The Web Brings Us Together

Today I am going to talk about how the Internet is affecting poker. Many years ago, when I first started playing, there really wasn't an Internet. What was the precursor to today's Internet was a relatively small network of government and university computers. The interface was all text and not very inviting. Of course, I didn't know anything about computers, and neither did many other people. They were mainly the tools of engineers and mathematicians, and had none of the mainstream appeal that today's graphical user interfaces (GUIs) provide. But times change and technology moves ahead.

Now, many households possess computers that would have taken huge rooms to house in those days. And the processing power of an average home computer far surpasses the capabilities of the most illustrious of machines in the early '80s. In addition, the software now available has wonderful, enticing graphics and exciting sounds, all of which were impossible 20 years ago. Where does all this lead? Well, for one thing, it makes computers regular fixtures in most middle-class and upscale households. And it won't be long before almost all households will have at least one computer. Couple this with the explosive growth of the Internet and you get fantastic opportunities for communication among people of diverse backgrounds and locations.

Let's talk about some ways the Internet is bringing poker to the mainstream. During this year's World Series of Poker, there was more than one broadcast of the main event. Recently evolving technology was used in order to provide this. A number of well-known players (some, Card Player writers) provided commentary on the event by talking into telephones and microphones. This data was then encoded and "streamed" out over the Internet. What this means is that the sound was digitally sampled and frequencies that were close enough to one another were treated as one in order to reduce the amount of information and effectively broadcast the voices over the Internet. This type of encoding is necessary so that the data can be sent over a small bandwidth connection, like the one used with a 56k modem. As high-bandwidth connections like DSL and cable modems become more widespread, the quality of these kinds of broadcasts will improve. The general approach was to have broadcasters within a reasonable distance of the action so that they could attempt to give "blow by blow" descriptions. I say attempt only because this technology is so new that it left a little to be desired. First, the broadcasters were not really allowed to be close enough to get a good view of what was going on. Actually, most of them had to rely on a television monitor to see the action. Because of this, some details were less than clear. They weren't always able to see the chip denominations, and usually couldn't hear what was being said at the table. This led to some minor confusion in reporting. There was a lot of self-correcting and idle banter, but I found that to be unimportant next to the fact that one was able to get a very good idea of what was going on without actually being in Las Vegas. Anyone with a reasonable – say, 56k – connection could tune in and listen to the final-table action from start to finish. It reminded me of what I've heard about the old days of radio. The reception was scratchy and came in and out according to the quality of the connection, sort of like what I imagine radio interference might have been like decades ago. It's ironic, actually, that an event that offered by far the largest prize pool of any sporting event today had to rely on the initiative of some grassroots broadcasters to be available to the public, but that is the current state of affairs. Of course, major broadcasters were on hand to film it, but that will not be shown for months. The Internet broadcasters were not polished television personalities paid large sums of money, but players who take enough interest in their game to make sure that it gets to the public.

Another way the Internet is bringing poker into the mainstream is through video. It is not uncommon now to see video clips of events posted to the Internet. These are generally created by using a video camera to film the action and then capturing the data to a computer. This information is "encoded" into a much smaller file size, using appropriate software, and posted to the Internet in such a way that the user can click on a hyperlink and view the video clips. Granted, they are not of the quality that you might expect to see on abc.com or cnn.com, but they are a great start. A high percentage of computers are now equipped to view audio and video presentations of poker content. Some of the software that will do the trick are the Microsoft Windows Media Player and Real Network's Real Player. Most computers have one or the other, or both of these programs, installed at the factory. And if not, they are readily available for free on the Internet. We have a long way to go in order to make these presentations appealing to the public at large, but there has to be a beginning to everything. And last but not least, there are the numerous poker-related websites that are popping up all over the place. You probably know that www.chanpoker.com has videos of poker stories and strategies. Many other players already have their own sites or are just rolling out new sites. As this article is being published, Card Player is beta testing its newly remodeled website. I think this is a great trend.

Part of the point of this column was to talk about the changes that have occurred in the poker world over the past 20 years. I've seen the popularity of the game grow by leaps and bounds, and I believe coverage on the Internet will prove to be a big help in this regard. This is just a beginning, and I am confident that we will be seeing a dramatic improvement in content delivery in the years to come. In closing, I'd like to say that one thing I've always admired about the poker community is how much enthusiasm we have for the game. This enthusiasm is one of the things that makes it so much fun!

Visit Johnny Chan's website at www.chanpoker.com for streaming video on this and other related subjects.