Poker From The Rail
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Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
What’s Right, What’s Wrong with the ESPN WSOP Coverage
by Jason “Spaceman” Kirk
by “Tuscaloosa” Johnny Kampis (in italics)
While there are always things that can be improved, I think that the WSOP coverage on ESPN tends to get better from year to year. Just take a look on YouTube at a final table from even a few years ago and it’s hard not to notice the little differences that add up to a better product. (Remember those “Here’s how you play Texas Hold’em” segments, anyone?) That doesn’t mean the ESPN crew can’t make improvements, but all told the 2010 WSOP was a better watch than past years’ coverage. A few of the high notes:
- I enjoyed the fact that the hands shown this year had a lot more information for me as a viewer than they did in the past, something I think is particularly important since ESPN has chosen to market poker as a sport. From knowing each player’s position without having to be told by a commentator, to seeing statistics on how aggressive each player had been, to knowing how different players’ stacks had risen and fallen throughout the day, there was a fuller picture of the tournament on display than ever before. I expect that the presentation of these stats will continue to involve as ESPN looks to improve its product.
While I also appreciate what ESPN has done to increase the information available to use hardcore poker fans and players, these statistics need some context. Did a player voluntarily play 30 percent of his hands because he was overly aggressive or a card rack that day? Did a player win a high percentage of hands because he was playing against a weaker table that let him run them over? And please separate the percentage of ties from the overall winning percentage of each hand. This is confusing and misleading.
- The cuts away from the Main Event to other bracelet events that Johnny mentioned in his second point really helped to establish that the WSOP is more than just its final tournament. I would love to see these cutaways expanded into longer segments that highlight some of the year’s bracelet winners, especially those who have a good human-interest backstory or a long history in the game. Maybe I’m crazy, but I really think that giving the general audience a better sense of the sheer scope of the WSOP – in terms of both the annual event and its long-term history – can never be a bad thing.
Perhaps they could take this a step further and show viewers the entire scope of the WSOP area, from the satellites to the daily tournaments to the registration desk. This might encourage more average Joes to make their way to Vegas if they knew there was more to the Series than $10,000 and $50,000 tournaments.
- The Tournament of Champions was an excellent addition to this year’s coverage. Every other sport covered on ESPN has its own all-star game, so why not the WSOP? The new format is perfect for television, especially considering how the Main Event is touch-and-go each year in terms of how many recognizable pros go deep enough to warrant coverage. Since the ratings were strong when the TOC was shown and dropped later after the public had been exposed to about 578 episodes of the Main Event, maybe ESPN should consider devoting a few more episodes to the fan-friendly TOC.
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, ESPN, Guest Posts, Jason "Spaceman" Kirk, Tuscaloosa John, Tuscaloosa Johnny, WSOP
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
It was another crazy week around the halls of Full Tilt this week as things kept coming at us one after another. Emails were coming in on a regular basis with news and updates faster than we could keep up. The two biggest stories this week were obviously the latest “durrrr Challenge” as well as the Open Letter to the Commerce Casino but there were other bits that didn’t make the cut. This weekend brings the latest edition of Sit n Go Madness, the Big Little Tournament ($2 buyin, $100,000 prizepool), and non-stop satellites running for MiniFTOPS XVII.
Here are 5 of the top stories that grabbed my attention, details after the jump.
1. “durrrr Challenge 2″ is underway between Tom Dwan and Daniel “jungleman12″ Cates. We have all the details and a short interview with Dwan.
2. Howard Lederer and other top players release an open letter to the Commerce Casino voicing their displeasure over the casino’s stance on HR 2267.
3. Episode 3 of the Doubles Poker Championship airs this weekend on GSN.
4. Full Tilt’s Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi appears on ESPN’s Poker Edge podcast.
5. The Full Tilt Merit Cyprus Classic comes to an end, Gloria Balding and Fillipo Candio take a flying leap.
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, durrrr, durrrr Challenge, ESPN, Lacey Jones, Michael Mizrachi, Tom Dwan
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
There are more things going on around the Rio and Las Vegas than JUST the 2010 World Series of Poker. Shocking. I’m also trying to keep an eye on things around the poker world while still concentrating on those chasing down the various bracelets going to winners this summer. There are plenty of great stories that don’t involve Player A monkey shoving with The Jackhammer to crack aces once again. Here are just some of those things I’ve seen over the last few days.
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You’ve probably heard or read about the scene around the final day of the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. which was captured by some guy named Phil Ivey. I have a couple hundred words in draft status just on some of the craziness going on into the wee hours of the morning but Dave mentioned a funny story the other day.
When Day 3 of the event began, we noticed Bill Chen wearing a very dapper (for him) suit but had no reason behind it We had a couple amusing conversations in the pressbox throughout the day. Was he trying to be the new Tony “Bond18″ Dunst? Did he lose a prop bet? Was it really Bill Chen? Then Twitter started exploding about a full blown bride on the rail. The proof can be seen in the picture on the right. It turns out he was double booked for the day since he was scheduled to attend a friend’s wedding later in the day but it was conveniently scheduled near the dinner break. It seems Chen only missed one orbit of antes and went on to dominate the final table only to fall one spot short to Ivey.
As the night turned into early morning most of the wedding party showed up to rail Chen with the rest of the friends. I’m sure there’s an “always the bridesmaid never the bride” joke in there somewhere.
