In case you haven’t heard, the WSOP officials have decided to attempt something entirely new for this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event. They’re going to allow the tournament to carry on as usual until the enormous field of players is reduced to only the nine-player final table, but once it is established….the tournament directors will then immediately halt all play. At that point, the players remaining will be given a 16-week hiatus before the actual play at the final table will begin. Say what? Why? Something as unexpected as this definitely needs some clarification.

Firstly, why violate the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” ethos? Surely there’s a logical reason for this change. Thankfully for us one of the most trusted pros in Poker, Daniel Negreanu, has been willing to share his insight into the reasoning behind the move. Daniel, if you’ve been living under a Poker rock for the last 10 years, is among the most talented and popular players to have ever played the game and is certainly near the top of my very-short list of favorites. However, in this instance I’m finding it hard to follow his line.

Somewhat surprisingly Daniel is whole-heartedly behind this new format, which at least makes me want to give it a chance, but after reading the specifics of his endorsement of the change I’m not entirely sure. I’ll try to play Devil’s Advocate in an attempt to explain why. From Daniel’s initial blog post about the subject:

The reason for the three month delay is so that the WSOP broadcast schedule can air both the preliminary events as well as the lead into the final table. That many episodes takes about three months to air. There isn’t time to air all of the main event episodes leading up to the final table so that an “almost live” final table could air immediately after that. The only way to do that is to delay the final table until after the ESPN shows air.

Ok, there’s the first piece of the puzzle. ESPN and Harrah’s, the casino hosting the event, have pushed/decided to institute the change. ESPN, as we all know, is the exclusive broadcaster for the WSOP events, including all of the preliminaries. So in a nutshell, they are aiming to build up suspense for the final table by stopping it mid-tournament and then airing all of the sub-events beforehand leading into a now more-anticipated Final table. More:

This decision obviously will change the dynamic of the final table, but it also offers some great opportunities for poker to get some more mainstream media attention. The nine players at the final table will become quasi celebrities, much like reality TV stars. None of the players would be obligated to do any interviews or media in general, but if they chose to, the opportunities would be there.

Here’s even more validation. The players who are fortunate enough I mean skilled enough to make the final table will then be showered with both endorsements and ample media attention for the 16-week break, allowing them to cash in on any and all opportunities that come their way. Players becoming famous and making loads of “free” money is something all of us surely would like to have a chance at. Well, I’m probably 50% on board by now, but transversing the internet and various forums I encountered a number of players who had vehement opinions in opposition to the tournament changes. They challenged that the notable players in favor of the adjustments (and it’s not just DN to be sure, he’s just the most trustworthy and “wordy” source) had miscalculated the amount of good these changes would do for the game we all love. I may have just put it a bit more nicely and way less bluntly, but you get the point. They weren’t too happy about it. Following up, Daniel posted another blog which contained the following excerpt:

The bottom line is this: if Harrah’s and/or ESPN doesn’t profit handsomely from the WSOP… then we are all screwed. If they don’t make enough money to justify the headache of trying to accommodate thousands of sometimes, demanding poker players, then who will run this thing?

We need to take a step back to the Becky Behnen era circa 2004 and realize that the WSOP was almost a thing of the past. The tradition, the history, all of it could have disappeared if Harrah’s didn’t buy the Horseshoe along with the rights to the WSOP.

That’s when it hit me. They are afraid that Poker has lost its popularity, its surge, and willing to abruptly start taking some fairly large chances to recapture it. The comments above, which have been echoed in close form by many of the other supporters, remind me directly of Chicken Little’s “the sky is falling” mentality. Why is there suddenly a panic-mode sweeping over the games most popular event? Are there behind the scenes reasons we’re not aware of? Always. But I’m not completely convinced that delaying the final table will have the rebounding effect that the organizers had in mind, particularly concerning the unknown cast of characters who will be taking center stage. Here are some more thoughts.

