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Underwater Poker - What's Next?

In what may be the most interesting poker tournament of the year, Juha Helppi became the first-ever underwater poker champion in the Interpoker.com Extreme Poker event. Created with the idea of testing top player's abilities in extreme situations, this event certainly gave the players as much as they could handle. While on his way to victory, Helppi had to deal with water in his mask and a dangerous stingray, all while sitting on the reef floor and playing the likes of Phil 'the Unabomber" Laak, Kenna 'Cowboy' James and Louise H., an online qualifier. Situated 30 feet below sea level of gorgeous St. Kitts, the host of the 2nd annual Caribbean Poker Classic, the action was heated and it wasn't long before Helppi crushed his competitors like a tidal wave. Both Laak and James were eliminated in one hand after they went all-in and were beaten by Helppi. As always, the tongue-and-cheek Laak praised Helppi. "Although I went out with one of the worst beats in the history of undersea poker, I congratulate Juha on becoming the first Extreme Poker champ. I honestly thought that when his mask filled with water that I could take advantage of his broken concentration, but in the end he drew great hole cards and bet very wisely, and I give him credit for that." According to Kenna James, this was an important moment for poker and for the champ. "Juha is one of the best poker players the Caribbean Sea has ever seen. Even though it hurts to lose in a historic tournament such as this, I'm glad Juha was able to claim the bracelet and become the first Interpoker Extreme Poker champ." Louise H. was simply thrilled to be there and playing with players of this caliber. "It seems like yesterday I was at home in Denmark, and then all of a sudden I find myself at the ocean floor playing poker against Phil Laak and Kenna James. It was very fun and very surreal, an experience I'll never forget." Floating above the action was a host of celebrity and star poker players observing the underwater action. World Series of Poker champions Kathy Liebert and Todd Whiteles joined actress and poker wunderkind Jennifer Tilly in observing the action via snorkeling. According to InterPoker spokesperson Peter Marcus, this event will set the bar for future events. "I've been present at some of the most electric events in history, but this one tops them all." Ed note: You can also play above water at Interpoker

Poker Resource Network & Alamo Poker Team Up For Charity

Charity poker tournaments have been a prime way for many organizations to raise funds for their causes. Now one of the premiere poker marketing organizations has teamed up with an online site for a live poker tournament which will not only offer a chance for someone to have a nice tournament win but to also raise money for a very deserving cause. The Poker Resource Network recently announced that they have joined up with Alamo Poker to promote the Alamo Poker Tour Texas Hold 'Em Challenge. The Challenge will raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and will be held at the Morongo Casino, Resort and Spa (located about twenty minutes west of Palm Springs) on December 8th and 9th. Not only will the $250 buy-in (with optional $200 rebuys throughout the first day of the tournament) event be well attended, it will also have some tremendous star power involved as well! European poker star Marcel "The Flying Dutchman" Luske will be bringing in the "Circle Of Outlaws", a group of Marcel's friends that have been the terror of the European Poker Tour. Luca Pagano, Eric Mizrachi (brother of "The Grinder" and a poker professional himself) and Erica Shoenberg are expected to be in attendance from the "Circle Of Outlaws" and will provide a true poker challenge for those playing in the tournament. Barbara Enright, the only woman to ever make the final table of the Championship Event at the World Series of Poker, will also be playing as will many celebrities from Hollywood including Sean Astin ("The Lord Of The Rings") and Patrick Warburton ("The Tick", "Seinfeld"), who have shown they know something about the game from their play on "Celebrity Poker Showdown". While promoting and raising funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is the important part of the two day event, the champion of the two day tournament will walk off with a very nice payday of $25,000. Other finishers at the final table will also receive prizes for their efforts from the sponsors that have been lined up for the event. It promises to be an excellent two days of poker for an excellent cause! For more information on the Alamo Poker Tour Texas Hold 'Em Challenge or to get your reservation in for the event, be sure to visit the website at alamopokertour.com.

