JoeyB

Am I insane?

If I'm flipping through channels and I see this on ESPN, I immediately stop and I'm transfixed until the show ends.

Am I insane?

Phil Helmuth facing off with Johnny Chan--brilliant.

So...Am I insane or have you been sucked into this too??

Halx

I used to watch it myself
It's not interesting after the first few times though. Same thing. Unshowered, unshaved men with mullets and sunglasses indoors, sitting at a table, wagering more on one hand than I make in a year.

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dunkelhelmut

It's amazing to watch

And I always have the desire to play Texas Hold'em whenever I see these guys play it on TV

It's also on the Travel Channel on Wednesday nights (11pm?)

CrazyIntent

Yeah, I was watching it and trick-shot pool...gotta love summer sports.

cetacean

I have watched that too. Those guys don't look very smooth for such hustlers. I like the strong man competiton also. Those guys look like they are gonna rip off a limb sometimes.

fearofmear

The game itself isn't all that interesting. It is the psychology of the guys trying to make the reads that is fun to watch. I saw a few weeks ago this one guy just stare at this other guy. The other guy couldn't taken and hid inside his sweatshirt.

RoadRage

With apologies to all the billiards and poker fans out there, but they really need to start football a month earlier. Barring that, a little more exposure to the CFL, who just finished Week 7 of their regular season, would be nice for us gridiron addicts.

But then they show golf on TV and even give it its own channel, so why not billiards and poker.

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Achernar

You're not alone.

Between this and the Great Outdoor Games, I didn't stop watching ESPN for like a week while I was on vacation.

Hrothgar

Man I watched like for 4 hours once and I kept thinking of Rounders. Kind of goofy looking dudes sitting around a table getting eliminated one by one. Trust me there was nothing else on TV.

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KeyserSoze

Have a game every 3rd Friday at my place.....just can't get ESPN to come and film it

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BigGov

Love it. Besides, it's a fun game to learn and then to get some friends together and play a couple times a month.

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One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink but then held it out over the beer and yelled "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

goddfather40

I am addicted to the World Series of Poker on ESPN, and that World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel. I have no idea why. I do play poker often with friends, but man the pros are just transfixing to me.

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wwcd101

The key to success, I think, is 1) letting us all in on the cards in each hand and 2) having the commentator there to discuss the odds/bluffs/strategies as the players are thinking about it.

How do they determine whats in each hand? Are the players showing the camera each time? I've seen that at times.

Anyway, its surprisingly cool.

Thanks for listening.

JoeyB

There are tiny camera mounted on the side of the table. When the players take a glimpse at their cards, the cameras can see as well.

That's the brilliant part. When you know a player has a pair of dueces, yet he's going "all in".

Brilliant.

onetime2

Not insane at all. It's addictive. The insane part is thinking, well, you know I COULD come up with $10,000 to enter. You never know I might win some back. What a false sense of skill you get when you know everyone's cards!

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Artermis

You dont need 10k if you get into satellite games. This one guy paid 40 dollars to some online casino and won that and so he got a spot in it.

It is better reality TV than The Last Comic Standing and The Restaurant or another 20 different reality shows.


Art

ps I agree get more CFL on ESPN.

more fire

in britain when channel 4 show poker they glass tables with cameras mounted under the spot the players keep there cards. Sheer genius. Although the pros always look like a sack of shit, maybe that's tactical.

BigGov

It just bearly beats The Last Comic Standing, and that's because Ralphy is only on for like 5 minutes each show. Poker absolutely kills the other 55 minutes of that NBC crap.

__________________
One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink but then held it out over the beer and yelled "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

wwcd101

Now that they know they have a hit on their hands, I was just thinking of possible future variations on the theme. Instead of playing for money, why not clothes?

I'd watch.

Thanks for listening.

onetime2

Yeah I know about the satellites, but I was just trying to show how easy it is to get sucked into the aura of it.

iceman2032

I hate this show for one reason, it's causing me to play with my friends on Saturday night. I'm getting pretty damn good too.

BigGov

Texas Dolly, Amarillo Slim, and Phil Helmuth Jr. all with only their boxers left going into the river?

No thanks. I'll pass.

onetime2

LOL, yeah I think I'd pass too. But if they took some of the girls from Big Brother 4, a few from Survivor, and maybe a couple of celebrities, I'd go all in.

BigGov

That just sounds like the plot of some bad porno.

__________________
One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink but then held it out over the beer and yelled "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

cheesemoney

Lol at the bad porno... Freaking mullets and discusting old fools smoking and ruining their families with their compulsive gambling habits, and yet i'm drawn to watching.
I need counseling.
Cheese

Jdermit101

WPT Is the greatest thing ever. I try to watch it every time it's on. I can't get enough of it.

BigGov

I like The WSP better than WPT. The guys on WPT talk too much, the environments are cheesy, and too much information is changing constantly which makes it harder to follow compared to WSP's nice, simple, set-up.

But then again, the WSP is only once a year, so maybe it's like the special treat.

__________________
One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink but then held it out over the beer and yelled "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

wwcd101

Yea.

I think with the strip poker idea you have to bring in regular folks. The tour players would be too scary.

Thanks for listening.

iceman2032

Here's a question for everyone that's started playing. Anyone know a good place online to find casino quality chips? I hate using the plastic ones and I'd like to get some that look nice and have some weight to them.

onetime2

Ask and you shall sometimes receive:

http://www.pokerchipsusa.com/pokerchips.html

--Paul