Considering what other viewing options are available poker imo is not over-hyped. Natrually it's (poker) appeal is limited, so at some point it is likely to reach saturation. Until then I enjoy watching the game on TV, and am looking forward to ESPN's coverage of the recent WSOP starting July 6th.
wil.
Dozens of repeats of the same tournament is a little much though.
wil.
Dozens of repeats of the same tournament is a little much though.
The danger of overkill cartainly can't be ignored, however as long as chubby white guys like Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer come out of nowhere to win the big title, then chubby white guys like me can dream that we can do it.
Pipe dream? Yes. But the magic of visualizing ourselves accomplishing it - is what's driving the poker frenzy.
You'll remember Regis on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" a couple of years ago. The show was on four times a week and literally saved ABC's prime-time lineup.
What killed that show was not the over-exposure, but the fact that the company who had to paid the top prizes complained that the questions were too easy - they were!! Once the producers of the show had to relent and made the questions harder, then it was so much more difficult for chubby white guys like me to visualize ourselves winning the prize.
Hence, it's not always over-exposure that's the key to killing the hot trend.
What will kill the Hold 'em craze is the realization by the masses that Ace/King will destroy King/Queen in the long run. The statistics demand it! You see so many lucky hands on TV (and offshore casinos) that we can all imagine ourselves competing against the highly-skilled players. Once that reality sets in, then we'll start tuning OUT in droves.
Pipe dream? Yes. But the magic of visualizing ourselves accomplishing it - is what's driving the poker frenzy.
You'll remember Regis on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" a couple of years ago. The show was on four times a week and literally saved ABC's prime-time lineup.
What killed that show was not the over-exposure, but the fact that the company who had to paid the top prizes complained that the questions were too easy - they were!! Once the producers of the show had to relent and made the questions harder, then it was so much more difficult for chubby white guys like me to visualize ourselves winning the prize.
Hence, it's not always over-exposure that's the key to killing the hot trend.
What will kill the Hold 'em craze is the realization by the masses that Ace/King will destroy King/Queen in the long run. The statistics demand it! You see so many lucky hands on TV (and offshore casinos) that we can all imagine ourselves competing against the highly-skilled players. Once that reality sets in, then we'll start tuning OUT in droves.
It will die out when the games get tougher. This is the rule of gambling that when something is hot and new people that have no skills play it against other people with no skills. The skilled players slowly take the money from the unskilled and the unskilled subsequently go broke. When the game reaches its peak, all the unskilled players are already in the game so it all goes downhill. What eventually is left are most players are either skilled or semi-skilled and they feed off just a few fish that have lots of money and gamble in them.
For those that think poker has long-term legs, just ask anyone that played in California around the time Hold-em was legalized. People never saw pots like that before and even in this boom today still never see pots like that. I remember one 6-12 game very well, my first night ever of playing the game in a cardroom. I threw away a 25 offsuit, only player in the 10 handed game that mucked. The flop had two fives and an ace. The players went crazy. Only one player dropped out and the rest played up to the 4 bet cap. The next card was a Q. Two players dropped out, the rest made it to the 4 bet cap. The river was a 2. Three players saw three bets. One guy withstood all that action with a KK. Another guy had AK. The winner had a 65. I would have taken down that massive pot. You try to find a game like that today, they just don't exist. Those games took about 3 or 4 years and they died down considerably.
For those that think poker has long-term legs, just ask anyone that played in California around the time Hold-em was legalized. People never saw pots like that before and even in this boom today still never see pots like that. I remember one 6-12 game very well, my first night ever of playing the game in a cardroom. I threw away a 25 offsuit, only player in the 10 handed game that mucked. The flop had two fives and an ace. The players went crazy. Only one player dropped out and the rest played up to the 4 bet cap. The next card was a Q. Two players dropped out, the rest made it to the 4 bet cap. The river was a 2. Three players saw three bets. One guy withstood all that action with a KK. Another guy had AK. The winner had a 65. I would have taken down that massive pot. You try to find a game like that today, they just don't exist. Those games took about 3 or 4 years and they died down considerably.
It is definitely peaking now, but consider:
- no less than 10 Vegas casinos are opening/reopening/expanding poker rooms this Summer.
-The WSOP more than doubled entries in just about every event.
-The WPT has fueled the poker craze to heights where my sister is entering an event, my mom and dad play at home games, and my grandma plays online.
-This year's WSOP coverage on ESPN will be expanded to other games, and has not EVEN AIRED YET.
-People who never even gambled come up to me every day asking about "Texas Hold 'em".
-It is a relatively cheap way to gamble even for those than know nothing compared to games like blackjack, roulette, craps.
-Three "dead money/rookies" have won the big one consecutively so your average Joe feels he has a chance.
