I can only speculate on all the stuff that is going on at the WSOP regarding the discussion of changing the final table format, but here are my thoughts on what has already been discussed.
Given the same payout structure, would you rather make a final table last year or this year? If you say last year, STOP! PROCEED DIRECTLY TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST. Think about this. How many people outside of poker know Jerry Yang? Answer = 0. How many people outside of poker know the guy who finished 7th? 0! Did someone actually come in 7th? I don’t remember.
Can you imagine making the final table under this potential change? Many people outside of poker will recognize all the players that make the final table. Before the final table takes place, all players are the same. In essence, all of them are winners, and why shouldn’t they be? They beat 6,000 players. This is amazing. It really is too bad that we only have one winner out of 6,000. A final table at the main event is one of the most impressive accomplishments in poker.
Letterman and Leno might even have the whole final table on their show. Who knows? I might be able to make money from doing something other than sitting at a poker table 15 hours a day. Maybe I will be discovered by some Hollywood director needing a fat, bald guy to play a poker player. Hooray!
Some people have mentioned that the momentum that you have built up to make the final table might be lost. Did you happen to notice that 8 other people also might have had momentum built up to outlast 6,000 players? At the final table of the WPT at the Bicycle, I had the chip lead and major momentum going into the final table. What a difference just 12 hours makes. I went card dead and came in 4th. I wish they would have just kept playing and forgotten about the TV show. It’s all random.
Will I study up real hard in 3 months? I will be playing a lot of golf. I will probably want to spend every waking moment with Hellmuth…Not. If you make the final table outlasting 6,000 players, I’m guessing you feel pretty good about your play. I know I would feel unbeatable.
If this final table thing happens, I believe that it will elevate poker to a new level of awareness. I don’t like boxing, but when I was a kid, I remember the most famous boxing matches due to the huge buildup and hype that took place weeks/months before the match took place. This is the same thing.
Is Harrah’s greedy. I hope so, I own stock. If you are in business or a poker player and don’t have a little greed in your body, I hope your local pet store is hiring.
Let’s face it. Poker needs a boost and Harrah’s is sure trying. Several years ago we added hole cards and the internet. That spike is over, and we may never see another growth spurt in our industry again. To Harrah’s, I say thanks for thinking of new stuff and being willing to take risk for the benefit of poker and me if I make the final table.
Oh, and for those of you that decided that you would rather make a final table last year, I offer you a padded room with many locks to protect you against the “Change Boogy Manâ€Â. He’s so scary…