Poker tournament coverage is often on the cutting edge with regular use of new media technologies — falling somewhere behind porn and still ahead of the mainstream — and today the Vine app seems to be all the rage … or at least will have been for about 6 seconds.
I’m not sure yet if these video snippets are the next Instagram, the next Draw Something, or video Pinterest … but whatever it is, there’s more and more #WSOP on Vine by the day (despite WSOP/ESPN no-video policies that are like sooo 2011-12). It seems early adopters are still trying to figure out what exactly makes for a good, um, vine, but view these moving squares all together (and turn on the volume for some) and you’ll get a sense of the WSOPatchwork — as seen in quick video loops of chip porn, hallway meet-n-greets, WSOP worker vids, tableside commentary from a world-class DJ, and even a marriage proposal that, well, er … see for yourself … over and over and over and over again, until you’re done forever …
The Super Bowl is coming up in New Orleans … should be good for the Harrah’s casino there, even without sports betting.
Check it out … the Louisiana edition of the Let Texans Decide campaign … I’d say just in time for the Big Game, but I think for Louisiana — not just in New Orleans but also from Shreveport to Lake Charles — its not so much about majillions being wagered on San Francisco vs. Baltimore … it’s more about the recreational spend going across state lines on any given weekend.
It’s not often we see a poker app to make ya go, hmmm … But this one, Bold Poker, is pretty neato, imho. I’m not even sure the technology is all that revolutionary. But it’s packaged in a way that could have all sorts of ramification and impact for the game. (The problem with technology is that it makes all the millions of dollars invested in PokerTek tables, for example, eventually available in a handheld app for $1.99.)
At first I wondered why not include chips as well. But then, after the needle in my brain stopped skipping, it occurred that bringing any semblance of money into play — even just virtual chips — adds a whole nother level of legal complications.
Have no clue who’s behind Bold Poker, what their story is, or how much money they have to try and build the thing into a business before the likes of Caesars just creates the same thing and gives it away as a, er, giveaway to the first XX people who enter their virtual poker room and/or casino. You can tell from the music though that they’re presumably more enamored with the technology than the idea of selling it to home games looking to replace their faded Copags.
The Micros aren’t dead, even though American online poker kinda is (for just a little while longer?). But they do have, you can see, a new relationship with PokerStars — though they explain in the episode write-up that it’s just a one-off for now …
Spoiler alert: cameos this episode from Nanonoko, Negreanu, Phil Galfond, Vannessa Selbst, Chris Moneymaker’s bobblehead, and Noah Stephens-Davidowitz.
Extra LOL for As the Button Moves, a “Photoshopera” on the NVG network.
Here’s some video the new Multi Action Poker game Dave is talking about at Aria in action. While one player at the other end of the table is telling the creator of the game how it should be played, our @RandomPoker reporter in the field is seen quietly taking down a pot.
Props to @ProPoker for capturing the rare moment of Dave winning a hand! (Or was that just half a hand?)
Joe Navarro in 2009 … Sam Chauhan in 2010 … every year, we see personalities who burst into poker seemingly outta nowhere generate major buzz without ever playing a televised hand. In 2011, I think it’s safe to say after three episodes my favorite new characters in poker are The Micros.
Good writing, clever animation, and a dash of parody played out by Lego characters in 10-minute episodes on YouTube … It all makes for an LOLably “real” look at the poker world in an internet era, with extra ha-ha on the nouveau poker riche.
And keeping it real in this episode … a bodacious semi-fictional appearance by Tatjana Pasalic:
This technology seems to be wow-level — with the potential to change the dynamic of the “televised” game. An Australian guy developed an RFID-enabled poker table that is now ready for market … allowing just about any game to be “broadcast” in real-time, complete with instant card-showing and hand percentages that viewers have come to expect.
The only downside I can see is dealers having to relearn how to pitch.
CardRunners, as you know, recently celebrated their 5th birthday … quite a milestone when you consider that means Jungleman couldn’t even drive yet when they first came into being.
As a reminder of where you can go for the best ROI on your gifted holiday monies, here’s a peek at poker in the old days, with CR honcho Taylor Caby showing how the poker skills they teach you at CardRunners played out in a different era:
And if you’re still too cheap/broke to pony up real bucks for education, they still have financial aid available allowing you to earn CardRunners credits through Truly Free Poker Training … TFPT is for current CardRunners members as well as those newbies who have yet to take seriously their resolution to be a winning poker player.
I’m surprised to see poker people still speculating on the #ReidBill’s chances for bringing the poker industry a Christmas present or leaving us a lump of coal … as if any of us could be more than donkeys in a game where that word alone means something totally different.
The guys at Wicked Chops are saying “two outer” as if they have the same level of expertise as Pokerati. Dudes, we’ve done more than just take a tour of the White House … we ponied up the extra $9 for an audio guide!
(OK, you’re right, I can’t prove that … but if I had a receipt it would be an easier tax deduction for us than you! And true fact: I did ride paddle boats outside the Jefferson Memorial more times during the Carter administration than I saw Star Wars at a drive-in, so …)
Though just semi-experienced at best, I have been down this special-interest road before … where you’ve got a bill on the table but are running up against a semi-arbitrary not-clearly defined session clock — go Texas poker ’09! Which is why Pokerati is setting its line for #Reidbill passage firmly at somewhere between 8 and 88 percent.
Book it. We should know for sure by Tuesday or Monday or Wednesday-ish.
Though no one in the so-called “poker industry” has much if any political experience prior to Harry Reid’s current term … some poker-biz donkey-pols have learned a thing or two along the way to get us here. For a little perspective, here’s “the Professor” Howard Lederer learnin’ us some Political Science 101 last year at a high-society charity tourney in Washington DC, providing an overview of the game at hand … particularly for small-time players hoping to satellite into a bigger Beltway event:
Check it out, our good sponsored friends at CardRunners like to get a little creative sometimes — making poker training videos that hardly show cards. This one will be extra entertaining for those of you who recognize the name Ernest Thayer.
While we get all caught up with life here at Pokerati, you may want to begin getting to know your latest 20something super-champion, which has me wondering … when will be the next time we see a WSOP main event winner who is old enough to rent a car?
There’s a reason we media folk love us some Nolan Dalla … not only does he understand what’s really at stake every step of the poker way, but also he knows how to bring out the best in the game … and here at the Penn & Teller Theater, introducing tonight’s heads-up match, he seems to recognize, hey, I’m on a stage, we’ve got flashing lights, and there’s a poker-loving hairy manbeast behind me — might as well have some fun!
So that’s the fight …
Racener vs. Duhamel
John vs. Jon
Full Tilt vs. PokerStars
Florida vs. Canada
RCNR T-shirts vs. Montreal Sweaters
30.7 million vs. 189 million
(blinds at 600k/1.2m)
#
One difference, however … Racener has the Sam Chauhan rubber band, while Duhamel … is from Canada, eh?
It’s not breaktime, but they’re taking a pause … to count chips and change tapes (really? ESPN still uses TAPES?), so it’s a good time to see if our pre-game assessment was accurate or not.
