The Poker Beat - September 2

[BJ Nemeth]

We just finished recording this week's episode of "The Poker Beat," and I was in studio with Scott Huff (and my dog, Rhapsody), with the usual suspects (Jessica Welman, Gary Wise, and Dan Michalski) calling in via Skype.

We covered a variety of news briefs and an extended discussion on the latest accusations and explanations of Sorel Mizzi. We also introduced a new segment (probably not on every episode) where we rip apart interesting or funny non-news items from the poker world. (Such as David Peat wanting someone to get a tattoo of ... well, I won't type it here.)

Other topics:

• Poker on Late Night TV (Nightline segment & Barney Frank on "The Tonight Show") - How did poker come across in the mainstream media?

• The IPPA's $250,000 buy-in tournament. Good idea, or really, really dumb?

• The first WSOP Circuit stop is complete, with Blair Hinkle winning the championship ring. What are our thoughts on the new Circuit?

Huff is editing the show now, and it'll likely be posted soon.

Discussion on the nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame has been postponed until next week's show. With Huff's new schedule (congrats on the high-profile radio gig!), we're still trying to settle into a new timeslot that works with everyone's schedule.

[Lon VanPatten]

The Poker Beat - Poker on Leno, Sorel Mizzi, and Vendetta Tattoos - PokerRoad

[rokudan]

is there a link for the Hellmuth 9 ball hand?

[5carab]

YouTube - Phil Hellmuth steaming after AK vs K9 loss to David Viffer-9ball corner pocket-Poker After Dark

Thank me every day for the rest of your life.

[IWantSomeCheese]

Can't believe Huff and BJ thought the Nightline piece was bad. They had to use somewhere under legal casino age to make it a compelling story to the average tv viewer: 28 year old doing something online that they are allowed to do in "real life" doesn't sell. And I don't think a 19 year old college student living at home for the summer is as unheard of as Huff and BJ made it seem. He was well spoken and seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. The fact that it didn't come across as "Won't someone please think of the children?" pieces is the biggest win of all.

[nakedcowboy]

I feel basically compelled to email this based on your promise to read any coherent email on the show, but the Nightline piece commentary by Huff was brutal.

For a good news story to exist, it has to be a story. Like the previous poster pointed out, to most people there is no story that a 28 year old poker player is playing poker and winning. The story is that there are people under 21 playing poker successfully and responsibly. It's a story because it's not something people accept at face value.

To be good journalism, it had to be a truthful presentation of the facts. This was an excellent unbiased presentation of the life of a responsible, well spoken and intelligent 19 year old who decided to make grinding mid stakes HU NL his college job. If it was going to be slanted against us, they could have focused on him going bust a few times to start his career (like virtually everyone from ivey on down did). If they wanted it to be overtly pro-poker, they could have left that out entirely and focused on the parts of the interview that were filmed and not shown where Blaine made analogies to day trading and providing entertainment for a fee.

Scott, when you find negative bias in this interview, that is your underlying negative bias against younger successful players and predominately internet players rearing its ugly head and helping you see what you want to see in a very even-handed story. It comes out week after week as you write off anyone who wasn't winning bracelets back in your circuit days as an internet nerd or irresponsible kid.

You saw "currently living at home for the summer" and assumed "loser" when everyone else on the show got "home from college for the summer". You saw "works with local marching band students" and got "band geek" when everyone else seemed to get "well-rounded with his eggs in multiple baskets". Your anti-internet player bias is blatant and you're grasping at straws to support it.

I appreciate that you brought in Jess so you could have some perspective on the state of internet poker. She is an amazing addition to the show. However, other panelists: just because she doesn't know who someone is doesn't make them any less of a poker player - it probably just makes them a cash game player.

This is the middle ground you ignore in your generalizations. There are hundreds of people you have never heard of, and may never hear of, who are making very good money either as a side job or as their main job, playing online poker. Blaine is one of those people and I was proud to see how he handled himself in the interview.

[Gary Wise]

In Huff's defense, BJ mostly agreed with him, so it wasn't one against the world. Still, I agree that if they didn't see the good in that story, they're not going to see the good in any honest story focusing on the online poker world.

[Enzown]

I've started a couple of posts about this but they kept getting too long. But being most probably the only journalist on the forums (that doesn't work in poker) I thought I should weigh in.
I haven't seen the piece being discussed. But the topic sounds interesting and certainly sounds like a story. It's a college kid who instead of washing cars of waiting tables for the summer is playing online poker.
A story about a 28 year old playing poker for a living after leaving his job as a plumber or whatever is not interesting to a journalist.
It's not the media's job to paint poker in a positive light. It is the media's job to report what is happening. I highly doubt the crew who made the story did so with the intention of making poker look good. Rather they were trying to inform and possibly entertain their audience.
The media should not be cheerleaders for poker not should they seek to harm it. Even the poker media should not be cheerleaders which is why I respect the poker beat team for talking about the "negatives" in poker openly and freely when a lot of poker media do not.

[Gary Wise]

Thanks for the thoughts Enzown. Go to Pokerati.com and do an alt+f for "Leno" to find the twin pieces

[Lon VanPatten]

Here you go:

Late Night (Talk Show) Poker Nightline and Leno talk online poker | Pokerati | Texas Hold'em and Las Vegas WSOP Poker Blog