WPT All-In Poker Game Approved By NGC

The World Poker Tour continues to be one of the driving forces in the poker world and, with the latest news from the Nevada Gaming Commission, seems to be making their move into the casino world as well. If you stroll through a casino sometime soon in Nevada, you may be seeing the latest innovation from the WPT being played right there! After its debut during the WPT Championship at the Bellagio in April, the buzz about the World Poker Tour All-In Hold 'Em table game has been tremendous. The game allows players to strategize and play the game exactly like poker is played, but instead of taking on the other players at the table, the idea is to defeat the house dealer to win. Bill Bingham, the Vice President of Table Gaming at the Bellagio, stated that, "The game has been performing above expectations. The interest level has been very high, and the response from the players and staff has been extremely favorable. We positioned the game in close proximity to the Bellagio Poker Room and I believe this has resulted in significant crossover play." Since that test debut in April, the game has expanded to other casinos as well. Casinos in California, Michigan and Missouri have all been spreading the game, and the action will now increase as well in Nevada. On November 29th, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved the game for casino use throughout the state and some casinos are immediately beginning to jump on it. The Bellagio itself will immediately expand to two tables running the game and the Mirage and TI-Treasure Island will begin spreading the game this month. The game will also make its debut at the Gold Strike Casino in Tunica, MS, in January 2006. "We believe that the World Poker Tour All-In Hold 'Em table game provides players the most exciting table game experience possible, and under the premier brand in poker. Wherever it has been introduced, it has become one of the most popular games on the casino floor," said Lakes Entertainment CEO Lyle Berman (Lakes Entertainment is the majority shareholder of World Poker Tour Enterprises, the ownership behind the game). "The number one reason that it has proven to be so popular is that it is 'player friendly'. It's extremely simple, easy to play and to deal." So the next time you stop in one of the casino halls in Las Vegas, keep an eye out for the newest game in town! It could be one of the major innovations in casino gaming that we'll see this year. Ed note: World Poker Tour top gun Hoyt Corkins plays at Poker Host

Play Some Poker, Win Mike Tyson's House

Some people keep getting chances to fix their lives. Few have had as many as former boxing champion Mike Tyson. Few athletes have drawn as much attention or negative focus on their careers as Tyson, but even fewer have found support from people around them to make it through the difficult times, especially without profiting from his infamous celebrity. Tyson is getting another chance for another payday outside of the ring, as the English business man and the owner of Tyson's former Las Vegas estate, Dominic Marrocco. After paying $4 million for the estate last year, the self-made businessman is offering the house up to the winner of a yet-to-be named tournament. Marrocco is looking to make the tournament the center of a new reality television show in which hundreds of players will compete for what might be one of the biggest and most valuable pieces of boxing memorabilia in the history of the sport. Four people will win their way to the finals, where they will come to face with Morracco and possibly the former world champion himself. "Poker is really popular in the US and UK right now and reality TV is massive too. We have a chance to combine the two, and in a great twist, give Mike Tyson the chance to win back his home," Morracco said in a recent Yorkshire Post article. Marrocco has had no shortage of suitors for this new endeavor as he has met with US television executives and is considering whether to run the event himself or sell the rights to a major broadcasting network.. Some may think that Morracco is just a crazy businessman looking to cash in, but one thing is for certain, he's no dummy. In the deal for Tyson's house, he also got a broken-down mansion next door. Morracco has renovated the mansion and is using it as a fall-back in case he doesn't win Tyson's house back. "People might think I'm some kind of crazy English eccentric giving away Tyson's house, but contestants pay thousands of dollars each to enter high stakes poker tournaments, plus there are rights to the reality TV show. I have the chance to win the tournament, but if I don't, I will walk to my house next door, shut the door behind me, and have still made money." The chance for Tyson to win his house back looks as though it should make for interesting television. The now broke Tyson is currently living in a two-bedroom home in Phoenix, AZ. AS long as Tyson behaves, this could be a huge chance for the champ to get back on his feet. "I think Mike would appreciate the chance to take part and win back home - as long as he doesn't bite anyone's ears" Morracco said. Ed Note: Win enough money to buy Mike Tyson's house at Paradise Poker

