| |
Making poker sound live, when it isn't
Published: 2005-07-19
 Tuesday, July 19, 2005
By MARC SCHWARZ
STAFF WRITER
LAS VEGAS - The phrase ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad likes to use is "plausibly live."
That's how he describes the procedure that he and Lon McEachern use to provide the commentary on the broadcasts of the World Series of Poker.
The pair meet in a New York studio, usually weeks after the hands have been played. McEachern, the straight man, handles what amounts to the play-by-play and Chad's words tend to be more entertaining than heavy-duty poker analysis.
Attempting to simulate live reactions is not always easy and doesn't always make sense, Chad said.
"Two years ago, when I did this for the first time, we just did the main event," the former TV sports writer for the Washington Post said. "I thought [pro] Phil Ivey was going to win it - I think Phil Ivey's going to win every year."
However, Ivey was knocked out one spot from the final table by eventual champion Chris Moneymaker.
"I explained to my father how we do the broadcasts.
"He watched the broadcasts and I said at least twice, 'Phil Ivey is the man to beat, Phil Ivey's my pick.'Ÿ"
"My father says to me, 'You knew Moneymaker was going to win?' "I said, 'Yeah.' "Ÿ'How stupid is that to say Phil Ivey's going to win?' Dad, it's television. It thought Phil Ivey's going to win, so I have to say that.
"Ÿ'You're an idiot. You knew Moneymaker was going to win and you kept saying again and again Phil Ivey's going to win.' Yes. It's weird."
Odds are Chad's dad will be calling him an idiot again. Ivey came close last week, finishing 20th out of 5,619 in the main event.
- Marc Schwarz
| |
Poker's new face
Published: 2005-07-18
 Poker's new face
The pool of teenage gambling enthusiasts is growing, studies show. But two Santa Fe teenagers say they're ready to swim with the casino sharks.
By Jakob Schiller
Tribune Reporter
July 18, 2005
POJOAQUE - "He's got pocket jacks," Josh Shultz murmured under his breath as he watched his friend Jim Gallegos face off across the poker table with a balding man at least twice their age.
"I knew he had that ace," Gallegos, 18, said moments later as he watched his opponent lay down an ace-high flush and haul in $50 in chips - $20 of them Gallegos'.
Along with the balding man, Gallegos and Shultz, also 18, sat at the table in Pojoaque's Cities of Gold Casino with a chain-smoking white-haired woman, a 20-something tattooed man with his hat pulled low over his eyes, an older man with a beer belly, and a group of 30-something ex-frat boys learning to play as they went.
Gallegos and Shultz's boyish faces stood out. But the more they played, the more they blended in. Both showed as much confidence as anyone at the table. And more often than not, they won.
At the table, Shultz and Gallegos were living what has become a national phenomenon, albeit New Mexico style. The number of young people, especially high school boys, who play poker has skyrocketed in the past couple of years, according to several national surveys.
Most of the games still take place in household living rooms because of age limits. But Shultz and Gallegos have taken it to another level. They play at the Cities of Gold Casino, which allows 18-year-olds at its poker tables because the type of poker offered is regulated by a federal law that does not set an age limit.
A survey released by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania reported that in 2004, 10.8 percent of the high school boys who were surveyed played in card games at least once a week, compared with 5.7 percent in 2003. The numbers also rose for girls. In 2004, 3.3 percent of girls played in weekly card games, compared with 1.5 percent in 2003, according to the survey.
The rise in popularity among young players is often attributed to TV networks that broadcast tournaments such as the World Series of Poker, which finished last week and airs on ESPN through the fall. There's also the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel and "Celebrity Poker Showdown" on Bravo.
But Keith Whyte, the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, speculates that the causes are even broader.
"This is the first generation to grow up with gambling that is legal and aggressively promoted in their state," Whyte said. "There are 48 states that have legalized gambling."
According to a fact sheet issued by the council, 80 percent of youth reportedly participated in some sort of gambling at least once during the last year. That's the same percentage as adults, Whyte said.
"This is the first time in history kids are gambling as much as their parents," he said.
Dan Romer, director of the Adolescent Risk Communications Institute, which is part of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, said the center's survey showed that the close environment and conversations among kids at school was fueling the trend.
"It's a fad that is being transmitted in school friendship networks," Romer said.
According to the Annenberg survey, at the same time that overall numbers of boys playing poker were growing, the number of 14- to 22-year-old boys who were out of school and played cards weekly was shrinking.
