aol front page poker article

[coach]

http://sports.channel.aol.com/dontmiss
hope the link works greg and moneymaker

[Schneids]

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[coach]

didnt read beforepretty short but aol main has there pictures.I don't know, you tell me. Who can you relate to more easily, a guy with ripped abs, a $100-million endorsement contract and a Swedish bikini model fiancee, or a guy with a 5 o'clock shadow and a cigarette glued to his mouth hoping to catch an Ace on the flop so he can pay the mortgage?


See the Stars Come Out to Play





Now that I've had a second to think about it, make mine the Marlboro Man's brother.

I have to admit, I used to think the World Series of Poker was sillier than the Lingerie Bowl and nowhere near as scenic. Though, to be fair, some of the guys sitting at the table have more cleavage than Phil Mickelson.

Then I got to thinking. The only reason I considered it a waste of time was because I had been watching it every night. I didn't enjoy it, of course, but I kept tuning in. It was like picking up Playboy to read the articles.

From the looks of the television ratings, I'm not alone. To the contrary, bubba. America is hooked on the World Series of Poker. It's the new opiate of the masses, slightly ahead of low-carb beer, body piercing and cell phones that do everything but the Macarena.


Whats the Biggest Event?




Why do we like the World Series so much? Simple. When we watch it on TV, it's as if we're looking in a mirror. It's not the game so much as those who play it. They're common, everyday people who happen to be really good at playing cards. Some of them even have jobs.

None of us will ever hit a golf ball like Tiger Woods or take it to the rack like Michael Jordan, but who couldn't envision himself sitting at a poker table in the middle of the night in a Vegas casino? I've done it enough times to build an entire men's room at Caesar's Palace. Anything to stay awake long enough to digest one of those $1.99 steaks that double as shoe inserts.

There's something inately refreshing about the World Series of Poker. It's reality TV, but it wasn't contrived by some network suit in an ivory tower. Not only that, there are no blonde bimbos around in hot pursuit of their 15 minutes. The World Series has been going on for 34 years. The only difference between then and now is the presence of the TV cameras and the no-smoking signs.

See, there's another reason to like poker players. They're living a more healthy lifestyle, just like the rest of us -- the guy with the three chins and the 4X Hawaiian shirt notwithstanding. And you thought the camera only added 10 pounds.


Try Your Hand


· Play Texas Hold 'Em


This isn't easy for me, but I've got to give the TV techno-geeks credit. Frankly, I find most TV gimmicks annoying. The catcher cam, the neon hockey puck, the yellow first-down line, you name it. But the in-table camera, which allows us to see the players' cards, is what put TV poker on the map.

Here's the other thing about the World Series of Poker: It's a true World Series. Baseball likes to call its championship series the World Series, but, the fact is, it only determines the best team in North America. Not the real World Series. It's motto is come one, come all, and don't forget your ATM card. You could be herding goats in Zimbabwe one day and sitting at a green felt table in Vegas the next.

Take last year's winner, Chris Moneymaker. No really, that's his name. I swear on a stack of $500 chips. He put up 40 bucks in some on-line poker room and wound up cashing out at $2.5 million, putting his name among the bright lights of the poker profession, right up there with Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson and my personal favorite, Amarillo Slim.

This year's tournament will go on for days on ESPN, but, the truth is, they've already crowned a new champion. So who'll win next year's World Series? Hey, I'm a regular kind of guy. I'm thinking, with a little practice, I could be a contender.

[Mayhap]

Ha,
That was good writing.
I can just see the TV ad in Zimbabwe:
"Billy, you're gettin a Dell." ... (goat sounds)
/M

[Bluff Daddy]

How can u not like the yellow first down line?? I think I would be lost if I watched a game without it.