The Federated Poker League (or "Where Annie Duke went")

[listening]

Poker League | Federated Gaming

Annie Duke to be commissioner of professional poker league - ESPN

If they do not figure out how to rank mostly cash and online players, I don't see this having much future. She has to get ahead of the game, not lag along behind it.

Still, a good idea.

[5carab]

APNewsBreak: Annie Duke commissioner of new pro poker league created with former WSOP chief - latimes.com

Will be interested to hear what people think of this - seems to me like just more No Limit tournaments as if we don't have enough and the fields are gonna be ridiculously tough (all players good enough to qualify by actually performing). Unless there's a really big TV deal for it, seems as if many may prefer to go WPT, NAPT etc. where the money will be bigger and the fields softer (whilst still knowing that final tables are televised). Not to mention, invitationals bring up the all-time money list debate (although given the assumed rigor of qualification and potential field sizes, this seems a bit of a non-issue).

Side note: I like Annie Duke won't play - she would be a dog in the fields this will produce.

[Jeremy Silva]

About 200 players will be invited to the league based on a mathematic formula measuring finishes in major events, money earned and recent success, she said. It won't measure success in cash games or in online poker.

That's more than a little disappointing.

[5carab]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Silva

That's more than a little disappointing.

Yep. At least PS and FT are creating shows where we get to see new faces who deserve TV time, even if they can't play each other all that often. This has the potential to suck super hard imo.

[5carab]

Similar post over in the Poker Beat forum:

http://www.pokerroad.com/forums/poke...tml#post201596

[Harnisch]

[ ] will work
[x] epic fail

[Stephen Vaughan]

They did a pro poker tour before just before the laws changed in the states. I think it was Chip's idea. It was great at the time, find the videos online cause most will love it. They showed the whole tourny not just the FT, a bit like the WSOP Main Event coverage. I believe the reason there was no season 2 is the sponsorship money dried up after the laws changed.

That being said, I no longer have any interest in invitational poker.

[The 6th Wilbury]

Originally Posted by Stephen Vaughan

They did a pro poker tour before just before the laws changed in the states. I think it was Chip's idea. It was great at the time, find the videos online cause most will love it. They showed the whole tourny not just the FT, a bit like the WSOP Main Event coverage. I believe the reason there was no season 2 is the sponsorship money dried up after the laws changed.

That being said, I no longer have any interest in invitational poker.

That was the PPT, right? I saw one episode of it... I think Mark Seif was the commentator. (Imagine, Mark Seif being able to see hole cards.)

I don't hate this as much as you all do, although add me to the ranks of those very disappointed with the no-online/no-cash part of the criteria. Not counting cash action is tolerable, as it would be somewhat tough to measure. But not counting online tournaments is ridic, especially if they hope to get any backing from the major sites.

...which brings me to my point.

To Lis' point about the Federated group (which suddenly reminds me of those goofy ads in the 1980s) acting behind the times, I'm starting to wonder if this is in fact a preemptive strike for the possibility of an online blackout. If the Frank bill goes through or a second version of the Reid bill happens, the online sites will be shut out of the U.S. for a while and we will see a renewed emphasis on brick-and-mortar games and tournaments. Federated Gaming will have positioned itself well when the WCOOP, SCOOP and FTOPS series become marginalized.

All in all, it sounds iffy. On the one hand, Jeffrey Pollack has done a remarkable job at raising the profile of otherwise niche organizations (NASCAR, WSOP and now PBR) that my skepticism is tempered by history. On the other hand, Annie Duke IS an example of "lagging behind the game" -- her mere presence immediately sets this back to 2003 when it comes to poker sensibility.

[listening]

I've actually had a fantasy for years about the perfect poker tournament - and it's always invitational.

So, if they are to include cash players, the question for me is: how? In my fantasy version, cash game players are nominated for inclusion by the known, at-the-top players. Imagine Phil Ivey not playing tournaments and not invited. But imagine Doyle saying, "Get Phil, he's great." You don't need more evidence than that.

I think there should be like, a 100 player international Membership committee or something. I dunno. How do y'all think it could be handled?

BUT the real burning question is: did she invite DN? and.. did he accept?

[The 6th Wilbury]

Originally Posted by listening

BUT the real burning question is: did she invite DN? and.. did he accept?