And then there's the Internet. According to the River City Group, which analyzes the interactive gambling industry, Internet poker grosses nearly $2 billion a year. More than 1 million people play poker online every month, according the group.
In Santa Fe, Gallegos said he got turned on to poker more than two years ago after watching the movie "Rounders" with Matt Damon and Edward Norton, which depicts the world of high-stakes poker.
He and his friends initially played occasional games at each other's houses for pennies as they figured out basic strategies. The games turned more regular, and Gallegos started to take the game seriously.
He bought poker strategy books on Texas Hold ÕEm, the most popular poker game, which is played at many big tournaments.
The cost to join one of the home games soon went up. These days, as many as 12 people will come to the games, which often last until 4 in the morning.
The longest game Gallegos played lasted 13 hours and ended at 9 a.m. He bought an old felt card table that sits in his dining room in place of a regular table. It's well-worn and propped up on one side by an old photo tripod. He also has two full cases of top-quality poker chips.
Last school year, Gallegos hosted games at his house almost every weekend. This summer, he said he either hosts a game at his house or plays at a friend's house almost every night. Since Gallegos turned 18 in November, he, Shultz and other friends make the 20-minute trip to Cities of Gold up to three times a week.
Gallegos and Shultz have running accounts on their debit cards at www.pokerroom.com.
The main attraction these days, Gallegos said, is the challenge the game presents.
"I used to play a lot of chess, and it was a battle of minds. It's exactly the same thing with poker, except that it moves a lot faster," he said.
"You basically have to read someone's mind," he said about the common poker strategy of playing your cards based on your opponents mannerisms. "When you do it successfully a lot, it's pretty satisfying."
Shultz, who was introduced to Texas Hold ÕEm by Gallegos eight months ago, said he, too, is drawn by the challenge.
"I'm a real competitive person. Poker gives me that chance to be the best," Shultz said.
Over time, Gallegos has turned into what might be called a semi-professional player. He said he makes between $100 and $400 a week by playing at the casino. To date, he estimates he has made between $7,000 and $8,000. Shultz estimates he makes about $50 a week and has made between $800 and $1,000.
Gallegos and Shultz say they don't have a gambling problem. Both said they know when to walk away.
At the casino, they have rules. Each says he will play only $60 to $100 at the table at one time. If they double their money, even in the first hand, they quit. If they lose all their money, they quit. But that rarely happens.
At last week's table, Shultz made $28. Gallegos broke even.
"Breaking even is a good day," Shultz said.
"Well it's better than losing," Gallegos said.
Both are confident they are good enough players to not dig themselves into a hole, at least not in New Mexico.
Both want to continue playing in college, but neither say he'll play full time.
"I don't want to do this professionally," Gallegos said.
"I think it's something that will grow out of me," Shultz said.
Both Gallegos and Shultz said their parents know how much they play and how much they win. Gallegos said his dad is an accountant and helped advise him to try and keep his winnings under $10,000 so he doesn't have to pay taxes.
Shultz's mom, Donna, said she is concerned but not enough to try and prevent him from playing.
"He just has to know his limitations," she said. "He's got a good head on his shoulders. I trust him."
Whyte, of the Council on Problem Gambling, said only about 5 percent of kids who gamble meet the criteria that define problem gambling. Danger signs include players allowing their gambling to cause sleeping problems and players gambling with money that was meant to pay bills.
Whyte said the council is more concerned about research that shows kids who gamble are more likely to engage in other risk-taking activities.
"We think it is that enjoyment, that excitement in risk-taking that they get from gambling that will make them more likely to engage in things like binge drinking," Whyte said.
Gallegos and Shultz agreed gambling is not having a negative effect on other parts of their lives.
At the all-night poker games in Gallegos' living room, the drink is Kool-Aid. He has a drawer full of it in the kitchen.
Both have lives outside of gambling. Shultz was the center on the Santa Fe High School basketball team and buses tables at Santa Cafe, an upscale restaurant in downtown Santa Fe.
Gallegos is focused on getting out of Santa Fe and starting his degree in International Business at UNM.
Even after a recent evening of stone-faced hands of poker at the casino, the thing they were both of thinking about as they left was green-chile cheeseburgers at Blake's Lotaburger.
As they ate, the conversation wasn't about poker strategy or how to get into high-stakes games. It was about sports - and potential girlfriends.
"Santa Fe High is seriously lacking," Shultz said.
"Yeah," Gallegos agreed between bites.
| | |
English
Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Pусский
Svenska