Tao of Poker

Poker on TV

Well, I got to see two different poker programs yesterday. Before the Super Bowl, I was pumped for the Battle of Champions on NBC. It was a normal Travel Channel broadcast and announcers, the only exception was that poker was on free TV for the first time. I knew Grubby was in the crowd and I was looking for him... until I realized that I had no idea what he looked like!

The "shot clock" was annoying. I don't like the clock for this reason: you cannot hold up time while you are getting an accurate chip count. If they change the rules to allow enough time to count out chips, then I'm all for the shot clock.

Howard Lederer went on tilt after his A-K got cracked by Jose's 8-8. I mean, after an ace and a king fell on the flop, I figured... Lederer is on his way to win it all! Alas, that third 8 fell on the river, and that breathed life back into Jose, and conversely, Lederer went downhill... fast! Faster than Robert Downey Jr.'s lips onto a crack pipe first thing in the morning.

Ron Rose won it all... and I don't the guy, but something about him rubs me the wrong way. Yeah, I was rooting for Lederer or the kid from Finland. You gotta love newbies at these tables!

The second event that I caught was Ladies Night from the WPT. It was a repeat broadacst and I had it on a second TV while the Super Bowl was still going on. The game was all ladies... Annie Duke, Jen Harmon, Evelyn Ng, Kathy Leibert, Maureen the British lady, Clonie the Texas Chick... and did I forget anyone? Alas, I figured Annie Duke was the favorite. Jen Harmon went all-in with pocket 8s against Leibert's pocket Aces... when a 2-3-4 borad hit. That was interesting. It came down to Clonie the Texas Chick and Evelyn for the final two and the chip lead went back and forth a couple of times. They kept going all-in and the other would call... serious action late in that broadacst. Alas, Clonie won it all... to my surprise (although I knew she won, since it was a repeat).

It's tougher to bluff women. It's a genetics thing. Like how guys are better at math... women are better at catching bluffs.

Oh and yeah I noticed that ESPN2 aired episodes of the 2003 World Series of Poker last night as well.