Who's Watching Us?

I was in Cardiff recently commentating on the William Hill Grand Prix, when it occurred to me that perhaps we poker players are being a bit trusting about TV coverage and the showing of hands behind the scenes. I wondered what steps Harrah's took to make sure that no one at the World Series of Poker final table was receiving information they were not supposed to be getting. Seven million dollars is a lot of money. People have been murdered for a whole lot less, so a little bit of collusion and high-tech gadgetry could make a very handsome payday for those concerned.



The first time the Poker Million had under-the-table cameras, players demanded that everything possible be done to safeguard their security. Somehow, since then, nothing much has been heard of on the subject. Now, it may well be that tournament organizers have everything under control, and that I'm being paranoid. After all, they're hardly likely to advertise to the world what steps they're taking to make sure that the security of holecards is not being breached. Just the same, it would be comforting to know that they take this issue seriously.



If it hasn't happened already, I'm sure that sometime soon, one or two players who reach a mega-final will try to devise means to get holecard information. Or, perhaps a cameraman or a director will put temptation in a player's way and make him an offer that's just too good to pass up. It's not that I'm being cynical, it's just the nature of things. Suppose that you've reached a final in a major televised event; wouldn't it be great to know the big blind had bullets so you could effortlessly muck your big slick? Would you be so willing to go to war with your pair of queens if you knew A-K was lurking behind you? How about bullying the blinds with total garbage because you know their cards are as bad as yours? Or, how about calling an all-in bet from a pair of fours because you have a pair of sixes? You'd be hailed as a poker genius, the new Stu Ungar. (Of course, fate can always play havoc with this, and funny things can happen by the time all of those five cards are out … something about "the best laid plans of mice and men.")



So, what's the answer? Whatever it is, it's not going to be easy or straightforward to implement. However, there are a few things that are fairly obvious. To begin with, no player at any televised final table should come equipped with iPods and the like. Mobiles and headphones of any description should be banned. Furthermore, you would expect all finalists to be thoroughly screened to ensure that they are not carrying any transmitting or receiving devices. Naturally, this would have to be repeated every time any finalist left the room. It also might not be a bad idea to make sure that players and TV crews could not meet. After all, someone looking at holecards might spot a tell and pass that information on during a break, which could be exploited at some later critical stage.



Furthermore, there should be someone examining plays to make sure that they make sense as the final is progressing. This is the difficult bit, as far as I can see. Who is this someone going to be? It goes without saying that he would have to be a very experienced and respected tournament player at the highest level. But this player is going to see not only the edited final show that we all end up seeing, but the whole final from beginning to end. So, unless this player is retired, is it fair that these finalists are "supervised" by someone they might have to play against in the future? I think not. Who can check to see that players are not passing chips or making moves that don't make sense unless they know what the opponents are holding? Perhaps there could be two tournament directors, one out in front and one in the backroom making sure everything is as it should be and there's no hanky-panky going on. If you knew that someone was watching your every move, you might be less inclined to stray from the straight and narrow.



At the moment, there are lots of companies jumping on the poker bandwagon, and I would like to think that they're paying as much attention to detail as they are to making money. Who's watching us, and who's watching out for us?

Lucy "Golden Ovaries" Rokach has been one of the most successful tournament players in Europe, with more than 14 European titles to her name in the last five years alone. She hails from the Midlands in the UK, but can usually be found on the European tournament trail.