Mean Gene

CNN Learns Poker is Popular

Looks like CNN is running a series of articles about poker. I've only read about the first 4 grafs of the first piece and it looks like yet another "oh, dear, these college kids are turning into degenerate gamblers" piece. Here's a quote:

"You don't understand," says Tom, an Indiana junior who asked that his real name not be used. "Right before you flop a hand, before you win, when you know you've got the nuts [an unbeatable hand], that's the greatest rush in the world."

Uh, "right before you flop a hand...when you know you've got the nuts"? Beyond the fact that I don't often hear folks say "flop a hand" in that way, how often in Hold-Em do you have the nuts before the flop? Answer: zero. The author also describes a hand called "2-7 offsuited", which I think would be better said as "2-7 offsuit" or "2-7 unsuited" or, naturally, "The Hammer", but of course no one at CNN reads blogs.

Let me read further and I'll write more.

UPDATE: Looks like one of the Duke guys Otis met at the EPT is mentioned.

UPDATE: Down at Duke a pair of queens is called "Siegfried and Roy" and not "The Hilton Sisters. Pauly will be outraged.

Wait, am I an idiot? No, I mean now specifically. This article shows an issue date of 4/28. Did I just sleep through all this and not see it? It's listed on the CNN home page, I don't recall anyone else linking to it. Or me reading it. I may be losing it.

There are a number of related articles, can't believe I would've missed them all. I may be making much ado about nothing.

UPDATE: Screw these update thingys. There is an article that posted just yesterday, and it in the author is describing a player who is Party affiliate.

The author's take on affiliates: "Can you say pyramid scheme?".

There's some brilliant reporting. The writer already said in the piece that in online poker you can only lose money you already have (meaning you've deposited it already) and so the money that's wagered is actually already in the bank, as it were. So when the affiliate gets a cut of the rake it's just money the poker site is actually collecting. There's no "pyramid", there's no big fish taking in money from a bunch of little fish with no intention of paying it out. The affiliate gets a taste, where's the pyramid?

The guy they sent to write these articles says thate before he started he didn't know a big blind from a duck blind. Um, why have a guy who doesn't know what he's talking about write a bunch of articles on the subject? Poker is popular enough they should've been able to find someone who at least had an inkling about the game.

At the end of the one article the writer goes all-in against some alleged hotshot. The hotshot calls by also saying "all-in". I don't know why that bothered me so much. He should've said "call" or "fold". When you're heads up and the other guys goes all-in, you don't say "all-in" as your reply. You say "call". Or, "fold". It rings false, yes? Or am I overreacting again?

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