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 he Guardian G2 Poker Column |
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| Victoria
Coren |
| Monday July 28,
2008 |
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And so
the "November nine" have been established: the finalists in the 2008 World
Series of Poker who, bizarrely, will now go back to their homes and wait four
months to finish the tournament.
No "famous" players made the final,
although David Rheem (a 28-year-old Los Angelino) was known to some and has
cashed in five previous WSoP events. Other professionals at the table will be
Ivan Demidov from Russia, Peter Eastgate from Denmark, Scott Montgomery from
Canada, and Americans Ylon Schwartz and Kelly Kim. |
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The definite amateurs are Dennis Phillips
and Darus Suharto, a pair of accountants who won their seats on PokerStars. And
I'm not sure which way we are officially defining Craig Marquis - a 23-year-old
Texan college student - but he probably calls himself "a professional poker
player" because, these days, all students do.
Why do I divide them into
these two categories? Because I always have. It's part of World Series
tradition: either rooting for the beauty of the game and the pro player who
tackles it best, or the fairytale story of the amateur underdog who comes good.
The delaying of the final, however, ruins the distinction. With $9m available
to the winner, those amateurs would be insane not to put their accountancy jobs
on hold and train all summer. So they'll all be professionals by November.
Claims were made that the break would allow "personalities to come out", but
more likely they'll just grow increasingly similar to each other. People have
told me that I'll come round to the idea of a delayed final, but I find new
reasons to dislike it every day.
More poker commentary at
www.biggerdeal.com |
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