World Poker Tour News

The World Poker Tour started shooting its second season about six months ago, and it will begin airing in a few months. Although I am the in-studio announcer, I miss lots of the action when the tournament director is doing the co-announcing. Therefore, I can't wait to see the new shows. I hope you tuned in to the Travel Channel recently to see the WPT Ladies Night special. The poker was very good, but it also was interesting to see all the footage of the women enjoying their lives outside of poker.

We just completed the filming of another special called the WPT Battle of Champions. It will air on NBC on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST/1 p.m. to 3 p.m. PST. This is great for poker, since it will be its first major network appearance. The Battle of Champions features all 11 (there would be 13, but Howard Lederer and Gus Hansen each won two events) of the winners from the WPT's first season in a showdown to determine the WPT Champion of Champions. I don't want to spoil the show for you by telling you who won, but I will tell you about a unique innovation that will be seen during the show.

The WPT devised a 60-second clock that reset each time it was a player's turn to act. If he didn't act within the 60 seconds, his hand was dead. Each player got one chip that could be turned in for a 60-second extension. At 30 seconds, players were given a warning, then another at 20 seconds and 10 seconds. A countdown began at five seconds, and when the clock wound down to zero, the hand was dead. Prior to filming, I had anticipated that there would be quite a few countdowns, but this was not the case. The players with whom I spoke seemed to like the idea of the clock, and it certainly is good for the audience, as it speeds up play and keeps things rolling at a good pace. Who knows if this will become the norm for televised poker? I would appreciate your feedback on whether or not you think there should be a clock at the final table in major poker events. Anyway, I think you will enjoy watching this special on NBC, so mark your calendars for Feb. 1.

If you wander into any poker room these days, you will see a new generation of poker players who started playing as a result of watching the fun and action on the WPT. Many of these players have learned all they know about poker from watching these shows. One thing that is not mentioned on the WPT shows is tipping (toking). Thus, new players are often unaware that poker dealers make the bulk of their living from tips from players. In most cardrooms, dealers make minimum wage and rely on tips, much the same way waitresses, bellmen, and other people in the service industry do. So, for those who didn't already realize this, the next time you win a pot in a poker room, throw a tip to the dealer in appreciation of the service provided; he will appreciate it.

Change of subject: I got a chuckle out of this story sent to me by Arthur Reber, so thought I would share it with you:

I'm walking into the Trop with my buddy Joe, who has been running badly and is kind of stressed out. We're approached by a panhandler. Joe says to me, "Maybe I need to accumulate a little Karma," and hands the guy a ten spot. The bum looks at Joe and says, "Hey, man, that's cool. How about a hundred? I mean, man, like you got money, right? Why doncha gimme more?"

Joe looks at this guy and goes nuts. "You ungrateful bastard. Gimme back that $10," he yells, taking it back. The bum then grabs it back from Joe. Joe leaps on the guy and the two of them start wrestling for the sawbuck. The bum jumps up, greenback in hand, and heads down the boardwalk faster than I ever thought he could.

Two hours later, Joe is still steaming over this and, no surprise, hemorrhaging cash at the table.

So much for Karma.

Now, let's play poker!

Editor's note: Linda is available for seminars or to host special poker tournaments and events. To contact her, see her website at www.cardplayercruises.com.