The World (Series) of Poker Reporting
Nearly two decades ago all the way back in 2003, Chris Moneymaker became the first player to earn the title of world champion in poker after winning his entry through a satellite on an online poker platform. His victory sparked a golden era in poker and the early beginnings of reporting in live and online poker blossomed. I was not part of the poker media back then, as my journey in this niche industry started a few years later.
The mainstream attention and recognition on a wider scale suffered temporary setbacks through the indictments of “Black Friday” in 2011 and regulatory efforts ever since not only in the United States but all over the world. A negative stigma prevails over the card game with age-old prejudices being present like dark clouds of an upcoming storm. The community itself has been gritting the teeth ever since to return to these glory days, but has many other small bush fires to deal with at all times.
Regardless of that, the 2024 WSOP in Las Vegas was very successful once more and the Main Event hit five figures for the second year in a row with a new record field size of 10,112 entries.
Let’s face it — poker is still a form of gambling even though many insist the card game to be considered as a sport instead. The strategy aspect is undeniable, but we (the entire poker community still have a long way to go to outshine the various scandals and gambling addiction prejudices of the average Joe. That may be a tall task ahead, as even poker players itself rather remember the bad beats first instead.
That’s where the journalism and live reporting comes into play: We have the unique chance to showcase the key influence of skill, consistent performances and methodological studying. Unfortunately, that still usually gets pushed into the background because cheating scandals, side bets, drama, and attention-seeking all bring by far more clicks. Perhaps, that’s just part of the human nature and happens in all areas of life.
When I entered the world of poker soon after Moneymaker’s Main Event triumph, the first generation of live reporters had paved the way and I was fortunate enough to catch the tail end of it. Many of the veterans were incredibly passionate about their job, even if the circumstances and working hours were ridiculous at times. But the vast majority of them have since moved on to new ventures within or outside of the poker industry.
There are several reasons for this and I allow myself the arrogance of assuming what those might be from my own point of view with more than a decade under my belt. Perhaps the most important one of them I have already mentioned in previous articles but shall repeat it again to emphasise the matter of fact.
Live reporting in poker is an often thankless job.
Yes, there are many players who appreciate the efforts. But the most common and vocal opinions with regards to live reporting on social media are usually complaints about the quality, quantity or errors in the updates. Very few times, the players actually take the time to get in touch with the reporters on the floor to point out mistakes but much rather prefer to blast it on social media networks.
I have seen comments such as “they never get the hand details correct” too many times throughout the years, but thankfully developed a thick skin and just blend out these pointless trolls. But imagine what a new reporter on the first series might think and how it literally slaps them into the face. They already get tossed into the ice cold water to begin with and have to deal with a stressful and demanding environment anyways.
There is no school or college course where you can learn live reporting in poker. Most of the time, new recruits have a connection to poker and assume it would be easy to write about without any major journalistic background. Of those that survive their first summer camp and not just want to earn some cash in between other jobs, some will make it and return.
For most of the others, there is a lot of uncertainty because there is one other major problem.
There are many live poker events throughout the year, but not many organisers see any value in reporting and want to pay for it.
Without the prospect of getting regular events and earning a living through reporting in poker, why should they stick around? This is a very unique job in a small bubble world that heavily depends on gaining more experience through repetition. You can only get to know so many players by face and remember them when you actually cover them in person.
There are several tournament series all over the world with a loyal player base and their own reporting team, such as the Run Good Series, MSPT, Asian Poker Tour, and many more. I would probably run out of characters to name them all and these particular examples are just that.
But in the larger scheme of things, all of these events work with a small close-knit crew. It was great to see a bigger media presence at the 2024 WSOP in Las Vegas with new outlets making their debut appearance. However, even all of them combined are just a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of thousands of players heading to Sin City.
Reporting in poker doesn’t earn a lot of money for those employed to try and capture all of the action — and likewise those cutting out the pay checks. One would basically need more main stream sponsors to offset the expenses or rely on faith in the biggest brands of the industry to keep investing.
There are a lot of stories to be told throughout each tournament, but many a times this simply cannot happen because there are not enough storytellers around. During smallers events, this might often be enough a solo job or includes two reporters at most. At the WSOP, a gold bracelet event may have up to four reporters from one outlet and a larger crew for the annual WSOP Main Event.
What reasonable expectations in terms of the coverage can be had with these limited numbers especially during the early and mid stages of a tournament? Several other casinos typically host big events during the ongoing WSOP but they merely publish seat draws and final table results on their social media accounts.
Why is that? Because there are not really any other reporters left that have enough experience in this unique job or can afford to take so much time off from all of their other duties. I can’t really tell if the second generation of reporters is nearing an end, but given how fast especially live poker has been growing in the last few years, the pool of new recruits to cover it all has fallen behind.
Player generated content via vlogs, meet-up games, short stories, and live streaming has become by far more important nowadays. Not many brands have adapted to these trends yet and merely focus on hiring streamers / ambassadors, while social media experts and video content creators could be integrated more thoroughly.
Furthermore, there is a lot of strategy content out there but most of the coaching platforms don’t necessarily help with attracting more fresh blood to poker. They are great for earning income on the short term and help players to get better in a zero-sum environment, but the social aspect of the game has gone all but missing in many ways. That cannot be fixed overnight but perhaps it is time for everyone to expand the own horizon and not just look after the own profit from a business point of view.
Live reporting looks easy on paper — what does it contain?
The work of a live reporter in poker starts before the cards go in the air and continues until the final river card has been dealt, just like it should be for poker players who think in advance of the next step(s). An average day could be anywhere between 12 to 14 hours with my longest shift clocking at a modest 19 and a half hours. There is no college course that teaches you what to do — many new folks simply jump into the cold water because they like the card game or play themselves.
