Poker Superstars

by Mike Sexton | Published: Jan 28, 2005

I recently had the privilege of participating in the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament at the beautiful Casino Morongo in Palm Springs, California. Twenty-four top poker players were invited to play in this elite event. It will be aired on FoxSportsNet (FSN) throughout the year. In addition, the top eight qualifiers will play a winner-take-all tournament on Super Bowl Sunday (2006) for $500,000.

The man behind the creation of Poker Superstars is Henry Orenstein. (He's also the guy who patented the under-the-table camera for poker, whereby viewers can see the players' holecards.) Assisting Henry in putting Poker Superstars together were two longtime poker professionals, Mori Eskandani and Eric Drache. Their mission was to give players exposure, create multiple opportunities for them to play, and create exciting poker for television. Mission accomplished.

Let me explain why this was such a unique event. First, the buy-in was $40,000 per player, but $750,000 was added to the prize pool. That was good. The format consisted of a series of tournaments in which players qualified to advance, and viewers will be able to follow these players throughout the year.

The structure was designed to enhance play and create fast-moving, exciting poker on television. The blinds went up every 12 minutes, which meant you had to play. That may seem like a total crapshoot to you, but by utilizing a 30-second "shot clock" (the amount of time that players had to act on their hands), it wasn't as bad as you might think. For the record, I love the 30-second shot clock. It makes for a much better poker game. (This "shot clock" reminded me of my Army days, when my drill sergeant used to say, "There are two kinds of bayonet fighters, the quick and the dead.")

To start, all players played six sixhanded tournaments with randomly drawn opponents, and were awarded points (10, 7, 5, 3, 1, 0) according to where they finished, from first to sixth. The top 16 point-getters at the end of the six matches (the regular season) advanced to the next round (the playoffs).

In the playoffs, the 16 qualifiers were divided into four groups of four players, and were seeded according to their points from the regular season. Each group then played two freezeouts with the same lineup, and the top two point-getters from each group moved on to the final eight. First place in each of these freezeouts was worth 10 points; second place, 7 points; third place, 4 points; and fourth place, 0 points.

I salute the organizers for coming up with an exciting format that will create dramatic, fast-paced poker for TV, but unfortunately, there was a glitch in the system. Do you know what it was? (Hint: Look closely at the points awarded in the fourhanded matches.)

The problem was that after you played the first fourhanded match, the points awarded were such that "playing poker" took a back seat to proper strategy and tactics. Allow me to explain. Assume that you (Player D) were playing in your first of two fourhanded matches. You picked up two aces, got all of your money in, got beat (I know, it happened again to you), and were the first one out (0 points). Player A went on to win (10 points), Player B got second (7 points), and Player C finished third (4 points).

Now, you start your second match. You're under the gun and look down to find the A K. You raise the pot a little, and get called by everyone. The flop comes Q J 10! You've got a royal flush! Player A is on the button, Player B makes a small bet, and Player C moves all in. Yippee! But wait; you suddenly realize that if you call, you will win the pot but cannot advance to the final eight. That's because even if you win this table, if Player C is eliminated first, Players A and B will have more than 10 points. Remember, only the top two players advance to the final eight. Therefore, even though you have a royal flush, you must fold if you want to advance to the final eight.

Thus, in the second fourhanded match, it's not about poker; it's about eliminating players in an exact order. It'll be interesting to see which players understand the tactics here (as well as how the commentators explain all of this to the viewers).

This unfortunate glitch can be fixed very easily by simply allowing the winners to advance. The first time around, there are four players at the table and the winner moves on to the finals. The second time, there are only three players, and again, the winner advances. It's short, sweet, and simple. Most importantly, it's all about the poker. I'm sure this glitch will be fixed for future Poker Superstars events.

You can watch the exciting Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament on FSN throughout the year.

Take care.