White Belt Poker

Victoria Coren wrote an interesting article for yesterday’s Observer magazine about how players who’ve been around the game for a decade or more view the recent explosion in poker’s popularity:

The Real Deal – Victoria Coren (from The Observer, 13th November 2005)

In amongst the inevitable exposition for non-players, Coren admits to nagging doubts about the changes that are taking place:

We, the shabby long-time players, wanted people to understand the thrill and beauty of poker; this mesmerising knot of a game which I have spent nearly 15 years trying to unpick. We wanted it to be on television. We wanted sponsorship. We wanted security for poker’s future.

And now we feel … It is as though your favourite band has landed a huge recording contract, allowing them to make albums of the best quality with the best resources for many years to come. As a fan you are excited and optimistic, proud to share their music and relieved at their security. But you are not entirely certain, all the time, that you didn’t secretly love them a little more on those crackly old recordings knocked up years ago in the lead singer’s garage.

Coren also mentions that Anthony Holden was at the WSOP this year after being persuaded to write a follow up to his book “Big Deal” by his publishers. It should be titled “Bigger Deal”. She quotes Holden thus:

‘I realise with a sinking heart,’ says Holden, ‘that the game I have loved for nearly 40 years as a romantic, seedy, maverick outpost of la vie boheme has now become just another branch of corporate-logo American capitalism.’