Can Phil Hellmuth add to his WSOP Bracel...

It’s almost time for the World Series of Poker to start, and this means we’ll be faced with the familiar questions that arise every time around the end of May.  And no doubt the most asked question will be whether or not Phil Hellmuth will be able to add to his record total of 11 WSOP gold bracelets.

He still has both Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson nipping at his heels since both have 10 gold bracelets to their credit, but I don’t think that’s the real issue here.  While Brunson still has game, it’s tough for him to last over the long haul in the longer tournaments, and I don’t see him winning another bracelet.  Chan hasn’t done anything significant in recent years, and seems content to stay out of the limelight. 

So this is really all just about Hellmuth finding it within himself to keep adding to the total.  And this isn’t an advantage either since he’s basically just trying to build an unbelievable total of bracelets that some youngster won’t be able to catch anytime soon. 

It’s hard to say for sure whether or not Hellmuth can win another bracelet since the fields are so large these days.  However, I think that it’s entirely possible since Hellmuth came close a couple of times last year, and appears to be the only competitive bracelet frontrunner left today.

Plus you’ve got to factor in that there are more 10k tournaments as well as the 40k buy-in where the fields will be smaller thus enabling Hellmuth to win.  If Hellmuth can win again then I definitely think he will distance himself as the best live tournament player of all time.

Will Legal Video Poker be a Nuisance to ...

Just as there is a big push lately to lift any sanctions against online poker, there is also a very big push to legalize video poker.  Lawmakers in various states have been arguing that video poker could help raise money for the government if it was legalized in bars and restaurants.  And it appears as if legal video poker may soon become a reality somewhere in the United States.  However, this also brings up the question of whether or not legal video poker will be a help or a hindrance to online poker.

It’s clear that legal video poker would definitely help out the bars and other establishments that have been affected by smoking bans.  Bar owners have publicly voiced their support for the legalization of video poker seeing as how they don’t really have any ties to online poker.  But those who are proponents of online poker think people may be enticed to spend their money in bars on the video poker machines rather than on online poker.

Personally, I think that legal video poker would be more of a hindrance to casinos than anything because it’s mainly aimed at the population that likes to do their gambling outside of the home.  Plus online poker and video poker are different enough from each other that they’re not going to be stealing customers from one another quite as frequently. 

I see video poker as more of something that will just be an activity for people to do while they’re drinking in a bar while I think of online poker as more of a legitimate way for skilled players to make a living.  Whatever the case may be, I wouldn’t mind seeing video poker legalized in the bar setting since it would be fun to play outside of casinos.

H.O.R.S.E. - The True Test of a Player...

People often like to argue about which poker game proves to be the best measure of how good a player really is.  Some say that it has to be No-Limit Hold’em because it’s the most populated game and only the greatest players can come out on top here.  Others argue that Pot-Limit Hold’em is the only true measure of a great player because it combines the elements of both Limit and No-Limit Hold’em into one game where players from both games meet. 

However, it’s hard to say that H.O.R.S.E. wouldn’t figure into the equation somewhere since it combines several games into one.  Texas Hold’em, Omaha HiLo, RAZZ, 7 Card Stud, and 7 Card Stud HiLo are all a part of H.O.R.S.E. which means that players have to be a master of several disciplines in order to come out on top.

Many of the best pros in the world consider H.O.R.S.E. to be the true measure of skill, and that’s why you’ll commonly see many of the world’s top professionals in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament.  Sure the high buy-in keeps some players out, but the fact that you have to be a master of several games is also a scary consideration for those who don’t want to have their weaknesses exposed.

Even those who play in the regular, low buy-in H.O.R.S.E. tourneys find the game to be extremely challenging and something where one can lose a ton of money if they’re not prepared.  I’ve tried H.O.R.S.E. before in the past and also find it to be really tough since it feels like I’m learning all of the time on games which I don’t play very often.  In my opinion, I’d have to consider H.O.R.S.E. to be the toughest game and the best measure of anyone’s poker skill.

Interesting Online Poker Reality Show...

As much as it pains me to say it, even poker has entered the same class of Big Brother, Survivor, Rock of Love, Daisy of Love, and a whole host of other terrible reality TV shows.  The Best Damn Poker Show is what propelled poker into this class although I will give the show credit for being far better than the aforementioned reality TV shows.  And it looks as if poker is ready to enter into the reality TV world once more with a new show that will revolve around the world of online poker. 

The program is going to be called “2 Months, 2 Million” and it is set to feature 10 episodes of 4 online players trying to earn $2 million in just 2 months time.  The show’s producers have said that they plan to target males ages 18 to 34 with this show because that’s the demographic they believe loves playing online poker so much.

The online players who will try to pull together to make the $2 million are Jason “pr1nnyraid” Rosenkrantz, Emil “whitelime” Patel, Brian “Flawless_Victory” Roberts, and Dani “Ansky” Stern.  A couple of these players have had some pretty good accomplishments in the poker world, including Patel who nearly make a WSOP final table.  However, none of these players consistently crushes their competition in online poker which should make for a very interesting show as they go for the $2 million.

Aside from just the playing aspect, 2 Months, $2 Million also hopes to shed some light on the lifestyle of a professional online poker player.  I’ve personally seen the lifestyle first-hand many times so I’m interested as to how this show will present it.  We’ll all get to see how they do it when 2 Months, $2 Million debuts on the G4 Network.

ESPN cutting Bracelet Events...

Even though ESPN experienced its best ratings last year with the WSOP lineup they presented, ESPN has decided to change the way they are presenting the WSOP this year.  The major change is that they have chosen to remove 6 of the 7 bracelet events they did last year, and replace them with the brand new $40k buy-in event (for the 40th anniversary) plus two non-bracelet tournaments.

The two non-bracelet events this year will be the Ante Up for Africa charity tournament that is heavily endorsed by actor Don Cheadle, and the WSOP Champions Invitational.  The WSOP Main Event will keep its current 25 episode format with a preview episode before the final table begins in early November.  The $50k HORSE tourney is gone largely due to the drunken antics of Scotty Nguyen from last year.

With the addition of these two tourneys, and the removal of the other 6 bracelet tournaments, I definitely think that ESPN isn’t going to rely on the strength of poker alone to draw an audience.  Instead, they are opting to go for a more general audience with their running of the Africa tourney and the WSOP champs event.  And both of these tournaments could definitely bring in more viewers than the average bracelet tourney just because of the star power involved.

However, it’s still a wonder why ESPN would decide to change things at this point since they had their best run yet with the World Series of Poker.  Maybe after last year’s success more people got involved and this led to the numerous changes.  Whatever the case is, I hope that the WSOP continues its run of success and keeps attracting more and more viewers to the table.