Poker Hole Card Cam Creator Honoured

This is a great story. The creator of the now famous and ingenious hole card cam is going into the poker Hall of Fame this month. One day I am going to have to find out how many halls of fame there are in existence. If the halls of fame keep popping up, they'll become like libraries and there won't be much significance left.

Regardless, Henry Orenstein, is being honoured for his invention of the hole card cam. I think it is great and a great idea. I wouldn't exactly say it was an invention. The camera was already invented. Small cameras were already around. They even already had spy cameras that could fit on a button or any other small surface. So, he may not have invented the spy camera or the camera itself, but he did come up with a really good place to put it.

I would think there would be mixed emotions about the hole card cam. One the one hand you have television producers. Television producers are in the business of bringing exciting things to television. Less today than in the past, but still that's the idea. So, televising poker without the hold card cam would be an extraordinarily boring event. Along comes the hole card cam, suddenly there are commentators and information available to the home audience that the players don't get. That makes for good TV.

On the other hand, there are the players. These guys have been honing their games for years. They have been studying each other over countless sessions and have amassed a library of valuable info. special for them. Many aspects of their game have remained secret for who knows how long. Along comes the hole card cam and suddenly everybody gets to see how these guys play. There is no hiding anymore and no mystery. Years of research revealed in a few hours. I would imagine a few players got a little distressed over the whole idea. I'm surprised a few of them haven't gotten together and taken Mr. Orenstein out behind the Bellagio for a little "talk." You know, like in the old days.

In any event, the cam is here to stay and definitely adds a new dimension to the game. I would be real careful the next time you sit down at a popular casino and make sure there aren't any peculiar little holes in the table your are playing at. You may just be being watched a little more than you anticipated.

As an aside, Orenstein is also a player and the creator of the Transformer toys. Hope for his sake he got a piece of the movie deal. That would help a poker bankroll.