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I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003)

05-08-2024 , 07:45 PM
Since I have no questions to answer for this post, I asked ChatGPT the following questions off the top of my head consecutively:

1. When did the World Series of Poker Main Event first top 50 players?
2. Who was the first woman to win a World Series of Poker bracelet?
3. Who was the first woman to cash in a World Series of Poker event?

and it got all three answers wrong. Worse, it admitted it actually knew the correct answers when prodded.

Spoiler:
1. 1979 (54 players); ChatGPT said 1982, which was the year it first topped 100.
2. Vera Richmond (1982); ChatGPT said Barbara Enright, who was the second in 1996.
3. Bonnie Baez (1976); ChatGPT said Barbara Freer in 1978, which didn't actually happen and misses the 1977 Women's Seven-Card Stud anyway (I probably should have specified "open event" although it wouldn't have changed the correct answer).


I promise I'll give you more accurate answers than ChatGPT and its ilk (but hopefully for harder questions than these).
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
05-08-2024 , 07:58 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by rjen47
Since I have no questions to answer for this post, I asked ChatGPT the following questions off the top of my head consecutively:

1. When did the World Series of Poker Main Event first top 50 players?
2. Who was the first woman to win a World Series of Poker bracelet?
3. Who was the first woman to cash in a World Series of Poker event?

and it got all three answers wrong. Worse, it admitted it actually knew the correct answers when prodded.

Spoiler:
1. 1979 (54 players); ChatGPT said 1982, which was the year it first topped 100.
2. Vera Richmond (1982); ChatGPT said Barbara Enright, who was the second in 1996.
3. Bonnie Baez (1976); ChatGPT said Barbara Freer in 1978, which didn't actually happen and misses the 1977 Women's Seven-Card Stud anyway (I probably should have specified "open event" although it wouldn't have changed the correct answer).


I promise I'll give you more accurate answers than ChatGPT and its ilk (but hopefully for harder questions than these).
in super/system brunson said a huge fish nearly won the wsop in the early years because everyone kept trying to bluff him, who was that fish?
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
05-08-2024 , 08:55 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by limon
in super/system brunson said a huge fish nearly won the wsop in the early years because everyone kept trying to bluff him, who was that fish?
If he was talking about 1977, I'd guess amateur Milo Jacobson (who finished third for $0, although wsop.com oddly has him second).
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
05-08-2024 , 10:07 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by rjen47
If he was talking about 1977, I'd guess amateur Milo Jacobson (who finished third for $0, although wsop.com oddly has him second).
seems about right. they all made deals at the end then. i wonder if the winner gave him a "pity" deal because he lost so much in the cash games.
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
05-14-2024 , 01:08 PM
When did WSOP chips stop having a cash value? I recall a story about Doyle cashing out to avoid winning and making the news, in the 1972 WSOP, IIRC.
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
05-14-2024 , 08:37 PM
What were dealer downs like from 2000 to 2005-ish?
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
05-14-2024 , 08:47 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Garick
When did WSOP chips stop having a cash value? I recall a story about Doyle cashing out to avoid winning and making the news, in the 1972 WSOP, IIRC.
Lots of things were different in the early years, but that was a truly unusual 3-way deal that was made to allow Brunson to feign illness and "cash out" for $20,000. The deal worked out well for everyone, however, as Amarillo Slim Preston was the best poker ambassador you could ask for. He made numerous television appearances that greatly popularized the WSOP.

WSOP tournament chips (and tournament chips in general) never have cash value otherwise.
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
05-14-2024 , 08:52 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DisRuptive1
What were dealer downs like from 2000 to 2005-ish?
Sorry, I don't know what you're specifically looking for, but that's not my area of expertise anyway, so hopefully someone else can chime in.

Most of that was during the infamously cheap Becky Binion era, however, so I'm sure the dealers were especially overworked and underpaid!
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
06-18-2024 , 08:51 PM
I used to subscribe to a weekly email from somebody. This person used an alias so it was not his real name. He also brought out a book.

It was in sections like how to play heads up and had a home game feel to it. It was around 2003 ish.


Its annoying me that i cannot remember his name.
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
06-18-2024 , 10:37 PM
I found it… roy rounder.
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
Today , 10:48 AM
do you think the moneymaker effect is exaggerated?

i'm of the opinion that it was already taking off anyway - i could be mistaken, but everyone i knew had seen rounders, and this made everyone interested in poker and then boom, suddenly for the first time ever there's now poker on tv as well
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
Today , 02:12 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by rickroll
do you think the moneymaker effect is exaggerated?

i'm of the opinion that it was already taking off anyway - i could be mistaken, but everyone i knew had seen rounders, and this made everyone interested in poker and then boom, suddenly for the first time ever there's now poker on tv as well
It was a confluence of events, and there's no way to tell how much each contributed. In alphabetical order:
  • Chris Moneymaker: Everyman, down-to-earth, likeable, and that too-good-to-be-true name. Bonus points for misremembering his initial satellite buyin as $39, since that sounded a lot better than the actual $86.
  • ESPN Broadcasts: ESPN made a great call replaying the seven 2003 Main Event episodes repeatedly, exposing countless viewers to the Cinderella Story that they might have missed the first umpteen times it aired.
  • Hole Card Cam: Viewers love feeling smarter than the players on TV. The subconscious impulse for them to think more highly of their own poker skills because of this can't be overstated.
  • Internet Poker: The convenience of playing from home is extraordinary. Play whenever you want for however long you want without even having to get dressed. Much lower buyins too.
  • Rounders: When the Matt Damon/Edward Norton movie hit theaters in 1998, it didn't do that well at the box office ($8.5 million opening weekend and $22.9 million total in the U.S.). However, it became a cult classic after its February 9, 1999 DVD release.
  • World Poker Tour: WPT guys like Mike Sexton swear they were the main cause of the poker boom. They started airing on the Travel Channel on March 30, 2003, seven weeks before the WSOP Main Event hit ESPN (May 19).
  • World Series of Poker Growth: The WSOP had already been growing fairly consistently since its inception. The Main Event jumped from 631 players to 839 in 2003 (pre-Moneymaker boost).

I think 2+2 posters downplay Moneymaker's role a bit too much as a reasonable reaction to the overly hyped "Moneymaker Effect". The reality is somewhere in between. The boom was going to happen no matter what, but Moneymaker made it bigger faster.
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote
Today , 04:24 PM
thanks

do you have this info as a fan who took it upon themselves to be a historian or are/were you involved with the wsop and saw how the sausage was made from the inside (or were you playing in all the old ones, if so are you a player who we may recognize?)



what about the televized poker where people playing an event that only existed for the tv production (ie not wpt or wsop which was happening anyway without the tv cameras on)

i know you only talked about wsop but i'm assuming you may have some insights into that as well?
  • how were players chosen?
  • what kind of backroom dealings were going on? ie if you had the "star" could they influence the lineup
  • was production in on it in the sense where they knew certain players like elezra and farha were the spots the game ran around but didn't want to insult them and drive them away so they flattered them and pretended they too were skilled pros like how hcl happily pretends that keating and airball are professionals and crushers or did they honestly think that everyone at the table was really good?
  • were the amounts of money real or for tv? ie looking at some tv lineups, it's hard to believe anyone would play given they could play much softer games off camera, so were the buyins paid by their sponsors if they were real dollar amounts?





also are there any questions you wish people had asked but hadn't?
I am the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian... ask me anything (especially before 2003) Quote

      
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