-Internet growth is still exploding and with it Internet gaming and poker.
-One year a woman will win it, and she will blaze the trail for millions of women to get the courage to play.
Just a few thoughts.
- no less than 10 Vegas casinos are opening/reopening/expanding poker rooms this Summer.
-The WSOP more than doubled entries in just about every event.
-The WPT has fueled the poker craze to heights where my sister is entering an event, my mom and dad play at home games, and my grandma plays online.
-This year's WSOP coverage on ESPN will be expanded to other games, and has not EVEN AIRED YET.
-People who never even gambled come up to me every day asking about "Texas Hold 'em".
-It is a relatively cheap way to gamble even for those than know nothing compared to games like blackjack, roulette, craps.
-Three "dead money/rookies" have won the big one consecutively so your average Joe feels he has a chance.
-Internet growth is still exploding and with it Internet gaming and poker.
-One year a woman will win it, and she will blaze the trail for millions of women to get the courage to play.
Just a few thoughts.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RobFunk:
i cant get over how good scotty nguyen is. if he doesnt win whatever tournament he is playing, he is always right there. he is head and shoulders above everyone as the best player to me.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Had him at 270-1 to win the BIG ONE.
He was ousted early.
i cant get over how good scotty nguyen is. if he doesnt win whatever tournament he is playing, he is always right there. he is head and shoulders above everyone as the best player to me.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Had him at 270-1 to win the BIG ONE.
He was ousted early.
CARDPLAYER TOP 50 for 2004 season....
1 Daniel Negreanu * Las Vegas, NV 5,204 8 $1,519,288
2 Barry Greenstein Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 4,372 6 $2,060,592
3 Hasan Habib Downey, CA 3,620 11 $1,611,554
4 Howard Lederer Las Vegas, NV 3,480 7 $768,761
5 John Juanda Marina Del Rey, CA 3,008 7 $482,023
6 Antonio Esfandiari San Francisco, CA 2,976 2 $1,583,995
7 'Miami' John Cernuto Las Vegas, NV 2,912 13 $383,517
8 Can Kim Hua Rosemead, CA 2,666 7 $498,075
9 Martin de Knijff Stockholm, Sweden 2,632 2 $2,938,456
10 Ted Forrest Las Vegas, NV 2,370 6 $573,615
11 Paul Phillips Las Vegas, NV 2,336 4 $290,710
12 Justin Cuong Van 'J.C.' Tran Sacramento, CA 2,292 8 $272,353
13 Erick Lindgren Las Vegas, NV 2,232 3 $1,037,655
14 Chris Hinchcliffe Olympia, WA 2,150 2 $534,403
15 Paul 'Eskimo' Clark New Orleans, LA 2,138 3 $398,684
16 Quoc Al 'Vinnie' Vinh Houston, TX 2,123 6 $787,817
17 Scott Fischman Las Vegas, NV 2,052 5 $425,654
18 Ram Vaswani Hendon, United Kingdom 2,040 4 $270,964
19 Gregory Paul Raymer Stoningham, CT 1,920 1 $5,000,000
20 Minh Nguyen Bell Gardens, CA 1,906 6 $239,286
21 Mike Kinney Sand Point, ID 1,854 2 $639,930
22 John Phan Long Beach, CA 1,796 7 $369,584
23 Scotty Nguyen Henderson, NV 1,736 7 $284,905
24 T.J. Cloutier * Richardson, TX 1,711 5 $326,336
25 Gioi Luong Westminister, CA 1,674 10 $114,940
26 Andy Miller Abilene, TX 1,668 2 $516,330
27 Douglas Farmer Corrales, NM 1,608 2 $187,993
28 David Williams Dallas, TX 1,600 1 $3,500,000
29 Hung 'Phi' Nguyen Santa Ana, CA 1,596 4 $155,720
30 Chris Ferguson Pacific Palisades, CA 1,525 4 $367,435
31 Tony Bloom London, United Kingdom 1,520 3 $433,306
32 Randy Jensen Fort Collins, CO 1,480 1 $656,460
33 Joe Awada Las Vegas, NV 1,472 2 $377,320