What if the nine players aren’t what we expected? This could happen on a very minor scale. Perhaps none of them have any type of TV-worthy personality. Not that I doubt ESPN’s ability to make anyone into a star, but you can only make Bill Gates so cool…you know? But unfortunately, it could impact the game in more damaging ways we haven’t yet considered. In fact, what if during the interim break some of the more industrious internet-based reporters find out one of the players is a really, really bad person? For example, what happens when we discover the chip-leader has a rap sheet a mile long? Do you think they’ll be able to spin it off in a believable manner, and would we even want them to? What if the motley-crew of contestants are more like what the general, non-Poker player visualizes when they talk disparagingly about Poker: the back-room type with a gambling/drinking problem and loads of other baggage? Ouch, and I’m not even really getting into the potential curve-balls and logistical nightmares that are possible when you start to think that 16-weeks is a looooooooong time for someone to screw-up or at least get way out of line with how most of us want the game represented.

What if it’s not what they expected after all? Let’s say it’s already happened and a) the new format didn’t make the kind of coverage/money/hype it expected or b) there is a huge outbreak of negative comments deriding the format, media, etc. Now what? Will we have Phil Hellmuth climbing up to a large 20ft high diving board where he will cannon-ball jump through a burning hoop into a pool of poker chips while simultaneously shouting “I’m all-in baby!” in an outdoor $100,000 buy-in reality-tv extravaganza where the players eliminated are sent off the island in shame? Wow, I hope so!

What if it’s really not about Poker’s dwindling popularity, but just about the money? While it’s easy to sit and judge from the outside, you certainly don’t have to think too hard to at least consider Money as a major deciding factor in the change. When I first heard about the delay, I instantly thought, “Why 16 weeks? Why not a few days, a week or even a month?” But as we’ve already read, this would not allow all the underlying episodes, with accompanying build-up advertising, to be broadcast. The suspicious nature inside of me also understands that the “major” players will all have books, training courses and various merchandise to plug during the extended break, so there is a money-making opportunity to protect by endorsing the new format, although I’m not sure that would be a likely overriding motive for most considering it may actually end up damaging the game and indirectly their livelihood. So where does this leave us?

Sigh.

After all of the self-discussion I can only come to one conclusion, and it’s the same one I started with. I am thoroughly confused and very skeptical, but ultimately hopeful that it will all work out in the end. Part of me wants a big-name pro to make it to the final nine so the new change can be validated and Poker becomes even more popular. The other half, though, just isn’t so optimistic that even that unlikely occurrence will be enough to convince me of the validity of the change. It just seems like all of a sudden the WSOP is all-in and hoping for a card, when it could have been content to sit atop the charts as a dominating chip leader. Part of the drama, as always, will be watching how it all turns out. GL WSOP!

Ha! I just ran into a pretty cool video that brought back some memories about the oooooooooooooold days of video games. The nicely edited mini-masterpiece lives at:

http://eatpes.com/game_over.html

The short titled ‘Game Over’ is a stop-motion rendering of some of the more famous Atari-style video games like Frogger and PacMan. The crazy thing is that while most of us will recognize the imagery that matches up with the actual elements of the game (hilariously replacing them with clay foods and even candle missles) the thing I immediately noticed, on an almost primal level, was THE SOUND.

Yes. Hearing some of the game sounds that I once took for granted, staring blindly at a blinking screen and pushing the SINGLE game action button put me into a sort of game flashback state. The unique sound the frog in Frogger (did that guy have a name?) makes when he jumps back and forth sent a horrifying but strangely enjoyable hand-eye-coordination shockwave through my system, immediately forcing my mind into a jump-here-no-jump-there-no-backup-no-go-forward-SPLAT series of thoughts. The basic sounds of the other games as well, like PacMan, had the exact same effect.

That made me think of video games today…and then that made me think that I hadn’t even played my Playstation 2 in over a year…and then that made me think oh man now there’s a Playstation 3 and how even it is kind of old now. Jeez. But if I had to guess, I would say that today’s games focus much more on amazing graphics than they do memorable sounds. Oh wait, maybe not.

As I was writing this my wife returned from shopping and started telling me mid-post (yes, your significant other will start telling you very pertinent stories about their day during the last 1:24 of your teams playoff game as well) about a kid who basically almost passed out with excitement after his mom revealed that she was buying him a Guitar Hero guitar. Does that game depend on catchy sounds or….Hmmm. Uh-oh, another flashback. I remember having that exact same reaction when I found out I was getting Tecmo Super Bowl (probably my all-time favorite video game). I’m thinking I feel a video game relapse coming on. Yep.

Anyways…since you’re already taking the time out of your day to navigate through my random brain-processes allow me to direct you to another all-time favorite link of mine: David Wong’s Gamer Manifesto. Just. Plain. Brilliant. Enjoy!