December is Freeroll Bonanza Month at PokerNews.com

It's the Holiday season here at Pokernews.com and Santa and a few of his favorite online sites have joined together with the 'Independent Online Authority' to bring you action hot enough to melt even the coldest snow. December is certainly a good time for players to be nice and maybe even a bit naughty as they try to steal serious cash gifts from the Pokernews.com free-roll factory. With these tournaments, the holidays will be even merrier for some lucky players and unlike many other online free-rolls, the number of players playing competing will stay small enough to make your odds of cashing pretty high. Starting off the December action is a December 11th free-roll worth $5,000 in prizes from Ultimatebet and Pokernews.com. The tournament is almost a lock for players as there are 50 TEC chips available, each worth $100-entry for future tournaments on Ultimatebet.com. Imagine that you get win three TEC chips. That's $300 dollars worth of entry fees. Who knows, maybe you can turn this early holiday gift into millions of dollars. Following on the heels of the Ultimatebet free-roll is your chance to take a trip it to paradise over the holidays as Paradise Poker and Pokernews.com offer up a free-roll with a $3000 prize pool on December 16, 2005. Players only need to download the software via Pokernews.com and play 1000 hands to be eligible for this free-roll. This tournament is just another quick way to make some hard-earned cash the old fashioned way; by winning it. And if that's not enough on December 16th to tempt your poker taste buds, Pokernews.com is also offering a free-roll in conjunction with the folks at Titan poker. Players need to download Titan software via Pokernews.com and play 100 raked hands in order to be eligible for this free-roll with a $2000 prize pool. One might think that the action might be enough to satisfy plenty of poker players, but we here at Pokernews.com believe in going the extra mile and hooking you up with cool cash. The next free-roll on the calendar comes courtesy of Poker.com and Pokernews.com on December 17th and has a prize pool of $10,000. Players must download the software by December 14th to be eligible for this huge payout possibility. You might think that the holiday festivities are over but there not. Party Poker and Pokernews.com are teaming up to bring you a December 29th free-roll and this time the prize pool is $5,000. All you have to do is download the software and deposit at least $50 (first time depositors only). And finally, what better way to prepare to make your New Year's Eve resolution than by winning some extra cash from Titan and Pokernews.com? Yes, that's right, not once, but twice in the same month, Pokernews.com and Titan Poker are teaming up to give you a nice new year's gift with their December 30, 2005, $2,000 prize pool free-roll tournament. One last thing from the present sack at Pokernews.com, players have until January 1st, 2006 to qualify for Pokernews.com's first ever all expense paid trip package as one player will be lucky enough to win the Pokernews.com and Pokerheaven $7,000 free-roll. Players need to download the software and make a deposit of $25, as well as play 500 raked hands to qualify for this trip and prize that will send someone across the pond. Get in on this bonanza of value. This is over $25,000 in Freeroll money...just in the month of December. You could make a nice part time living by just signing up for all these freerolls, and playing in them. The Freerolls won't stop there. We promise to deliver even more value to our loyal readers in the month of January....So, get to clicking, and sign up today!!!

UK Poker Open Crowns Champion

Poker has become one of the UK's biggest sports as evidenced by the success of the UK Open Championship. The title and £300,000 went to Croydon resident Ian Frazer, a 46-year-old project manager for Vidette Ltd. Frazer eventually outlasted the five other finalists which included World Series bracelet winner Brian Wilson and the youngest-ever world poker champion, Julian Gardener. The action was fast and furious, but the last hand typified the intense atmosphere, as Frazer took down the final pot with a simple pair of sixes. According to Frazer, the battle became one of "us versus them" as other UK players rallied behind him. "All the crew were rooting for me. They thought I was a bit of a character and didn't want the yanks to win." Although relatively inexperienced compared to some of the other competitors in the tournament, Frazer who has only been playing for two and a half years, he handled the pressure like the champion he is. "I was obviously very excited. I was nervous on the inside but on the outside you really do have to be poker faced. Sometimes my heart felt like it was racing 1,000 miles an hour." The dad-of-three, however, never let the other players in on his racing pulse, giving a command performance that annihilated those in his path. "I was never intimidated. I have got a very good game and I didn't have any bad luck," Frazer said. Frazer has already used some of the money won from the 888.com-sponsored tournament to buy a brand new red Ferrari for £120,000. Although he has no plans to quit his job, he does plan on writing a book on how to win at poker called "Win the Frazer Way." One thing is for certain, Frazer's family no longer hassles him when he tries to get in on some action. "My family use to give me stick at night if I was playing on the computer, but now they tell me to carry on." Ed Note: Do you want to chat in your own language at the poker table? Everest Poker's software allows you to see chat in many different languages.

