kenpersons

Watching the 2003 World Series of Poker hooked me. I started a poker night with my friends who were also enchanted by watching the pros.

What reeled me in was not the card game itself, but the psychology and storytelling. They introduced us to the players, let their characters develope, allowing me to like and dislike various players along the way; to get attached, as it were.

The psychology spurred the addiction. Who's in, who's not. The irony of knowing their hands while they only know their own and the bet. The great players got it, the holding and folding, raising and bluffing it took to win hands regardless of the cards dealt.

It all combined to make for fantastic television.

I was excited to watch the 2004 version, only to find it nauseating. This year, instead of multiple bets and bluffs; instead of personalities winning games, the players turned their cards over after "flop", and the luckiest player wins, instead of the best.

That's not cool, it's not competitive, and it's a crying shame they took something truly fascinating and unique and absolutely took a leak on it.