Wednesday, October 20, 2004
five (formerly known as Channel 5), are screening a series of poker tournaments called The Partypoker.com European Open. The format is similar to Late Night Poker. The viewer gets to see all the cards, and commentators speculate on probabilities and strategies. However there are two brilliant twists that make it compelling viewing. Firstly the players are a mix of filthy aggressive British pros (the Devilfish, the Choirboy, etc) and geeky internet tournament champs. This mad combination matches nerd calculation against vicious instinctive battling. Secondly all the players are hooked up to heart rate monitors. The excitement of seeing someone rashly gamble £20k on an outside shot is heightened even more by seeing their heart rate shoot up. Although I've sworn off the internet poker revolution, for those of you of a gambling bent the nice people at Partypoker have a tie-in competition.
However based on this TV format, I do have a suggestion for a new variety of poker that might tempt me back. If every player at the table had to wear a mini pulse-ox monitor, the game would be revolutionised. You could scrutinise your cards, then scrutinise your opponent's pulse and oxygen saturations. It would be like trying to play poker while hooked up to a polygraph. Knowledge of card statistics would become equally as important as keeping your cool. I still don't suppose my game would improve.
However based on this TV format, I do have a suggestion for a new variety of poker that might tempt me back. If every player at the table had to wear a mini pulse-ox monitor, the game would be revolutionised. You could scrutinise your cards, then scrutinise your opponent's pulse and oxygen saturations. It would be like trying to play poker while hooked up to a polygraph. Knowledge of card statistics would become equally as important as keeping your cool. I still don't suppose my game would improve.
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