The Poker Counselor's Corner (35)

Editor's Note: In addition to being a poker enthusiast, gambling columnist, and lecturer, John is a National Certified Counselor (NCC). He has a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from West Virginia University, and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Lock Haven University. You can arrange for interviews, speaking engagements, or ask your question to "the Poker Counselor" at carlisle14@hotmail.com My buddy played all weekend at the Taj Mahal in A.C. He played a couple of big tournaments and tons of cash games up and down the boardwalk. He did not cash in any of the tourneys and he came out behind (overall) in the cash games. To me, I'd consider that a bust of a trip. He keeps saying that he played good poker and considers the time a "good loss." I hear that term good loss all of the time in basketball and football. I don't buy it. I argue with my buddy that a loss is a loss. I say that there is no such thing as a good loss. Am I right? -Emailed by Colts_Man Thanks for writing, but I am not sure I am the man that can pass judgment on whose thinking is right or wrong. Instead, I encourage you to think of both viewpoints to understand their strengths. You must be driven by a fierce sense of competitiveness. You are not alone, as I find that many poker players are primarily fueled by the competitive edge of the game. To you, winning at any cost is the key. You'd be content at winning even though you played poorly and got incredibly lucky. You are so focused of the big "W" that you measure your success via the money you cash in at the end of the night. With this mindset, it is impossible for you to ever imagine any positivism arising from a session which was not profitable. The benefit in this mindset falls in its insatiable nature. You'll never find yourself being satisfied by the status quo. You'll never become complacent as you think that you've become "good enough." In addition, you are likely to have the killer instinct which allows you to push for tournament wins. While others may attempt to coast into the money spots, you'll fight for the top spot with continued aggression and hunger. You poker buddy seems to take a more measured, analytical approach to the game. He evaluates his play on personal marks such as continued patience, timely aggression, success rates at bluffs, and ability to play the cards dealt. With those (and more) factors involved in measuring his play, he can easily be content with good play even during a losing experience. He probably feels that a good loss means that he got a good return in knowledge and play experience on his financial losses. The benefit of this line of thinking is that a run of poor cards and consecutive losing sessions will not be psychologically crippling. Overall, tilt is less likely to occur. In addition, this type of thinker is likely to be patient, and never panic or push to buy pots in poor spots. My suggestion is not to argue with your poker pal over who is right and wrong. Instead, work together to instill each other's mindset into each other. Having both of these sets of skills and thoughts will allow each of you to be capable of psychologically changing gears as you play. You are pretty knowledgeable on poker. Is online poker rigged or what? I have been playing at Poker Stars for 3 months and have seen some crazy hands lose. I had pocket Aces lose twice last night to junk hands. It does not happen that much in home games and stuff. It just gets me wondering. -Emailed by William T. Conspiracy theorists have been shouting that the online game is rigged since the dawn of online gambling. Since Chris Moneymaker helped to boom the popularity of online play, the battle cry from them has gotten louder and increased in number. I know many internet poker executives and professional players with financial stakes in online sites, and I am 100% certain that the most reputable (and most famous) online sites are perfectly safe. You see, poker sites generate their cash flow via the rake. They take a small percentage of each pot played (some rakes are not so small, but that is another story). While they might generate a slightly larger rake from a hand which causes lots of betting and action, the benefits would not outweigh the drawbacks of cheating the customers. Online executives want volume. They want tables to be busy, continually seeing action. The more time spent, the more hands played, the more rake taken. If anyone ever uncovered the site to be corrupt or rigged, the volume of play would instantly drop to a trickle due to the growing distrust. Thus, online poker websites spend huge amounts of money and time assuring that their sites are safe. We see many bad beats online due to the nature of the game. With the anonymity of the internet allowing people to play comfortably in their homes, you'll find many players making rather risky and unadvised calls on long shot hands. Another factor is the speed of the game. It is more than possible to play hundreds of hands online in a single session. It is also possible to play on more than one table at a time. Since you see so many more hands than you do in live play, the chances of seeing ugly bad beats increases. What you should be aware of online are players who are in collusion. While poker sites attempt to safeguard against players playing together, it is actually rather difficult to curb if the colluders are savvy. If you see a couple of players who seem to "help each other" by raising and re-raising to increase pot sizes (called whip-sawing), leave the table and alert customer service. Also, colluders will share with each other what they are holding. They may open a chat room or talk via telephone as they play at the same online table. This extra information can be invaluable on key hands. Make no mistake, this type of cheating does exist on all online poker sites. While collusion is indeed there, there is no intentional "rig." Your pocket Aces did not get cracked by 7-2 off suit because of some conspiracy to take your money. The 7-2 won due to a bad play by your opponent coupled with incredibly good luck. KEEP THOSE QUESTIONS COMING!!! Carlisle14@hotmail.com

