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CNN Live At Daybreak

Poker on TV

Aired August 22, 2003 - 05:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: OK, so you've picked up a pair of cowboys and you're about to go all in before the flop. But you're worried you might be up against big slick or maybe even pocket rockets.
If you know what I'm talking about, then you've probably been watching poker on TV.

Syndicated columnist Norman Chad hosts the "World Series of Poker" on ESPN.

He's up very late in Los Angeles and is kind enough to join us live to talk aces and eights.

Good morning, Norman.

NORMAN CHAD, COMMENTATOR, ESPN'S WORLD SERIES OF POKER: How are you, Carol?

COSTELLO: I'm fine.

Poker is hot and your show like draws, what, a million people a week. Did you expect that?

CHAD: Actually, I didn't, because to some people watching poker on TV is like watching paint dry.

COSTELLO: Sorry.

CHAD: But there's a lot of people playing poker at home and they turn on their TV and they like to watch it.

COSTELLO: Why?

CHAD: You know, it's interesting. You know, I think the characters are interesting. It's people from all walks of life. I think it's also interesting, in poker, unlike any other game or sport, you or I couldn't play against Tiger Woods or Pete Sampras and if we did, we'd get killed. But in poker, we can play against the best players in the world and on occasion, you can beat the best players in the world in poker. So I think that's pretty fascinating.

COSTELLO: Yes, if you're lucky and very skilled.

You know, one TV poker exec says watching poker on TV is like high octane drag racing. Can it really get to be that exciting, though? CHAD: No, I wouldn't say that it's that exciting. It's better than watching someone, you know, maybe redecorate their patio on the Home and Gardening Network. It's just, it's just a lot of chips, a lot of money at stake. You get to see nowadays what you didn't get to see before, which are the cards that the players have that they're playing. So you kind of get into their minds and you get to play along with them and see the decisions they make. And there's thousands and thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake.

COSTELLO: Yes, and you could -- that's right, you could lose money big time. Is it sort of like the new reality television?

CHAD: Yes, except it's better than reality television. You know, most of reality TV has nothing to do with reality, I mean, you know, unless you, you know, you think eating bugs or trying to survive on some island that you've never been to is actual reality. That's fake reality.

Poker, what you see with the cameras there is exactly what you would see if the cameras weren't there. This is what they do for a living. They're very interesting people. They're very interesting to listen to at the table. So this really is reality TV. It would be just the same if we didn't have the cameras there.

COSTELLO: Yes, I want to talk a little bit more about the characters that you mentioned that are playing poker in these tournaments, because some of them are quite geeky. Because really they're statisticians or probablists. But people seem to really latch onto them.

CHAD: Well, it's a big cross section. You do have people who just play the numbers or are more, like you say, poker statisticians. And then you have people who have more of an instinct player. They're able to read people better. They're able to tell people's bluffs and tells. And so it's a combination of people who go by the, strictly by the numbers and those people who go by instincts. And you can't teach that and the best poker players in the world have tremendous instincts about other people.

COSTELLO: Boy, you're not kidding. And that so many people are watching, there has been an incredible explosion in the popularity of poker. It was always the number one card game in America, I guess, but in casinos, more people are playing poker. In their homes more people are playing poker, even though it's illegal to play for profit in many states.

Are you kind of tapping into the problem of addiction in this country or illegal gambling?

CHAD: Well, you know, even if it's a good thing, as you know, too much of a good thing always can be a problem. And we do have a growing online poker community, which is what led to a lot more people playing in the World Series this year. It used to be you could play at home in a little home game for 50 cents with other people in your neighborhood. Now you can go online, set up your own credit card account and play for much bigger stakes at any hour of the day, you know, wearing absolutely nothing, which is, you know, convenient.

COSTELLO: Yes.

CHAD: So, yes, that can create a problem in the long run. Right now it's obviously creating a lot of new poker players who like to play and like to watch it.

COSTELLO: Yes.

Norman Chad, many thanks.

And August 26 is the final series of the "World Series of Poker," is that right? Did I put it right?

CHAD: Yes, next Tuesday night on ESPN will be the final table of the "World Series of Poker," with the winner getting $2.5 million next Tuesday at 8:00 Eastern.

COSTELLO: Wow.

Well, you can bet Chad Myers will be tuning in.

Norman Chad, many thanks.

