I am starting this thread in order to cut down on the confusion of having 2 (!!!!) off topic annual baseball threads.

Except we won't discuss baseball. This thread is to discuss the World Series of Poker, Texas hold-em preferred by not required. Also, please try to keep posts about celebrity poker down to a minimum, this thread is for serious people.

I'll start it off:

Shana Hiatt - useless eye candy or valuable cast member?

valuable eye candy.

How about valuable eye candy...

<i>Shana Hiatt</i> means "your fly is open" in Cantonese.

Especially when they were in the Bahamas for that outdoor final table.

Definitely agree - valuable eye-candy.

Next: Phil Helmuth - brat or genius?

Both. Obviously a genius b/c he's won 9 WSOP titles. But he's such an idiot when he loses. He can't give anybody any credit for actually playing well.

I rather watch the other Phil -- Ivey, that is -- any day.

So does Phil Helmuth mean "JR's fly is open" in Cantonese???

Helmuth has a very hard time giving other people credit for having a good hand...although he is much better than he used to be. Phil Ivey on the other hand is a very good poker player. He often takes too many over the top risks. Seems to get all his money in with some of the worst hands.

One thing I have noticed about Ivey lately is that he seem to be getting bluffed by some of the up and coming players - where he was bluffing the vets quite well. To me that means he does not read players as well as he bluffs.

Helmuth is a great player, but can't take losing. He reads well and bluffs well, but doesn'r react well when both players have a hand and he is on the short end.

I am waiting for the Poker Professional trading cards to come out. :)

There was a tournament recently that was live from Monte Carlo. It aired on Fox Sports, I think. They showed the whole final table live and it took a long time. They started around 2 am (Monte Carlo time) so that the US could see it prime time. You could tell the players were really tired by the end.

Phil Ivey won it. He hasn't lost his touch yet. :)

OK, next question (and btw I am a little disappointed at how quickly the topic turned from Shana Hiatt to Phil Helmuth...not that there's anything wrong with that, M&M... :rolleyes: )

I saw a rerun of an older WSOP, where only rarely do you get to see the hole cards of a player. It seemed like a cameraman had to sneak up behind the player & get lucky. So...does knowing each player's hole cards lessen or increase the tension for the viewer?

btw, I like that Daniel Negreanu guy, he always has that grin on his face like he's amazed at how life's been going for him. He sure seems to have it figured out. I also like that older South American guy who wears the headphones...can't remember his name.

I like seeing the hole cards, b/c I know what strategy is being employed by the players. I like knowing if he's trying to steal the blinds from the button or if he's slow-playing pocket K's. The older footage is cool, too, but it's frustrating for me b/c I'm in the dark as much as the player who just folded.

He's one of my favorites. He's funny and he's pretty honest for a poker player. I loved it when he told another player "I knew you were going to do that. But I have no idea what I should do". I know he does it to see the other guy's reaction, but I think he's funny. Plus his mom packs his lunch every day. :)

BTW, where'd you see the old WSOP? Watching Rounders?

BTW2, once the season's over, you want to come up to Foxwoods some weekend and enter a tournament? They have no-limit hold'em tournaments starting at $60. I'm dying to try it, but haven't had a good excuse for throwing away the 60 bucks. :)

I saw it on the other night, I can't remember what cable channel.

Sure, I would be happy to take your $60!

But...can we sit at different tables...?