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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.

Nov. 15, 2008

Ah, It's Over

A lot of poker is over, done with, altered, transformed into a whole other animal, now that the final hand of the 2008 World Series of Poker gave a stoic Peter Eastgate the title of World Champion.

Not to worry, though. The game hasn't transmogrified into a Stephen King St. Bernard; it's just different.

Over is the true test of championship poker where a player has to use skill, luck and momentum (emphasis on the momentum) to win. Never again, I suppose, will we see the likes of Jamie Gold stay in rhythm to survive the grueling test of poker competition. One wonders what would have happened if the 2008 WSOP chip leader Dennis Phillips had a chance to ride the crest of his wave. In November the man had skill going for him and luck held to a certain extent as his hole cards weren't bad. But except for his 300-strong cheering section, the momentum stayed back there in July when he sat atop a huge stack of chips.

Yes, we know Harrah's got a huge chunk of publicity from the final table coverage and ESPN got its share of ad money, but I think they would have realized both results had they finished play on a regular schedule. Besides, everybody knew who won before they televised it.

Over is the urgent necessity to read an opponent on the fly. With the layoff, players now had an opportunity to watch how the others played. Granted, each one had the same opening but now each had to change his own style in order to use the information effectively. Youth has more agility in this department, so Phillips was at a disadvantage.

Over is the analysis of the intention of each player. Commentators hardly mentioned a player's possible thought process. (In fact, once they didn't even mention or show the hand that knocked a player out. Kelly Kim, who some pundits saw as a 2-1 shot to win, was knocked out during a commercial! What the heck!)

Over is the camaraderie of the foreign and out-of-state players. These left Las Vegas after their championship event came to an end, never to return to watch the guys who beat up on them get their day in the spotlight. It's been replaced by what the Chad and Lon Show (commentators for ESPN) called a horde of media and diehard fans. (The Penn and Teller Theater holds only a tad over 1,050 folks. Now a horde by definition is a large number. The group that gathered in Chicago for Barack Obama's acceptance speech might fit that definition, but not that portion of the thousand or so people who came to this tournament. Stop with the hyperbole already.)

Over is the finesse of poker high-stakes poker tournament play (and I'm sure this is due in good part to the Internet and televised play, and doesn't rest totally on the shoulders of the WSOP, Harrah's and ESPN.) No-limit hold'em poker tournaments should probably now be called Shove-it-all-in hold'em tournaments because that's about what's happening.

Over is the class and decorum of the audience. I mean, who hired those cheerleaders to chant to songs only those of us who lived though the beginning of rock and roll know about? (FYI, the chant comes from Huey "Piano" Smith's version of "Don't You Just Know It.")

Over is the fact that poker players are at the table to play poker. Today it's not uncommon for a player to get up and turn his back against the flop during meaningful decisions or to jump into the crowd to get pats on the back and kisses when things go his way. Not only does this take away from the real tension behind high-stakes action but also, it makes things uneasy for the other people in the hand and puts far too much emphasis on one person's good fortune. (Pity the poor fellow who didn't come out ahead these times.)

Over is at least one title for Phil Hellmuth (and for this we are grateful). He's no longer the youngest player ever to win the World Series of Poker crown. Perhaps this will bring him back down to earth with a persona that doesn't resemble the Ugly American. I guess the comparison to the William Lederer/Eugene Burdick character in their 1958 novel of the same name. (Check your Wikipeda.com for more info if you never heard of the book or movie.)

Of course, over is the backroom look to poker. Pretty much gone are the days when a bunch of rounders work the used car lots and country clubs looking for a sucker they can cheat out of a bunch of bucks. But that look went out with the WPT, didn't it?

Now that all this griping and complaining is out of my system, I am saving the best for last. That's my congratulations to all the players who cashed, to the final nine and of course to Peter Eastgate. And that's my thanks to Harrah's for helping show the world that poker isn't a bad thing. And finally my reluctant thanks to ESPN for airing the early rounds of the tournament (reluctant because I think we need some improvement here, like maybe not focusing on the pros so much).

For me, waiting for the 2009 World Series of Poker, honestly, is like the football fanatic waiting for preseason pros to kick off. First it's the thrill of the competition (even as a railbird), then it's the withdrawal, then it's anxiety. Is there such a thing as a poker fix? Fortunately, there's no real poker season so anticipation can be tempered by various events I will see in the next few months, both on the air and in person.

Although I don't approve of overdoing it (becoming compulsive), to paraphrase Martha Stewart, I say, "Poker, it's a good thing."