2005 US Poker TV Ratings: a Year-End Roundup, Part I

Editors Note: This is the first of a two part article about the state of TV poker in the United States. Please join us for Part II tomorrow. Television ratings for poker broadcasts in the United States have generally declined in 2005 compared to 2004, though the ratings in 2005 remained higher than the ratings at the start of the televised poker phenomenon in 2003, according to TV ratings estimates collected by Neilsen Media Research. The World Poker Tour (WPT), which kicked off the poker boom on US television when it drew an average of 600000 households for its first-run broadcasts on Wednesday evenings on The Travel Channel in 2003, saw its 2005 season average TV ratings for first-run broadcasts during March-June decline by 17% compared to 2004, falling from 910000 households in 2004 to 820000 households in 2005. In an investor conference call in August, WPT Enterprises (WPTE) CEO Steven Lipscomb claimed that competition from the reality series American Idol on the FOX broadcast television network was the primary reason for the year-to-year decline in WPT TV ratings. Not surprisingly, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) airing on Tuesday evenings on ESPN, which faced stiffer competition during the 2005 season than in the past as ESPN chose to lengthen the season so that the final episode of the 2005 WSOP World Championship Main Event would air during the November ratings "sweeps" period, experienced an average ratings decline of over 25%, from an average of 1.5 million households for 22 hours of coverage in 2004 to 1.1 million households for 32 hours of coverage in 2005. (The 2003 season averaged 1.0 million viewers for 7 hours of coverage.) The first run of the final 2005 WSOP World Championship Main Event episode on November 15 drew 1.8 million households, down 25% from 2.4 million households tuning in for the final 2004 WSOP World Championship Main Event episode first aired on September 14, 2004. Similarly, TV ratings for each of the 3 live poker tournament broadcasts on the FSN (formerly FOX Sports Net) system of regional sports networks have declined successively. The American Poker Championship at Turning Stone Casino in Upstate New York, which aired live on most FSN regional networks in the Eastern Time Zone on Wednesday, July 14, 2004, remained FSN's highest-rated poker broadcast, drawing about 600000 households. TV ratings for the FullTiltPoker.net Championship at Wynn Las Vegas, which aired live on most FSN regional networks in the Eastern and Central Time Zones on Wednesday, July 13, 2005, fell 18% compared to the Turning Stone live broadcast in 2004, drawing about 490000 households. Facing competition from the National Football League (NFL) in many areas, the FullTiltPoker.net Invitational from Monaco, which aired live in its entirely on 6 FSN regional networks (with joined-in-progress or delayed broadcasts on most others) on Thursday, November 24, 2005 (Thanksgiving Day), drew about 280000 households. The Poker SuperStars series, produced by hole card camera inventor Henry Orenstein's company HSOR, did manage to hold its 2005 TV ratings at the level set in 2004, averaging just under 400000 households during the weekly Sunday evening prime time broadcasts on FSN. Other poker broadcasts on FSN, particularly those premiering in late-night time slots, generally have lower ratings than poker programming that air on FSN during prime time, but they generally performed slightly better than the programming that aired in the same time slot the year before. For example, the UltimateBet.net Poker Challenge at Hollywood Park, a series of 6 single-table poker tournaments that featured over 30 relatively unknown professional and recreational poker players who qualified online, averaged about 200000 households during its first run via same-day tape delay on Saturday nights at 11pm-1am local time in June and July 2005, or about 20% more households than the programming that aired in the same time slot in June and July 2004. Despite the year-to-year decline in TV ratings for tournament poker, top tier poker TV products remain viable businesses, as they consistently deliver hundreds of thousands of regular viewers in the 18-34 and 25-54 age groups to sponsors, both poker-specific advertisers such as play-for-free online poker "schools" and mainstream advertisers such as automobiles, food and beverages, and personal care products. "(Poker) is perhaps the most durable piece of programming we have on (FSN)," said FSN Executive Vice President of Programming and Production George Greenberg. "People can watch it once, twice, and three times and it will hold up in its ratings... Our number one series on Sunday night is Poker SuperStars...and it rates very, very well...it has been our number one series on Sunday nights for two years in a row." FSN has signed KFC Corporation (formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken) as a major sponsor of the third season of telecasts of HSOR's Poker SuperStars series, according to Greenberg. The KFC logo appeared prominently on the set of Poker SuperStars III. In an article published by Television Week in October, Lipscomb pointed out that WPT telecasts earn TV ratings that are comparable to regular-season National Basketball Association (NBA) and Professional Golf Tour (PGA) national telecasts. WPTE signed a major sponsorship contract with Anheuser Busch brewery prior to the start of the 2004 season. During the 2006 season, Anheuser Busch's flagship Budweiser Beer brand will be featured as the "Official Beer of the World Poker Tour". In addition, General Motors signed a sponsorship contract with The Travel Channel that placed the logo of either Chevrolet or Hummer on the "Chip Count" scoreboard graphic on WPT telecasts during the 2005 season. ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) spokesperson Keri Potts said that tournament poker programming remains the second highest-rated hourly episode series ever produced by EOE, behind only EOE's first dramatic series Playmakers featuring a fictional professional football team, which averaged over 1.6 million households in August-November 2003. (EOE's second dramatic series, the controversial poker-themed drama Tilt, averaged around 900000 households during its 9-week run in January-March 2005 and was not renewed for a second season.) In comparison, EOE's reality series Bound for Glory featuring a Pittsburgh-area high school football team, which replaced the 2005 WSOP at the Tuesday 10-11pm Eastern Time slot starting in mid-September as the lead-in to the 11pm Eastern Time edition of ESPN's most profitable program SportsCenter, averaged about 600000 households, or over 40% less households than the 2005 WSOP was able to deliver in the same time slot in August. Please look for part II of this piece tomorrow, as we look into the plans TV is making for poker in 2006, and how the 'non top tier' poker programming fared in 2005.

