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Maryann Guberman has been a writer and editor with many gaming publications, including Sports Form, Card Player, Poker World, Player's Panorama and Systems and Methods. She also has written and edited numerous books on gambling.

Oct. 30, 2004

X-ray Eyes Couldn't See It Coming

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. -- Alan Kay

I watched the 2003 World Series of Poker on ESPN three times both for research purposes and for entertainment value but it wasn't until I got the two-set DVD produced by ESPN's Original Entertainment department (and not by amateurs ripping people off via ebay auctions with pirated copies) that I really saw the 2003 World Series of Poker. Even in retrospect, knowing full well that in a field 839 players, the outcome would be a crap shoot, it was hard to envision how exciting both the tournament and the final DVD version could be.

Anyone who's invested in VHS productions (remember, now, those DVDs on ebay are not authorized copies) of previous World Series events was almost never disappointed but now, with numerous informative clips, interviews and inserts, covering the final event from start to finish, the result is close to awesome.

The recording is excellent, crisp and clear, with extra effort to show the hole cards even when a player now and then tries to hide them from the camera. The moderators, Lon McEachen and Norman Chad, show just enough enthusiasm throughout to contribute some (but not too much) excitement. And, it's obvious they understand the game of hold'em.

The production has an imaginative concept called the Feature Table with focus on the 2003 World Series champ Robert Varkonyi. The champ just happened to be up against Mr. Poker himself, Doyle Brunson and the likes of Yosh Nakano, Tony Hartman, Alan Brodsky, Padraig Parkinson and George Hardie former managing partner of the Bicycle Club.

To add some spice and color I suppose, the producers chose to get that ³up close and personal² side of the players from time to time. Of course, I could do without watching Phil Hellmuth getting out of bed and brushing his teeth, but it was nice to see how much effort the self-proclaimed John McEnroe of poker has been putting in to create a less obnoxious personality.

On the subject of Phil Hellmuth, I was a bit agitated by a slight ambivalence in the broadcast. Early on in the DVD we are treated to many displays of elation--players jumping up and down, high-fiving friends, cheering themselves, and otherwise demonstrating their personal satisfaction with a particular play. Later , however, when The Brat won a hand (I believe it was against his nemesis, Sam Grizzle), he walked away from his seat to discuss his prowess with another poker pro, John Bonetti. One of the commentators then stated that if (baseball's) Barry Bonds were to do that after some successful play, he'd be vilified by the fans. So which is it, guys? Show off or be cool? (Personally, I prefer the latter.)

Even so, these guys pulled no punches. McEachen and Chad really didn't seem as interested in building the personalities of the players as much as they were interested in the actual game, presenting poker lesson after poker lesson for the viewer.

At one point they explained the meaning of the term ³dead money² by showing and naming various players who obviously weren't expected to get very far in the tournament, some of whom expected to fit the label. Among them were Tomer Benvisitsi and Chris Moneymaker. As we all know, both these men made it to the final table, and the climax saw Moneymaker scooping up all those banded stacks of Ben Franklins. The dead money concept was properly presented but didn't hold up.

But this wasn't Benny Binion's World Series of Poker anymore. This wasn't your ordinary, everyday garden variety poker tournament either. This was the World's World Series of Poker and along with more satellite winners than ever and more sponsorships, the world brought a bevy of Internet players, most of whom didn't mind being classified as dead money. It was just great if you were in this tourney. It was even terrific if you could just see it in person; it was super if you watched it on ESPN, and even if you got ripped off on ebay by someone who made and sold copies illegally, you probably knew all along you got the true feeling of what this history-making, record-setting event was like.

So what if ESPN's crew didn't have the superhuman powers of Dr. James Xavier, the main character in Roger Corman's B-Movie, The Man with the X-Ray Eyes? So what if they couldn't see into the future? They knew enough to spotlight both amateur and pro players, to introduce the public to the truly wide range of characters of the game, and to make sure everybody knew, as the air traffic controller from New York noted, that an ordinary individual couldn't get into the Masters or the Super Bowl to compete against the greatest of those games. But he can get into this event against these greats forging an experience that's difficult to duplicate.

The 2003 World Series of Poker DVD, too, is an experience that will be difficult to duplicate. It is as good as it gets and you can get it for a mere $34.95.