ESPN’s nearly real-time coverage offers new view of WSOP

The decision to televise -- in nearly real time -- every hand played at the final table of the World Series of Poker's Main Event changes the way the viewing audience will follow the action.

The move also ups the stakes for the nine players who seek the $8.71 million payday that goes with the gold championship bracelet.

Instead of a player wondering for days whether or not he was bluffed out of a large pot, conceivably he'll know in roughly 15 minutes whether his opponent held pocket aces or raised with a 3-2 offsuit.

"No question that this will affect how almost everybody plays," said Las Vegas resident Matt Giannetti, 26, who sits third in chips with 24.75 million. "Before, you never knew what cards a person had. Now, I'll be able to get a little piece of information that adds a new dynamic to the game."

ESPN and World Series of Poker owner Caesars Entertainment Corp. decided to change the format for the final table in the $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em World Championship to accommodate the expanded television coverage.

Nevada gaming regulators signed off on the idea.

When the nine players -- survivors from the Main Event's starting field of 6,865 -- resume action at 11:30 a.m. today in the Rio's Penn & Teller Theater, ESPN cameras will record each hand, which will then be televised across ESPN2 and online on ESPN3.com on a 15-minute delay with hole cards revealed to viewers once a hand is completed.

ESPN plans to show every hand until the field is cut to three players, who will return for the final session Tuesday afternoon that will determine the 2011 world poker champion.

There is a catch.

Players can't use smartphones and other mobile communications devices while at the table. However, during breaks players can consult with friends sitting in the audience section onstage who could communicate with associates who are watching play unfold on television or online.

"This is a dynamic we as poker players have never really had to deal with," said Phil Collins, a 26-year-old Las Vegan, who is fourth in chips with 23.875 million. "Anything I can learn about my opponent allows me to put another piece of information in my brain for my future decision-making process."

World Series of Poker officials were not surprised that players would find a way to take advantage of new information. And they are not discouraging the action.

"It's like a football team making halftime adjustments based on the first half," World Series of Poker spokesman Seth Palansky said. "The idea is to take poker to the next level."

Doug White, senior director of programing for ESPN, believes the nearly live coverage will be a winner for the sports network. The competition will be up against a full slate of televised NFL games.

During the summer, ESPN found success broadcasting preliminary rounds of the Main Event and other World Series of Poker events across ESPN3 with the 15-minute delay.

"We really don't know what the actual numbers will be, but based on what we saw, poker fans want the option to be able to watch the play in near-real time," White said. "That's why we decided to block out most of the day on ESPN2 and put this event on display."

That meant moving the start of final table competition from Saturday to Sunday and also changed the format. Rather than cutting the field to the final two, the top three players will return Tuesday to play for the title, with viewers again seeing every hand with a 15-minute delay. The final three will be televised on the primary ESPN network starting at 5:30 p.m.

Over the past three years, the network has televised the final table action in a two-hour taped and edited episode.

"This is a natural step for this event," White said. "(Going to three players) adds to the excitement factor."

When action was halted July 20, the World Series of Poker was left with its most internationally diverse final table in the tournament's history.

Just three Americans are at the final table, which has representatives from seven countries; the United States, Ukraine, Ireland, Germany, Belize, Great Britain and the Czech Republic.

Poker historians said the field is also one of the closest in terms of chip separation in recent tournament play. Chip leader Martin Staszko, 35, of the Czech Republic, has 40.175 million in chips, just 27.8 million more than ninth-place qualifier Sam Holden of Great Britain.

The difference between first and ninth was not lost on the players. Collins is fewer than a million chips behind Giannetti, and said one or two hands could shake up the entire field.

"You have a lot of good players at this table and there aren't many weak spots," Collins said. "Chips could move around rather quickly."

Giannetti knows the feeling. In the final hours of qualifying in July he was on the bubble, facing elimination in 10th place. Twice, he doubled up his chip stack with pocket jacks, moving into third place.

He said the up-and-down experience during the qualifying, along with winning the World Poker Tour's Main Event in Malta in September, has prepared him for the final table. Giannetti said he didn't mind the four-month layoff.

"That added final table experience gave me a lot of confidence," Giannetti said. "Up until Malta, I would have rather continued playing because I was super zoned in. I got that feeling back."

Giannetti has the second-most career World Series of Poker in-the-money finishes at the final table, with 10, followed by Ireland's Eoghan O'Dea, who has six entering the final table.

American Ben Lamb, who lives in both Tulsa, Okla., and Las Vegas, enters the final table in fifth place with 20.875 million in chips. He has 12 career cashes, including four at this year's World Series of Poker.

Lamb is leading the tournament's Player of the Year standings and is seemingly the hottest player in the game.

Many of the players, such as Collins and Giannetti, spent the past few weeks watching coverage of the Main Event preliminary rounds, hoping to pick up pointers on how the competition handled different hands.

Starting with today's action, the players can pick up that information much faster.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal .com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.