2005 US Poker TV Ratings: a Year-End Roundup, Part II

Television networks in the US are continuing their plans with poker programming in 2006. ESPN exercised its option with Harrah's Entertainment to retain the worldwide TV rights to WSOP-branded poker tournaments through the 2007 WSOP World Championship Main Event. According to a Harrah's official, ESPN will pay about $20 million for these rights in the next two years. In addition, ESPN signed a "multi-year" agreement with the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City for the worldwide TV rights to the United States Poker Championship. The Travel Channel exercised its option with WPTE for the US TV rights to the fourth season of the WPT in 2006 and holds options for three additional seasons. During the 2005 season, The Travel Channel paid WPTE approximately $450000 in rights fee for each two-hour WPT episode according to financial documents filed by WPTE with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The FSN system of regional sports networks will also continue airing tournament poker, according to FSN spokesman Justin Simon. FSN will air Poker SuperStars III on Sunday evenings usually at 8pm local time for 36 weeks starting March 12, 2006. All all-star lineup of players, including the last 3 WSOP Main Event World Champions in Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, and Joe Hachem, participated in Poker SuperStars III, which was videotaped in November at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Downtown Las Vegas. In addition, FSN will air the 2005 Monte Carlo Millions on 10 consecutive Saturday nights usually at midnight local time starting January 7, 2006, and the 2006 Crown Australian Poker Championship on 10 Saturday nights usually at 11pm local time starting March 18. FSN will also air the UltimateBet.net Poker Challenge II, featuring a new group of journeymen professional and recreational players who will qualify online, later in 2006. NBC Universal Sports has announced that its own poker tournament creation, The National Heads-Up Poker Championship (NHUPC), will be held for the second time in March 2006 at its new home, the Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The first NHUPC tournament, produced in March 2005 under contract for NBC Universal by HSOR, averaged 1.5 million households during weekend afternoon broadcasts on the NBC broadcast network in May 2005. The 2006 NHUPC tournament is scheduled to air on NBC on Saturdays in April-May. NBC will also air the Poker SuperStars Championship (PSC), a single-table invitational tournament featuring the top 8 finishers of Poker SuperStars II, on Sunday, February 5, 2006. 2006 will be the third straight year in which NBC will air poker as counter-programming against the pre-game show of the National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl. The outlook is much more clouded for poker TV products below the top tier, as a shakeout is occurring. TV ratings for invitation-only single-table tournament poker shows on GSN: The Network for Games (formerly The Game Show Network) declined steadily throughout 2005. Celebrity vs. Pros, which aired in May-June, averaged only around 200000 households, which was over 20% less than the ratings for Battle of the Sexes, which averaged around 250000 households during its 7-week run in January-February. (GSN's first poker programming series, the now-defunct World Professional Players Association tournament, averaged just over 300000 households during its 6-week run in December 2004-January 2005.) The ratings slipped further for GSN's Comedians vs. Pros over its 12-week run in July through September to the point where GSN made the decision not to order additional tournament poker shows from producer Jeff Mirkin for the time being. GSN aired the last two tournament poker series produced by Mirkin in July, The James Woods Gang vs. The Unibombers and Battle of the Ages, each over a period of 4 weeks instead of 7, in order to finish airing existing tournament poker TV inventory by December 9th. Instead, GSN is making an attempt to "freshen up" the TV poker genre by switching to high-stakes cash game poker, according to GSN spokesperson Nikki Lichterman. GSN ordered 13 episodes of High Stakes Poker from HSOR, which produced the series at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Downtown Las Vegas in November. Players who participated in High Stakes Poker bought in with at least $100000 of their own money and were able to make an unlimited number of re-buys. The series, featuring pros including Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth, and Daniel Negreanu, will air on Monday evenings starting January 16, 2006. The syndicated Ultimate Poker Challenge (UPC) series, which averaged over 900000 households during its first 26-week season from September 2004 through February 2005, has struggled to find TV stations across the US willing air the second season during evening prime time. In many markets, the UPC is relegated to either time slots after midnight (such as Los Angeles) or to fringe market TV stations with limited cable TV distribution (such as San Francisco). In other markets, the only way to watch the second season of the UPC is on SuperStation WGN, which airs the UPC as "paid programming" on Saturday mornings at 3am Eastern Time. The producer of the UPC made the decision to cut back the television production of the third UPC series, which took place at the Plaza Hotel and Casino in Downtown Las Vegas in November, from 12 tournaments to just 4. The Hollywood Hold'em series produced by actress Laura Prepon, which aired on the E! television network for 6 weeks during 2005, was not renewed for a second season. Hollywood Hold'em featured invitation-only single-table poker tournaments held at the homes of 6 entertainers, with each player competing for a winner-take-all cash prize. WPTE has discontinued its WPT Hollywood Home Game special programs for the time being. WPTE spokesperson Jackie Lapin cited a glut of competition from similar shows featuring entertainers playing poker to raise money for charity, most notably the Celebrity Poker Showdown series airing on NBC Universal's Bravo network, as the primary reason for the decision. 2006 will be an interesting year for the poker television business in the US, as we will be able to see at what level poker TV ratings will stabilize and we will be able to see how the TV ratings from 2005 will affect sponsorship and licensing opportunities for TV networks, event producers, and poker players. About the author: Oliver Tse has owned and operated soccerTV.com, an online direct marketing service for pay-per-view soccer television in the US and Canada, since 1995. Among his past clients include ESPN, FOX Sports, and GolTV. He holds a Master's Degree in Financial Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

