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Newest card
phenomenon may last longer than you think
As I sat
on my couch watching ESPN, I noticed a little countdown
bar appear at the bottom, which said seven hours. That's
when I realized one thing: It's "HoldEm" time.
Texas "HoldEm" is rapidly gaining popularity.
From high school students to the average nine to five
corporate zombies, they all seem to find a little time
in their 'busy' schedules to get a couple of buddies and
deal some cards.
It's hard to pinpoint the exact time when "HoldEm" got
this type of status. Was it the coverage of the World
Series of Poker on ESPN? Was it the movie "Rounders"
(which has been labeled as the "HoldEm" players bible)
that started it? The answer may never be found.
There are some skeptics though, saying that "HoldEm" is
nothing but a hobby that's getting some media attention
and everyone will forget about it in a few months.
That's not the case. "HoldEm" is going to be around
longer than most people think for several reasons. One
is the coverage.
ESPN has been getting huge ratings for the World Series
of Poker, and since the big rise, they have been
assaulting their shows with countdown clocks' telling
what time it is on.
Bowling and billiards wish they got as many time slots
as poker, those sports are lucky if they get an hour
within a two month span.
The second reason is celebrity status. When celebrities
endorse a product, a majority of the time, products
sales will soar and the same thing will happen with "HoldEm".
Celebrity Poker Showdown is on cable television these
days, and while it doesn't necessarily have an "A" list
of actors and actresses (B list if you're lucky, and the
ragtag group known as the Baldwin brothers), still gets
good feedback from viewers and is doing a noble thing in
the process by donating money to the celebrities'
selected charities.
The only major flaw to the "HoldEm" phenomenon deals
with the players on TV. They all have one thing in
common: No personality. There is Shaq for basketball,
Terrell Owens for football, and basically all the drama
queens on the Yankees for baseball, but when it comes to
poker, they're all stone faced.
Yeah, of course, the whole 'poker face' thing comes into
effect, but in some situations where they have a
$500,000 to $1 million chip lead, they've got to show
something like maybe a snicker or an arrogant comment or
two. Something to let the viewers know they're alive.
Nonetheless, Texas "HoldEm" has slaughtered the other
recreational sports and has gained such a huge fan base,
that it's hard to see it go anywhere else but up.
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