hull? It’s vaguely amusing post with a nice reference to the Devil’s insatiable libido, but I have to say I still don’t get it. C’mon Waster, spill the beans, what’s the needle between you and Ulliot? It’s got to be more than finding the notion of poker-celebrity annoying hasn’t it? What else motivates the following sentence?

“Ulliott’s soul is survived by his own hollow shell, which is expected to sleepwalk through a meaningless existence for the next thirty years.”

At least one can’t accuse The Waster of sitting on the fence.

Hugo 'Chimney Sweep' Martin

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