34 Gerard Drehobl Spokane, WA 1,440 1 $365,900
34 James Vogl London, United Kingdom 1,440 1 $400,000
34 Mike Sica No. Brunswick, NJ 1,440 1 $503,160
37 David Chiu Los Angeles, CA 1,420 3 $187,540
37 David Pham Cerritos, CA 1,420 5 $146,264
39 Annie Duke Portland, OR 1,404 2 $295,000
40 Joshua Arieh Atlanta, GA 1,380 2 $2,507,290
41 Lee Watkinson Cheney, WA 1,368 3 $362,160
42 Bill Gazes Las Vegas, NV 1,364 4 $289,827
43 Van Pham Bell Gardens, CA 1,332 6 $176,555
44 Mike Keohan San Mateo, CA 1,309 2 $368,390
45 Steve Ford San Juan Capistrano, CA 1,304 4 $116,394
46 Tony Tolentino Norwalk, CA 1,296 2 $236,090
47 Kevin Song Rowland Heights, CA 1,290 5 $148,985
48 Charlie 'Scotty Warbucks' Shoten Glendale, CA 1,278 6 $135,163
49 Young Phan Irvine, CA 1,276 6 $190,421
50 Lich 'Andy' Bui Santa Ana, CA 1,275 2 $259,665
1 Daniel Negreanu * Las Vegas, NV 5,204 8 $1,519,288
2 Barry Greenstein Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 4,372 6 $2,060,592
3 Hasan Habib Downey, CA 3,620 11 $1,611,554
4 Howard Lederer Las Vegas, NV 3,480 7 $768,761
5 John Juanda Marina Del Rey, CA 3,008 7 $482,023
6 Antonio Esfandiari San Francisco, CA 2,976 2 $1,583,995
7 'Miami' John Cernuto Las Vegas, NV 2,912 13 $383,517
8 Can Kim Hua Rosemead, CA 2,666 7 $498,075
9 Martin de Knijff Stockholm, Sweden 2,632 2 $2,938,456
10 Ted Forrest Las Vegas, NV 2,370 6 $573,615
11 Paul Phillips Las Vegas, NV 2,336 4 $290,710
12 Justin Cuong Van 'J.C.' Tran Sacramento, CA 2,292 8 $272,353
13 Erick Lindgren Las Vegas, NV 2,232 3 $1,037,655
14 Chris Hinchcliffe Olympia, WA 2,150 2 $534,403
15 Paul 'Eskimo' Clark New Orleans, LA 2,138 3 $398,684
16 Quoc Al 'Vinnie' Vinh Houston, TX 2,123 6 $787,817
17 Scott Fischman Las Vegas, NV 2,052 5 $425,654
18 Ram Vaswani Hendon, United Kingdom 2,040 4 $270,964
19 Gregory Paul Raymer Stoningham, CT 1,920 1 $5,000,000
20 Minh Nguyen Bell Gardens, CA 1,906 6 $239,286
21 Mike Kinney Sand Point, ID 1,854 2 $639,930
22 John Phan Long Beach, CA 1,796 7 $369,584
23 Scotty Nguyen Henderson, NV 1,736 7 $284,905
24 T.J. Cloutier * Richardson, TX 1,711 5 $326,336
25 Gioi Luong Westminister, CA 1,674 10 $114,940
26 Andy Miller Abilene, TX 1,668 2 $516,330
27 Douglas Farmer Corrales, NM 1,608 2 $187,993
28 David Williams Dallas, TX 1,600 1 $3,500,000
29 Hung 'Phi' Nguyen Santa Ana, CA 1,596 4 $155,720
30 Chris Ferguson Pacific Palisades, CA 1,525 4 $367,435
31 Tony Bloom London, United Kingdom 1,520 3 $433,306
32 Randy Jensen Fort Collins, CO 1,480 1 $656,460
33 Joe Awada Las Vegas, NV 1,472 2 $377,320
34 Gerard Drehobl Spokane, WA 1,440 1 $365,900
34 James Vogl London, United Kingdom 1,440 1 $400,000
34 Mike Sica No. Brunswick, NJ 1,440 1 $503,160
37 David Chiu Los Angeles, CA 1,420 3 $187,540
37 David Pham Cerritos, CA 1,420 5 $146,264
39 Annie Duke Portland, OR 1,404 2 $295,000
40 Joshua Arieh Atlanta, GA 1,380 2 $2,507,290
41 Lee Watkinson Cheney, WA 1,368 3 $362,160
42 Bill Gazes Las Vegas, NV 1,364 4 $289,827
43 Van Pham Bell Gardens, CA 1,332 6 $176,555
44 Mike Keohan San Mateo, CA 1,309 2 $368,390
45 Steve Ford San Juan Capistrano, CA 1,304 4 $116,394
46 Tony Tolentino Norwalk, CA 1,296 2 $236,090
47 Kevin Song Rowland Heights, CA 1,290 5 $148,985
48 Charlie 'Scotty Warbucks' Shoten Glendale, CA 1,278 6 $135,163
49 Young Phan Irvine, CA 1,276 6 $190,421
50 Lich 'Andy' Bui Santa Ana, CA 1,275 2 $259,665
You may go to www.Cardplayer.com and click on PLAYER OF THE YEAR rankings to get the complete rankings of the 400+ players who have scored ranking points thus far this season.