In a nutshell, the select few pacing up and down the aisles are trying to find any interesting hands to then publish the witnessed information as correctly as possible without any judgment for everyone else to follow. The faster that process is, the more time one can spend at the tables to gather more content. It won’t be perfect and that may only come once AI robots take over — unless they use Microsoft Windows as operating system.
The tallest task ahead every time is trying to keep track of as many players as possible and update their respective chip counts as often as possible. Knowing and remembering the participants comes with repetition and experience, just like players should memorise their ranges in as many different spots as possible. One has to be eager to go out there, chase down the information and put all other distractions away for the time being while you are “on the clock”.
It is one of the first things I try to tell new reporters: Always Be Counting — the ABC of this unique niche job.
On the contrary, I stopped counting how many times someone told me “you just missed a huge hand” because that happens so often during the early and middle stages of a tournament. Seasoned veterans will always have a side-eye towards the nearby tables while typing their current hands, ready to jump in case something is happening. That would be one aspect that cannot be taught, you either have the urge or not because we are all creatures of habit.
Drilling it into the mind only lasts so long in theory, but the best of the best always have a certain sense of dedication and routines at their disposal to make the job look easy (and terrifying for new recruits). There is no blueprint to succeed because we all think in different ways and have to create our own habits. Perhaps the best lesson I would teach immediately is as follows:
Do not only focus on what you need right now but also in a few hours and for the remainder of the tournament. This job is not a sprint but a marathon, you will only make it to the end unscathed if you are well-prepared, physically and mentally. The more automated and efficient your own processes are, the better your coverage will be.
There is no guarantee that the own extensive efforts will always be recognised and rewarded by the people in charge, but hopefully the participants will notice the difference and appreciate it accordingly. After all, without them, this way to make a living would not even exist and I rather prefer not to drag my otherwise disgruntled ass through a boring 9–5 office job. Likewise, without journalists around, how many stories would actually be told?
Our ultimate goal is (or should be) growing the game and making it a viable option for competition and entertainment in the long term. If major live event operators and poker brands were to increase the budget and hire more reporters to showcase their events, I am certain that the pool of available reporters would replenish over time. The expenses to do so are not significant based on my personal experience but fighting these specific windmills gets very tiresome over the years.
Until then, it is almost certainly a guessing game to find out how many of the new recruits from 2023 and 2024 will stick around for the next WSOP.
The poker world has been spoiled by the extensive Triton Coverage
There is one major exception to these shortcomings from my point of few: The Triton Super High Roller Series. Thanks to a significantly higher production budget in combination with lower overall participation numbers in these high-stakes events, it is possible to deliver the near perfect product for interested viewers from all over the world.
They can afford to fly in some of the best and most experienced dealers no matter where the tournament is taking place, boast the best video production crew and can hire local staff to operate iPads to key in all of the hand information for a comprehensive hand history coverage. The entire content is not hidden behind a paywall either and everyone can follow along as long as they have a solid internet connection.
If I had one suggestion for Triton, it would be the increase of social media presence, hiring more people behind the scenes with in-depth poker knowledge and extending cooperations with poker news portals all over the world.
Would this top-notch product be possible for other brands as well? Yes, but it requires a significant amount of money that likely nobody else could justify in the current poker industry landscape. PokerStars also produces a lot of video and streaming content during their major live poker events but even they have a limited budget after all.
Perhaps, in a few years from now, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will take over all of these duties and make my current job entirely obsolete. But getting that programming spot on without any hilarious snafus is a whole different challenge that I am certainly not qualified for. Until then, the best we can do is make the best out of it and always pour our heart and soul into the reporting duties.
How would I rate my own 2024 WSOP performance?
In previous years, I was in Las Vegas for the full duration but that didn’t seem a reasonable option with my son being born on April 15. Instead, I went for one month only and provided live updates for 23 days. One of my days off sandwiched between four-card action included a full marathon on the outskirts of Sin City in Lovell Canyon before heading straight back to the action the following day.
Most of my appearances these days especially during the WSOP come in high-profile tournaments that get a lot of attention from poker fans and media. As long as cloning doesn’t become a viable option, it will remain to be the case but there are many smaller events outside of the summer camp that I happily visit to go back to the roots.
From Day 1 until the end of the Main Event, I was fighting with a cold and the pain from an infected root canal. Regardless of that, there were too many small and avoidable mistakes many a times — the aftermath of sleep deprivation and lack of fitness exercises / high-quality nutrition. This compromise has been unfolding for many years now, because otherwise it would eat up my income and I now need to earn money for three people instead of just myself.
I also feel that I failed in providing additional leadership and guidance for new(er) reporters this year, which is something to reflect upon for potential future summer camps. My strength is still heavily focused on live reporting, while feature article content is lacking. Improving the balance between those two core routines remains a weakness and will be crucial to maintain the fire inside of me.
There are a lot more work-related things I’d like to write about, but many of them would get me in trouble and I don’t have a reliable Plan B just yet.
Guess I oughta have to do my thing as long as possible and try to share as much of my passion for poker and this particular job with possible new long-term reporters. Whether or not they will have the same sense of dedication and “insanity” (in a good way) remains to be seen.
Maybe after such a long time in the industry, there are fewer fucks to give anymore, but I am definitely also tempted to call out bullshit in poker more regularly when I see it.
This wall of text ended up being far longer than I had in mind initially. Congratulations to everyone for investing the time and making it all the way to the end.
P.S.
Did I already mention that I like running? Because this has somehow become one particular option to balance the ever-persistent pressure, stress and built-up frustration during live events to keep on going. That can be a marathon, too, quite literally.
I better get that root canal fixed asap, because my first-ever Ultra Marathon awaits this upcoming weekend.