The Spritual Shark - Andy Black Speaks

I'm sitting in a room surrounded by poker players going at it during the Borgata Poker Open 2005 in Atlantic City, N.J. Yelps and wails of agony and success seem to occur every three seconds or so, players are busting out of satellites and the day's featured tournament everywhere I look. One man, however, seems unfazed by the events and sounds at the other tables. He is focused on the game at hand, which happens to be the final table of the previous day's No Limit Hold'em tournament. Laughter and chatter at the table seem to be led by this Irish pro and it appears as though everyone at the table not only respects his game, but also fears it. He seems to have this effect on players at the tables, but this is nothing new for this highly intellectual individual who only earlier this year, finished fifth in the World Series of Poker main event. When I started asking other players about Andy Black, there was a lot of talk about him being one of the deadliest players in the game. Having played against the likes of Stu Ungar years before the game exploded into the world's subconscious, Black made his bones in the game while many of today's newcomers weren't born yet. But then, in 1997 something happened to him after losing to Ungar in the WSOP. For Black, life began spinning out of control so he left the game. People wondered what happened to this young star but few knew the reasons why he quit. For Black, quitting was a difficult choice, but it was a path he needed to take to find peace both in life and on the felt. According to Black, he hit rock bottom soon after losing to one of the game's future stars who ironically was also no stranger to the cold empty life that was staring Black in the face. "After the World Series in 1997, I was very miserable. I was leading a disillusioned life doing lots of drinking and drugs and I was just unhappy. I was doing nothing positive, just playing poker, and even that had become a miserable experience. I was just really unhappy. The pinnacle was messing up the WSOP, when I basically gave Ungar my chips and finished fourteenth." Black had hit a wall and his struggles with more than just his game had caught up with him. But then one day things began to change and he started down the path that would change his life. "I started trying to improve myself—going to the gym, drinking less, giving up drugs. But it wasn't completely working. My girlfriend at the time was doing yoga and somehow I came across one of her meditation leaflets that said, 'There are no higher teachings, only deeper understandings.' I knew right away that I liked that statement, so I went along and started doing a couple of simple meditations that I've been doing ever since." Still trying to find peace with his life and his poker game, Black was playing professionally in Paris when he had an epiphany that would bring about dramatic change for this once angst-ridden star. "I read a book on Buddhism in late '97 and realized I was a Buddhist. This was quite a surprise to me because I wasn't particularly religious at the time. I'm not particularly religious now," Black explained with a big smile. Black knew that the game wasn't the only thing in life and that if he didn't make some dramatic changes he was going to spiral out of control. With this in mind, he set out on an even bigger challenge than winning the WSOP—understanding himself. His travels took him to a place far from the smoky gambling venues of his past life. Something clicked with Black almost immediately and instead of seeing life through the eyes of a poker player, he came to understand life from a different perspective. "After spending six months living and working with Buddhists, I knew things had changed. This went on for five years. I lived in Buddhist communities, meditated every day, went on retreats, and studied." For Black, Buddhism quickly offered discipline and a philosophical and spiritual base. "I suppose the Buddhist thing is really that you've got the widest perspective. I think that's the difference between it and other religions and philosophies. I think there are a lot of people with the right angle on the truth, but Buddhism has the broadest map. Buddhism is more of a collection of tools that you can use, many of which are now commonplace in many different types of therapy today." For a long time, it didn't