Editors Note: James feels sorry for those of you who do not have A.D.D. and lol’s @ the phrase “my mind was a total blank”. He also cannot figure out how to open the plastic covering on new CD’s and wonders if dolphins really do try to have sex with humans. He also just remembered that he is VERY afraid of sharks.

As I sit here still simmering after losing with AKo after getting it all-in preflop versus KQo AND 42 suited (42 was tilting after a bad beat and the KQ called off 85% of their stack after the 42 raised and I re-raised all-in) and losing to BOTH hands in a pot that would have propelled me into the top 10 in chips, I decided to do a quick review of the most annoying pre-flop suckouts that I frequently observe in online Poker. Tell me if these look the least bit familiar to you:

5. The Short Stack Loses with Anything, Big Stack Wins with Anything

The first half of this annoyance is the case of the short stack always losing against a much larger stack, regardless of their starting hand. For example, a player with 900 chips picks up AA and moves all-in in early position. Everyone folds around to the Big Blind who calls with K7o, probably because he has a stack of 8000 and it just doesn’t hurt him that much. Flop is KK7 or 977 and the Aces don’t catch up. However, the only person that usually complains is the victim of the brutal suckout, because the other players actually benefit from their misfortune. Someone types “ouch” or even more annoyingly “nh” or “I folded a 7″.

The second half is probably more easily recognized by the table. Apparently the algorithm in place at your favorite online poker site has randomly selected an unknown player at your table who shall be invincible to any hand they face. You shove with AA and they call with 83o and send you to the rail. You put them all-in on the turn where they need to hit a one-outer to survive and they drop the hammer on you at the river. For whatever reason, they are calling with anything and winning everything. Rigged? No. Poker enthusiasts have a name for these disappointing streaks of bad luck. It’s called variance. More on that.

4. The Dominated Hand Catches

I can’t count the number of times that I’ve raised or re-raised my opponent all-in with AK and feeling very good about my chances when they flip up a poorly played KQ for all of their chips. They are drawing very slim, as my hand has a shared card and a higher side card. That is, until the turn or river brings one of three outs to save the day for the trailing hand and send my thoughts to chip-spewing mayhem.

This unfortunate situation is bound to occur from time to time, but I’m not sure I can feel particularly comfortable with my supposed advantage when leading over a dominated hand when it happens 15-straight times to an array of different opponents…over the course of 1 hour. I know, I know. Variance.

3. The Smaller Pocket Pair Flops a Set

Another amusing happening that typically waits until much later in the tournament, mostly after 2 1/2 hours of hard work have already been logged, is the blissful moment when you once again are the beneficiary of an overplayed pair of 6’s which have fortunately (for you) run smack dab into your steely Pocket Aces. Lock it down, you think. The board thinks otherwise, and it peels out one of the two cards left in the great big deck of random cards to crush your chip-accumulating chances.

Once again, this is bound to happen from time to time. Variance. But you’ll sometimes see this an unbelievable amount of times in an hour on any given day. Playing multiple tournaments at once? Watch the carnage as players flutter out of your tables after having their foes drawing nearly dead…and just hope it doesn’t happen to you. And when it does, just repeat to yourself with an all-knowing smile: It’s just variance, and then glibly sip a toasty cup of your favorite beverage and go about your day, chanting Variancccccccccce.

2. Flopped Flush loses to Single Card Flush (or bigger flopped flush)

So you have a big stack and you’re doing your laggy best (as we all do) by raising pre-flop with hands like 97 of hearts and so forth. You get a flat call from the player on the button and the flop comes out A-6-2 ALL HEARTS. Sah-weet. You bet out with your monster hand, only to face a swelteringly big bet from your opponent. You put them all-in and lo-and-behold they call you with KQ with the King of hearts. Ha Ha Haaaaaaooooo ****. A fourth heart on the turn? Can you make a straight flush? No? I guess you lose then.

Another happy moment is when you have the same situation as before but they just call your bet and the turn actually comes an off-suit club. You bet again but this time you’re raised. Action ensues and you eventually turn up your flopped flush, only to see that their 10-3 OF HEARTS had you all the way. And yes, they did call off 20% of their stack in order to put themselves into position to crush your feeble play. Variance, son.

