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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.

Jul 07, 2007

Poker Tidbits 2007

The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them. -- Will Rogers

THE tournament is in full swing this week, the worlds' biggest, greatest, the most prestigious, most exciting, most disgusting .... What? Disgusting?

No, it's not the poker action that has a few people upset. It's what Harrah's refers to as its lifestyle show (or The Gaming Life Expo--Girls, Games, and Gear), which debuted just outside the poker arena the day after Independence Day. Lots of T and A, lots of jiggling breasts, plenty of gorgeous women, some unsightly cellulite and lots of emphasis on sex.

"If this is the direction they intend to take, I won't be back next year," one gentleman was overheard to say.

It's too much of a bad thing. Another agreed.

What are they thinking? Asked one man. "Isn't poker big enough, they have to cheapen it with this?"

Poker came so far into the mainstream so every mom and pop and kid over twenty one could participate and look what Harrah's is doing. They're turning it into a sideshow.

Understand, dear reader, these are not my comments or opinions. But I am puzzled by the need to link cards and female flesh. I've long wondered why the online rooms have to use sex to lure players into a game. It's probably just a guy thing that I'll never get. And I really don't care to because it's not that important.

From a conversation with another poker buff ... "What's up with all these Hollywood types? Don't they get enough free face time? Are their careers so far in the toilet that they have to play poker to keep their image out there?

As for me, I agree to a point. Poker doesn't need movie and TV stars and, yes, maybe the stars need poker. All in all, though, why should it matter. This is a game everyone can enjoy and even get good at. Besides, except for a handful of celebrities, I don't recognize any famous people in the game. To me they are all would-be opponents.

Read in Alan Schoonmaker's new book ... "I therefore believe that more women avoid the poker tournament circuit for competitive than for lifestyle reasons. To put it bluntly, they don't think they can win, and they're probably right."

I don't think Alan made the statement to alienate women; but I also don't know if the statement is entirely true. Are there too few women in poker tournaments? Is there a ratio? Did anyone ever do a study using all the tournaments held in all the poker rooms at any given time? As for winning, only one person can take first place and if a contest consists of 200 people, then 199 of them can't win either. At that point, it's up to the poker gods.

From the Them that Can, Do and Them that Can't Teach department ... Forget about it! Phil (Hellmuth) and the Kill Phil author (Blair Rodman) both won bracelets this year and both have written how-to books. So Blair reads Phil's books, develops a strategy against Phil's strategy, and maybe he doesn't kill Phil but he certainly did kill the competition (just over 2,000) in the $2,000 buy-in no-limit event (#47) - to the tune of $707,898.

True to tradition, Harrah's did continue the Poker Hall of Fame as part of the World Series of Poker. This year two names joined the small group of players who have been immortalized by their poker deeds. It's seems only logical that one of the inductees would be Phil Hellmuth, Jr. for his unprecedented accomplishment of winning 11 first-place trophy bracelets so far. (We're willing to bet he is capable of doubling that number.) In a surprise move, though, the faces on the wall (wherever those pictures may be) now include a woman. The tournament diva Barbara Enright joins the elite group of names.

A player must meet four qualifications to get into this group. He (she) must have played poker against acknowledged top competition, played for high stakes, played consistently well to have gained the respect of peers, and stood the test of time.

Like it or not, the poker brat and only the second woman ever to make it to the final table of the championship event at the World Series of poker, finishing fifth in 1995 against that needed top competition. Her final table opponents included the great Dan Harrington, Brent Carter, Hamid Dastmalchi and Dolph Arnold.

Way to go, girl (and Phil).