WSOP 1993

Waiting for the plumber, I tuned into the 1993 World Series of Poker on the ESPN Classic. I can't imagine anything that could make 1993 seem so very far away as ESPN's coverage of the WSOP. There was no whole cam, so we were just watching guys push chips into the middle without having any idea what the cards were. Dick Van Patten did the color as if he had never seen poker before. He kept rambling on about the "drama," asking if any sporting event could be more dramatic. Before I go much further, here's a snap of the eventual champion:












I can't find a photo of runner up Glenn Cozen, but he was sporting the classic light-weight jacket with the sleeves pushed up past the elbows. Everything seems to scream early '80s, but no, Nevermind had been out for 2 years, Cypress Hill's Black Sunday was rocking our speakers, and Telly Savalas was in Vegas predicting that the old guys would rule poker for decades to come.

If you've watched as much televised poker as I have (it's great to flip to during commercials), you may be wondering how the poker actions was. Crappy is the word. The second place guy got there by blinding into it. He didn't bet and let the other guys knock each other out. The guy who finished third, John, was on a big stack, the flop came K-*-6 with 2 spades. Another spade hits on the turn. He goes all in against a bigger stack. So you figure he's got an flush, but is it the nuts? Jim hesitates, then calls him. So I'm expecting to see two high flushes. Nope. John had a pair of kings and Jim had three sixes. So the question immediately becomes, how the hell do you put your tournament on the line with top pair when there is a flush draw on the table? Van Patton left this question unasked, let alone unanswered. Fourth-place guy went out going all-in with a pair of jacks with a king and an ace on the board, but he was somewhat short-stacked.

All in all, not hot poker action.