1. The One-Two Elimination Punch

And then the coo-de-graw (or however you spell it) of all frustrations. Let me set it up for you, because I’m sure you’ll have seen AND experienced this many, many times. You take one of the horrifying beats I’ve just described. Easy to explain, right? Variance. O. K. But what happens then? A mood-saving pair of Kings pops up onto your screen, a gift to rectify this uncalled for abuse you’ve so recently been forced to endure. You think to yourself, “I can bet and overplay these things because the entire table is putting me on tilt. I’m going to get all the action I can handle. Bwah-ha-ha.” So you make your ridiculous shove in the Small Blind and are insta-called by the big stack who flips up 85o. Boom. So slide the chips to….them. 885 flop. Ouch.

What you’ve just experienced is something I call the one-two punch. Watch for it, it’s out there and it’s going to happen to both you and your opponents soon enough. Is it the Poker gods punishing you for calling off all your chips with AJo early in a tournament? No. Is it the devious online poker site you so dearly cherish performing a sweep-and-clear of your now shortened stack in order to move the tournament along at the breakneck speed needed to finish a 3000+ player tournament in only 4 hours start to finish? No. We know what it is. I don’t even need to say it.

But I will…

IT’S JUST VARIANCE!

gg misunderstanding

*editors note: James does not like variance. at all. but he now feels slightly better. apparently it was just “mood variance”. MOOD VARIANCE!

After a semi-exhausting training regimen, which involved lots of time deep in study and mucho reading, I feel like I’m now back on my Poker game and sharper than ever. It never ceases to amaze me what I can accomplish after I am thoroughly fed up with something, walk away for a few days and then come back with fresh eyes and a more focused outlook. Most people would learn a lesson here, but I don’t have that long of an attention span and hey that car had a cool paint job, awesome!

As you can see in the picture above, I’ve also continued to do battle (unwisely) with my offspring, this time taking a bitter-but-hardfought loss in the Daily Drink-off competition. That guy is going to make some girl proud one day when he sets the world record for Jager-bombs in one night, he can flat out drink. Surely there is a game I can dominate my household at. Oh…I have it….no, I’m 0-78 at Othello too. Pfft. Who needs to be King of games when I am the undisputed household champion of Worst Weekend Personal Hygiene routine. Lifetime, and counting :)

P.S. I have two really cool guides just about to be released. Shhhhhhhhhhh.

You could say I’ve been on a downswing lately, at least concerning game playing. To punctuate this point, I’ll begrudgingly let you all in on the disheartening fact that I just lost 7 consecutive games of Hungry, Hungry Hippos. To my 4-year-old. As we headed upstairs he said the title to this post and then forced me to change my office television to Cartoon Network. Pwned, obviously (actually I had a blast, a very refreshing, much needed break).

Poker wise, however, I have bipolar disorder. Either I win/Final Table, or finish approximately dead last. I have a particular streak going in Multi-table tournaments where I lose when ahead AND lose when behind, a.k.a. lose any hand I play for all my chippies. Dominated Ace? Here you go, I didn’t want to double up anyway, hit your card. Over pair to your under pair? Tonight’s menu includes delicious Quads for the underdog, hope you enjoy. Pair of Queens versus A3o that called for 85% of your chips? Luckily we’ve placed 17 Aces in the deck and all of them hit the flop. 96o equals flopped straight all-in preflop versus AA. Rinse, repeat.

Sigh.

I’m thinking I can pinpoint my Poker woes. I may perhaps be falling out of love for the game. It’s a bit too early to tell, but I’m definitely making eyes with Chess again, and she’s wearing a dangerous-looking short skirt (and nerdy glasses with the tape). I’m pretty sure the increasing ultra-competitive streak doesn’t help, either, and it’s starting to overwhelm my outlook on the game. If I win a sit-n-go I think, well that’s what’s supposed to happen. When I take 7th out of 850 I think to myself jeez I can’t get deep in these things. Something just isn’t clicking for me right now, although my play is at it’s strongest level since I started playing the game regularly about one year ago. We’ll just have to wait and see, but unfortunately this will impact the timeline for our Hold’em strategy guides since I’m just not feeling it, at least not at the level of attention required to produce the quality I’m aiming for. I’ll post updates soon.

And I’m going to build an uneven Hungry, Hungry Hippos board tilted to my Hippooooooooooooooos.