look as though the two opposites, poker and Buddhism, would mesh. "I was thinking poker was evil; it was terrible and I didn't want to hurt people. I think there is a difference between honest and fair competition and some kind of war. Stu Ungar was one of those extremes. He would say that he would look at somebody and find something to hate about them while at the table and that is how he won so much. If I had to do that, I would want to give up." However, after years of soul searching that included a period of solitary in the middle of winter with next to nothing, Black decided to model himself after one of Buddhism's legendary figures, Vyn Lekerti. "Supposedly, over 1,800 years ago, there lived a guy named Vyn Lekerti. He was a bit of a joker and the kind of guy that was regarded highly in all circles. With princes, he was princely, but in a cool way. Among organizers he was a leader of organizers. Among ordinary, non-religious people, he would appreciate the value of being ordinary. In gaming establishments and casinos, he would go in with the intent of trying to help people grow. No matter what kind of character he met, he would meet them on their own terms. I'm not saying I can do what Lekerti did, but this is the aspect I try to work on. Poker is that kind of environment where you meet lots of different people and this comes into play. When it's at its worst, it's a war and it's like f*** you. It's depressing. But when it's at its best, it's a melting pot of all sorts of characters." Now that he is back on the poker scene and making his presence felt with a number of final table appearances, I couldn't help but ask how becoming a Buddhist has helped his game. Black responded quite adamantly, "For a while it didn't. But since I've come back, I've continued meditating. I can reset myself. I would have been the guy who would get more upset than the average player. I would get real mad. Now I'm much cooler. I know some of this comes with age, but a lot of it has to do with the meditation. I know myself quite well now and have learned my tendencies. I still do the same things, but I have learned to recognize them faster and make the necessary changes." When asked for an example, Black quickly noted that there is a lot to be said for self control. "I used to be real anxious, but now I have a way of looking at this and I watch it happening. Now I know a bunch of different ways to calm myself. Ultimately, I'm taking action to improve the situation." Black explained that there is a meeting ground between poker and Buddhism. "In life, you're dealing with tough beats and great success. Sometimes that success is the worst thing because you then think you're something special and your ego grows dramatically. But the thing that unites us all is that we're going to get sick and we're all going to die. In the West, we try to hide this or we try to glorify life. I think something in the middle is the truth. Always try and find the middle path, even though the middle path is sometimes so subtle and obvious that it's difficult to find. I miss it all the time, but I try to cross over it as much as I can. Occasionally, I get a bit wiser." The dramatic changes in Black's life have taken him full circle and brought him back to poker, but he hasn't forgotten his Buddhist teachings. "I'm still now trying to be ordained, which I have been for the last seven years. I'm a bit of a Buddhist deacon and eventually I want to be a priest, but I'm a bit of a naughty boy, so it hasn't happened yet." In the end, for Black, life is more than a struggle at the poker table. It is successfully living up to one of his mantras like developing love and kindness. This mantra teaches its users to wish themselves and other people well at all times, quite the challenge for a poker player since the goal is take everything another player has. Black offers one critical piece of advice that is applicable to life for all people, not just poker players. "Poker is a difficult game to learn and those that do tend to understand the game, I find stop learning. It's even worse than realizing you are going wrong. You're doing something for so long and then one day it stops working. My sense is that people stop learning, because they're not working on their game anymore." Ed Note: Check out our newest room - Poker Host. 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