Tuesday, June 01, 2010

The WSOP is no longer a Series

 

When I first started playing poker, even before I knew I wanted to do it for a living (you could strongly argue that I do not now and you would not be far off) I dreamt to play in the WSOP, the main event.  I tried to get into some preliminary events back in the day through satellites with no luck.  I was a decent limit holdem player but that was a bout it.  Against the Vegas elite I was no match, this was maybe 15 years ago.  

The Main Event is still the Main Event

Rather than bore you with many of the stories that I have written that litter this website my dream came true.  Even better than that I went deep in my first WSOP.  That is the sort of thing that hooks you for life, getting that close after fading 3000 people was a big deal for me.  I missed 2005 but went deep again in 2006 fading almost 9000 people.  I came in 158th and 252nd respectively.  I have cashed in a few big tourneys but nothing is like cashing in the Main Event.  When you are deep you are in some shots on television (though often you are only near the guy they are actually filming) I would be lying if I said that was not a big deal.  

The bright lights are dimming

Behind the glamor of the ESPN lights you are essentially trying to fade all odds to be one guy, the main event winner.  Think about it, does anyone remember who won the 16th NLHE bracelet in even #34 last year? I sure don't.  I am sure for that person it was a great day and for his or her family they will remember it forever.  For a few reasons, for one it is very exciting but also that person will spend the rest of their life trying to win the "Big One" which we should rename the "Real One".  

Preliminary events do not have the same appeal they once did

I am going to speak for everyone who has played poker for profit for the last 6 to 7 years.  The WSOP has gotten old.  Oh sure, it is still the premier event in poker and everyone looks forward to it but not quite the same way they used to.  In 2004 everyone I knew thought they would be big stars in poker and a few made it.  Literally 100's did not.  Already I am seeing facebook posts and tweets talking about 3 outers and bad beats, I mean it is the first week and the buy-ins are cheap.  Give it a week and you might think there are going to be mass suicides.

 

That is what poker is like.  Even for the WSOP there is an optimism that can be countered by one bad beat and we all fall into the old stereotypes.  

Don't worry, it's coming

So is there apathy yet towards the WSOP? Probably not yet but give it a day or so.  By the time the main event comes around all those twenty somethings will be beer bonged and VIP'ed out (not to mention the amount of steak consumed).  I used to follow the updates religiously and watch the final table for most of the prelim's, I doubt I will be doing much of that either this year.  Actually it appears they are not even doing it (if that changes I will amend this article).  That would certainly suggest that my take is pretty dead on though.

 

There just are not enough fans of poker.  Sure people like to play poker and occasionally if nothing else is on we'll watch it but for my money there are only a couple of televised programs that I care about.  The Main Event final table and High Stakes Poker (and last season was lame, they might even lose me).  Poker is still popular and many people play it each day, certainly many more than used to play but the WSOP does not have the cache it had even a few years ago.  It is too long, it is too much of a commitment time wise and every year it seems to drain the poker economy out of large sums of money that we just can not get back given today's climate.  You certainly can not blame Harrah's either, they are just doing what casino's do milking this for every last drop of money and PR.  

WSOP's audience is too small to be popular untelevised

In our forums there has not been one post on the WSOP and surprisingly few on 2+2.  There just seems to be this great divide of people that play poker almost daily and the traveling pros/vegas resident playing the $1000 and $1500 events.  The $50,000 eight game mix got 116 people.  Which is about what the HORSE was getting, they added Holdem and PLO to try and grab more people, it did not work.  This is not a doom and gloom message, this just is what it is.  Poker is a game where the smartest people try to fade the juice from casino's and beat the bad players out of enough money to make the rent.  So if someone like me is feeling a bit of apathy imagine the guy that has been losing for the last six years.  That guy is not dying to get on a plane anymore.  In 2004 he would have.  That is the difference between poker today and poker during the boom.

 

Tags: WSOP   Series  

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