Tags: 2010 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, ESPN, WSOP
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Phil Ivey will grace the cover of ESPN the Magazine on November 2nd
Photo credits: ESPN
Our friends over at WickedChopsPoker.com broke this earlier today, we knew it was coming eventually and now it’s available to everyone. Even though it looks like the mainstream media is far behind in picking up stories, ESPN will be featuring Full Tilt Poker’s Phil Ivey on the November 2nd cover of ESPN the Magazine now that the November Nine is just a couple weeks away. Chad Millman was the lucky ESPN writer who found himself bouncing around the globe in Ivey’s private Gulfstream, to Foxwoods then Montreal then Amsterdam then Austria. Just another week in the life of the best poker player on the planet.
During this jaunt he was able to see a side of Ivey that most only hear about in rumors or stories or those internet fables posted over every forum on the internet. Gambling at nose-bleed levels most can only dream about, or have nightmares. He is the classic whale when entering casinos and is treated as such. Custom-made craps tables, private jets, going anywhere on a whim, it’s all come to him from this unique gift that has some players calling him the best ever.
“I know it’s a lot of money, but I like to gamble,” Ivey says. “It’s just in me. I try to manage what I do playing craps or blackjack. At the end of the year, I don’t want the amount I gamble there to be bigger than what I win playing poker.”
But that’s just the world-traveling, gambling side of Ivey, few ever have the opportunity to see it. The article does bring up some points about his poker game. He’s always aware of what’s going on around him, picking up pieces of information that casual person would never think about in life or at the poker table.
Ivey sees tics and tells the rest of us don’t. This is one of his gifts. When he sits at the table unsmiling, headphones over his ears, he’s like a cyborg computing the vulnerabilities of his opponents. While some poker pros calculate the odds of hands, Ivey doesn’t classify himself as a numbers guy. “At the level I play, it becomes more psychological than mathematical,” he says. “You really have to get in your opponents’ heads and figure out what they’re trying to do to you in pots and what they’re saying and why, what is the meaning behind it all.”
“Everyone dreams of winning the Main Event; anyone who plays poker and tells you differently is lying,” says Ivey. “It would by farbe my biggest accomplishment in poker.”
The article is a great look inside the private world of the most dangerous November Nine member, the player who has nothing to prove other than winning his first World Series of Poker Main Event. It’s definitely worth a read when the magazine comes out, if you have an ESPN Insider account you can find it online right now by clicking here.
Also out this week, the fine group over at PokerRoad.com have a video out now where Barry Greenstein goes in search of Phil Ivey in his self-imposed exile. It’s a fantastic video and yet another look behind the curtain of his life. He’s sitting around his house in Cabo chatting and playing a little online poker. By far my favorite line is
“…we lift weights for half hour then we do yoga, for an hour, then we go golfing. That’s how I prepare for the Main Event. I’m not getting no poker coaches or any of that s#$t.”
It’s definitely worth the time to check out their video. The video is embedded after the jump below.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, ESPN, Phil Ivey, WSOP
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Things are starting to get interesting on the ESPN broadcast of the 2009 World Series of Poker now. The field has been reduced considerably by this point and you’ll begin to see the leaders emerge as well as some of the spectacular flame outs. There is no doubt that we will see a healthy dose of Phil Ivey as he continued his push to what would eventually be his inclusion in the “November Nine”. Chris Ferguson, Gavin Smith, and Roland De Wolfe should see some TV time as well. 2009 Player of the Year Jeff Lisandro will be primary focus of the broadcast which will have him on the feature table.
I was out there during the WSOP along with fellow FTP blogger Michael Craig. You can check out his archives as well as my Main Event live blogs here. Also listed below are some links to my Pictures of the day. The two ESPN broadcast will run today at 20:00ET and 21:00ET.
2009 World Series of Poker Day 1c and 1d in Pictures
2009 World Series of Poker Day 2a in Pictures
2009 World Series of Poker Day 2b in Pictures
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, ESPN, Phil Ivey, WSOP
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
With only 1 week left until the start of the 2009 World Series of Poker, players, writers, support staff, dealers, tournament directors, and anyone else I’m missing is preparing the throw themselves into the Amazon Room at the Rio in full force. The setup is well underway but the craziness is still holding back.
At the beginning of the series, everyone is looking to see which events will be televised by ESPN so they can get their 15 minutes of fame. This year the broadcast schedule is out early with some major changes. In years past they have shown at least a few episodes of non-NLHE games throughout the festival but this year is different.
There will only be 4 events shown this year across 32 hours of broadcasting. The main increase will obviously be towards the Main Event with each day (including all 4 Day 1′s) receiving two hours of coverage. The other 3 events are first timers. The 40th Anniversary $40,000 No Limit Hold’em will be the first major tournament this year and the first to hit the ESPN airwaves. That will be followed by the new WSOP Champions Invitational which will have an incredible field built for TV.
Also making for some good TV will the first time broadcast of the Ante Up For Africa Celebrity Charity Event. A $5,000 buyin event that will have an incredible number of top pros as well as celebrities donking around for a great cause.
Those are the four events making up your 31 episodes of ESPN Poker coverage, ending with the two hour Main Event Final Table broadcast on November 10th.
The entire broadcast schedule is posted after the jump.
2009 November Nine previews are here:
2009 World Series of Poker November Nine Part 1
2009 World Series of Poker November Nine Part 2
2009 World Series of Poker November Nine Part 3
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Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, ESPN, WSOP
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