Poker After Dark

Given my current struggles, I've been going back to the drawing board. I've been reading more than playing lately, and I've also been watching.

Mostly I've been watching Poker After Dark, and I have to tell you: by far it's the best poker show on television. I almost hate watching anything else.

The World Series of Poker pretty much gave birth to the televised poker era, and it's a good reference point, especially for people just starting to get into the game. However, by now most of you know that the Series is so cut and edited that, for the most part you don't get a chance to watch anyone play poker. You get vignettes and snippets for how people play, but they only show the big hands most of the time. You don't usually see the blind stealing raises or the hands that people fold on the regular, like 6-5 off suit or A-7 off suit. You see the amazing bluffs, calls, or coolers, the equivalent of Sportscenter showing Kobe Bryant throw it down in traffic without showing you his other 40 points.

Poker After Dark, however, is great because the editing is minimal. You see everything: the cards that people play, how they bet, how they react to certain hands (I swear I've got a million tells on Jamie Gold). Actually one of the better parts of it is that the commentators don't over-talk. The players are the ones who dictate the conversation, talking about everything from who won which bracelet to how Jerry Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, did an excellent job of setting the Lakers up for success.

It's good stuff, and if you're interested in becoming a serious player or just want to see what real poker is like, you can tune in at two o'clock in the morning. And, if you aren't a night owl like me, just click the link and you can watch it in the library, kind of like I'm doing now.