Friday, July 14, 2006

Later this week, nine outstanding poker players will face off in arguably
the most prestigious final table in poker history. Too bad the final day
will be a sham.After some top professional players got tired of playing in
an escalating number of No Limit Hold'em tournaments at the World Series of
Poker (WSOP) while watching other "less popular" games disappear, some of
them asked tournament officials to add a prestigious, mixed-game event.Their
response was Event # 20, a $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament that began
yesterday afternoon. Using his experience from stints with NASCAR and the
NBA, World Series Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack has compared the event to an
all-star game. The comparison is fitting; one hundred and forty-three
players are dueling it out in this mixed-game championship, and the
tournament field is a who's-who of top professionals.It will take an
exhausting effort and a great deal of focus to get to the final table, as
it's unlikely that any player could make it without being an expert in all
five disciplines.

However, when the players reach the final table, they can throw all that
work and knowledge out the window, because at that point, the game will
switch to No Limit Texas Hold'em.

Apparently, tournament directors don't believe that a television audience
can handle the nuances of Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud-based games.

If it's fair to compare poker with traditional sports, then let's continue
that comparison. Imagine if the NFL had a rulebook for the regular season
and opening playoff rounds, but when it came time for the Super Bowl, the
rules changed from NFL rules to NCAA rules. Sure it's the same game, but
when the clock stops on every first down and pass interference penalties are
only 15 yards, it will obviously change the way it's played.

Perhaps even more appropriate, compare the tournament to the Olympic
decathlon. Often called the world's greatest athletes, decathletes amass
points based on their performance in 10 events over two days. It might make
great television to have the top five athletes advance to a final and decide
the gold medal winner solely on the results of a 100-meter dash, but would
it be fair?

"If you took a poll of the H.O.R.S.E. players here today, about 95% of them
would tell you they would prefer to be playing the mixed game at the final
table," said ESPN analyst Norman Chad on the first day of the tournament.

It isn't fair to the players OR the fans to change the game in the middle of
a tournament, especially one this historic.

Tournament directors are facing intense pressure from the players to rethink
the format for next year, and Pollack has hinted that the issue would be
examined before next year's WSOP.

"We don't profess to have all the answers, and in fact I think we need to
keep innovating every year to keep it fresh," Pollack said. "We'll stick
with the things that work, and we'll change what doesn't."

But next year isn't good enough. I hope the final nine stand around the
table, refusing to sit until the tournament remains a H.O.R.S.E. game. No
matter how television-friendly they try to make the format, no one is going
to watch an empty poker table.