Transparency
I thought we were done with this kind of rubbish, but no, it's back. From Mike Paulle's report of a recent tournament in the "Festa Al Lago" at the Bellagio :
"Heads up Tommy Vu has a nearly 3-2 chip lead. But it is obvious he is terrified of playing the mythical T. J. Cloutier by himself. WPT rules don't allow writer's to say what happens next. Suffice it to say, Tommy Vu wins Event #2." *
My first exposure to poker on the Internet was reading WSOP reports on Conjelco way back in 1997. And practically every report would end like this. "The players took a quick break for five minutes and soon after, Choppy McDeal won the bracelet when his pre-flop all in with 84 beat Splitty McSave's 75." Now at this time I had never played a poker tournament, and I'd be sitting there thinking wtf ?
Look, either deals are allowed or they aren't. I think it's a liberty to disallow them when players are playing with their own money, but I'm a big boy and I can sit out if I don't like it. I just hate this sly, nose-tapping, wink-wink, all you players know what happened here but there's no need for Joe Public to be any the wiser is there ? Decide what you want to do. Then be open about it. If anyone asks, explain your reasons. Stop trying to hide the reality of tournament poker in the same breath as you're trying to sell it. If deals are allowed, then publish the results with the deal included. Also give the trophy to the guy who walks away with the most money, because he's the winner. Don't even start me off about that Luske-Boubli shit again.
* Note the apostrophe in "writer's". Now I'm not one to jump on people for this on a forum, but when someone is [presumably] being paid to write an official report, that's shoddy to say the least. Also, now I think about it, mythical ? I don't think I'd be too scared of playing against someone who doesn't exist ...
"Heads up Tommy Vu has a nearly 3-2 chip lead. But it is obvious he is terrified of playing the mythical T. J. Cloutier by himself. WPT rules don't allow writer's to say what happens next. Suffice it to say, Tommy Vu wins Event #2." *
My first exposure to poker on the Internet was reading WSOP reports on Conjelco way back in 1997. And practically every report would end like this. "The players took a quick break for five minutes and soon after, Choppy McDeal won the bracelet when his pre-flop all in with 84 beat Splitty McSave's 75." Now at this time I had never played a poker tournament, and I'd be sitting there thinking wtf ?
Look, either deals are allowed or they aren't. I think it's a liberty to disallow them when players are playing with their own money, but I'm a big boy and I can sit out if I don't like it. I just hate this sly, nose-tapping, wink-wink, all you players know what happened here but there's no need for Joe Public to be any the wiser is there ? Decide what you want to do. Then be open about it. If anyone asks, explain your reasons. Stop trying to hide the reality of tournament poker in the same breath as you're trying to sell it. If deals are allowed, then publish the results with the deal included. Also give the trophy to the guy who walks away with the most money, because he's the winner. Don't even start me off about that Luske-Boubli shit again.
* Note the apostrophe in "writer's". Now I'm not one to jump on people for this on a forum, but when someone is [presumably] being paid to write an official report, that's shoddy to say the least. Also, now I think about it, mythical ? I don't think I'd be too scared of playing against someone who doesn't exist ...
2 Comments:
I saw that, too. Ugh!
I've gotten a lot of negative comments on my own writing, based purely on the fact that I talk about dealmaking, but jeez, that is what is really happening. It's not a crime, nor should it be hidden, as such.
'If deals are allowed, then publish the results with the deal included. Also give the trophy to the guy who walks away with the most money, because he's the winner.'
As we know little can be done about deals and I agree with the idea of transparency: it suits my value system. But the public's? I'm not so sure they would enjoy viewing the game. One thing for sure though if a deal is done: no trophy. In my opinion the player hasn't done enough to earn the trophy. Perhaps that might encourage players to go for it, but given the quantites of cash involved I doubt it.
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