If I had any doubt that poker and Texas Hold-Em were the hottest thing going right now, I have now had all doubt dispelled. While wandering around Walgreen's waiting for my prescriptions to be refilled (that's something you do a lot when you get past the half century mark and haven't done the things you were supposed to do the previous 50 years - like eat right and exercise - you spend a lot of time in a drugstore waiting for prescriptions to be refilled) I spied on a shelf Cardinal's Texas Holdem Tournament Chip Set and Playing Cards - Includes Dealer Button. A small set of plastic chips with 'dealer' stamped on one white one, and two decks of cards were neatly package in a zippered case. I don't know what kind of tournament these people had in mind unless it was heads up. There was also a tin of 'professional heavy weight' chips sitting on the shelf beside it.
I'm a little worried that the poker boon has maybe reached a peak and may have, well, fallen off the glacier, so to speak. The WPT coverage already seems to be a bit stale and predictable with nothing new added and the repetitive attempts at witticisms coming frorm the dynamic duo Vince and Mike (I think a good Over/Under Prop bet for the BG / Pauly gamblathon might be to predict how many times we'll hear 'He got his hand caught in the cookie jar" or "There's fireworks going off in his head now" during the next broadcast).
I don't know what the solution might be to liven things up and keep it fresh, but I have one suggestion. The only thing I really like about Celebrity Poker Showdown is Phil Gordon's commentary. He gives the reasons why a particular move is good or bad along with the hand percentages and pot odds. It 's like a little lesson and, as a viewer and a player, I like that . We get more informative commentary vs. simple color commentary.
With one episode of the 2004 WSOP completed, I'm more optimistic the coverage of that will be good. I like the change to covering the final tables of all the events. I learned a little about playing stud I didn't know before and Men's spit take was priceless. The ESPN commentators don't seem to be as over-the-top as last year, which drove me nuts.
So, perhaps this poker snowball will continue to roll down the hill and get bigger. I hope so. I want to see the laws changed in my state so I can eventually play in the flesh. I fear, though, that some zealous politician is going to make it his quest to abolish the online poker rooms and bust people like me for playing 'illegally' - as we all are here in the states. We will need to be prepared to join forces when Washington begins to shine it's nasty light on us. It's an election year, after all.