CHAD: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Thank you for staying up late in Los Angeles and joining DAYBREAK.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired August 22, 2003 - 05:21   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: OK, so you've picked up a pair of cowboys and you're about to go all in before the flop. But you're worried you might be up against big slick or maybe even pocket rockets.
If you know what I'm talking about, then you've probably been watching poker on TV.

Syndicated columnist Norman Chad hosts the "World Series of Poker" on ESPN.

He's up very late in Los Angeles and is kind enough to join us live to talk aces and eights.

Good morning, Norman.

NORMAN CHAD, COMMENTATOR, ESPN'S WORLD SERIES OF POKER: How are you, Carol?

COSTELLO: I'm fine.

Poker is hot and your show like draws, what, a million people a week. Did you expect that?

CHAD: Actually, I didn't, because to some people watching poker on TV is like watching paint dry.

COSTELLO: Sorry.

CHAD: But there's a lot of people playing poker at home and they turn on their TV and they like to watch it.

COSTELLO: Why?

CHAD: You know, it's interesting. You know, I think the characters are interesting. It's people from all walks of life. I think it's also interesting, in poker, unlike any other game or sport, you or I couldn't play against Tiger Woods or Pete Sampras and if we did, we'd get killed. But in poker, we can play against the best players in the world and on occasion, you can beat the best players in the world in poker. So I think that's pretty fascinating.

COSTELLO: Yes, if you're lucky and very skilled.

You know, one TV poker exec says watching poker on TV is like high octane drag racing. Can it really get to be that exciting, though? CHAD: No, I wouldn't say that it's that exciting. It's better than watching someone, you know, maybe redecorate their patio on the Home and Gardening Network. It's just, it's just a lot of chips, a lot of money at stake. You get to see nowadays what you didn't get to see before, which are the cards that the players have that they're playing. So you kind of get into their minds and you get to play along with them and see the decisions they make. And there's thousands and thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake.

COSTELLO: Yes, and you could -- that's right, you could lose money big time. Is it sort of like the new reality television?

CHAD: Yes, except it's better than reality television. You know, most of reality TV has nothing to do with reality, I mean, you know, unless you, you know, you think eating bugs or trying to survive on some island that you've never been to is actual reality. That's fake reality.

Poker, what you see with the cameras there is exactly what you would see if the cameras weren't there. This is what they do for a living. They're very interesting people. They're very interesting to listen to at the table. So this really is reality TV. It would be just the same if we didn't have the cameras there.

COSTELLO: Yes, I want to talk a little bit more about the characters that you mentioned that are playing poker in these tournaments, because some of them are quite geeky. Because really they're statisticians or probablists. But people seem to really latch onto them.

CHAD: Well, it's a big cross section. You do have people who just play the numbers or are more, like you say, poker statisticians. And then you have people who have more of an instinct player. They're able to read people better. They're able to tell people's bluffs and tells. And so it's a combination of people who go by the, strictly by the numbers and those people who go by instincts. And you can't teach that and the best poker players in the world have tremendous instincts about other people.

COSTELLO: Boy, you're not kidding. And that so many people are watching, there has been an incredible explosion in the popularity of poker. It was always the number one card game in America, I guess, but in casinos, more people are playing poker. In their homes more people are playing poker, even though it's illegal to play for profit in many states.

Are you kind of tapping into the problem of addiction in this country or illegal gambling?

CHAD: Well, you know, even if it's a good thing, as you know, too much of a good thing always can be a problem. And we do have a growing online poker community, which is what led to a lot more people playing in the World Series this year. It used to be you could play at home in a little home game for 50 cents with other people in your neighborhood. Now you can go online, set up your own credit card account and play for much bigger stakes at any hour of the day, you know, wearing absolutely nothing, which is, you know, convenient.

COSTELLO: Yes.

CHAD: So, yes, that can create a problem in the long run. Right now it's obviously creating a lot of new poker players who like to play and like to watch it.

COSTELLO: Yes.

Norman Chad, many thanks.

And August 26 is the final series of the "World Series of Poker," is that right? Did I put it right?

CHAD: Yes, next Tuesday night on ESPN will be the final table of the "World Series of Poker," with the winner getting $2.5 million next Tuesday at 8:00 Eastern.

COSTELLO: Wow.

Well, you can bet Chad Myers will be tuning in.

Norman Chad, many thanks.

CHAD: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Thank you for staying up late in Los Angeles and joining DAYBREAK.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com