Poker After Dark Revelations: The Internet

In connection with a couple things I have posted in the past about poker on the Internet and in answer to questions I get from friends and poker buddies, this is an interesting little story.

This week I was watching Poker After Dark. I believe it was the first week that the show has converted to a cash game. All previous broadcasts had been tournament format with the winner taking all.

This week they had the legendary Doyle Brunson with Gabe Kaplan, Eli Elezera, Patrick Antonius, Howard Lederer and Dee Tiller. If I have misspelled any one's name I am sorry. It was definitely a good table. These are all very experienced players and each brought a unique style to the game.

It is always fun to watch these great players go at each other at the table. You are usually guaranteed to see some great moves and I learn something new every time I watch. The thing I have always enjoyed the most about Poker After Dark is all of the banter that takes place around the hands. Sure it is fun to watch the hands played out and to see how these pros do it, but I like the other stuff that is going on because it is all very natural and you get some additional insight that you otherwise would never know about.

Here is what I am talking about. Early on in the episode I was watching, Eli Elezra was sitting with the chip lead. He was playing really well and catching great cards. That is an unbeatable combination. At the other end of the spectrum was Patrick Antonius. He was down over $100K and just couldn't get anything to work. When he wanted to make a move, he would run into hands and when he had cards there wasn't much of a pot. He would later say he was suffering from jet lag and wasn't playing his best game.

As time went on somebody at the table asked Antonius if he had won a pot. Antonius responded that he had won a couple. Elezra jokingly then said to Antonius that if he went broke he could always go play on the Internet and win it all back. Antonius then responded to Elezra by saying that he had lost sooo much money online that it wasn't funny. I'm paraphrasing but he said something like that. Tiller then immediately chimed in and said that he didn't know anybody who was winning online. This is where it got interesting.

To really get the picture, you had to see the players at this moment. The best part is that Tiller, Brunson and Kaplan are all wearing cowboy hats at the time with captions promoting Doyle's Room.Net on them. Obviously, this is a poker site endorsed by Brunson or is actually his, the exact deal, who knows. So imagine for a moment, a professional player on national television, obviously getting paid to endorse an online poker site, blurting out that he doesn't know anybody who wins playing online poker. It was beautiful to watch because the reaction at the table suddenly became very sombre.

It was as if Tiller had forgotten what he was wearing on his head and was just speaking honestly. Nobody else at the table said anything for a few moments. I believe Tiller even repeated his declaration that he didn't know anybody who wins online. Finally after a few uncomfortable moments, Brunson says, "somebody must be winning."

They went to a commercial right after that. I thought the moment spoke volumes for those people curious or suspicious about online play. Here's a guy who is supposed to be endorsing an online site and he doesn't seem to support it. At the table, were a few players who are very heavily behind a couple of online sites and they don't have anything to say in response. If ever there was a moment that gave you a little insight into the world of online poker, I'd say that was it.

What exactly you make of that exchange is entirely up to you. I just know that if I was supposed to be endorsing somebody's product on television and I was discouraging people from using that product, I imagine that would enrage the people I was supposed to be supporting. I know my alleged endorsement wouldn't come off terribly genuine. Also, if I had an investment in a product or service that was being questioned or criticized on national television, I think I would have done something to defend it. However as I said, the final "read" on this occurrence is up to you.