Running 2006 World Series Of Poker Thread

Why, exactly, did you feel the need to post that?

 

It seems lately that every thread has the proverbial "turd in the punch bowl."

This thread's turd is EStreetJoe.

 

Just to voice my disgust as to how much attention it gets on TV and in the media.

 

Obviously, this thread is geared toward people who enjoy playing and watching poker. Not to say you can't offer a dissenting opinion (I'm the last person to play that card), but your line of reasoning isn't gonna get you too far here. And I can understand not liking poker on TV, but "disgust" seems a little over the top. Is it really that bad?

 

Lots of things shouldn't be on TV. No question about that.

But poker makes surprisingly compelling TV.

 

I just don't get the mindset of doing it.

I'd never think of wading into a 12-page thread about the greatness of Springsteen to post a slam at him. I don't care for the NBA and am disgusted by how much attention it gets on TV and the media, but I don't post "NBA sucks" every time there's an NBA thread. It just seems pointless.

Unless, of course, you're trolling.

 

But hey, there's nothing better than the "sport, not a sport" debate. Please, give me more of that. BTW, I do not think anybody here has advocated for poker as sport.

Poker is like Sodoku ... I don't do Sodoku, but I also don't walk around the nation's airports telling the many people who do that I don't get why they do it. It's kind of like, "look at me ... I don't like what you like!"

I enjoy poker for the strategy and the relationships you build with the guys you play against. It lends itself wonderfully to great conversation and also serves as a tremendous outlet for escapism. That is all.

 

The same reason people feel obligated to post on the WC thread how boring they find soccer and how it will never catch on in the US.

 

Poker, if anything, has stemmed the tide of the dumbing down of America.

Go find a group of HS kids, half of whom can't get better than a C in Algebra II, breaking down pot odds at a poker table.

Say you don't like it, but smarter people do better at it, and it takes studying to be any good at it. This cannot be argued.

 

Good point. Very few dumb guys at poker tables of any consequence. Moneymaker comes off like a dolt and he's, by all accounts, a really intelligent guy. Then there are guys like Ferguson and Cunningham who are essentially math geniuses.

 

Barry Greenstein, too.

 

Stu Ungar, Huck Seed, etc. Math whizzes abound at the top level of the game and have for years.