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 The
2004 World Series of Poker was a record-breaking event by anyone's standards.
The number of entrants and the total prize pool surpassed that of the previous
year by a healthy margin, and the media coverage given to the event was also
unprecedented. The final tables of various preliminary events were aired on
ESPN, and the Main Event was broken into ten two-hour episodes. The coverage
was complete enough to keep ESPN viewers pleased - the 2004 WSOP garnered a
higher television rating than any other poker program that had ever been
produced before.
Now ESPN Original Entertainment has brought the 2004 World Series of Poker to
DVD, giving poker players all over a chance to watch their favorite players
and moments from the world's largest poker tournament again and again. The
three-disc set, available for $19.99, packages all ten episodes covering the
Main Event together with a bonus disc filled with almost three hours' worth of
extras. The Main Event coverage is exactly the same as what was shown on ESPN
the first time around, so if you're looking for something new here you'll be
disappointed. For those who want to review the 2004 WSOP for other reasons,
however, there is plenty of interesting material to be had.
The Highs
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The production values. ESPN put a lot of effort into
producing a good-looking television program, and it shows. The picture is
clear and the sound quality is good. You won't be straining your eyes or ears
when you watch this DVD.
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The educational value. For anyone who's a relative
newcomer to no-limit Texas Hold'em, there are very few resources out there
that will allow them to see as many top players in action as the 2004 WSOP on
DVD. Every big-time professional plays in the Main Event and ESPN devotes a
lot of camera time to these players, especially in the earlier episodes.
Watching how these players make their decisions is one of the better learning
tools around for neophytes, whether it's watching Daniel Negreanu crash and
burn on Day One by playing too aggressively against players who can't be
bluffed or watching Dan Harrington pull off the bluff of the century with 6-2
off-suit at the final table. Greg Raymer's commentary track on the final table
is also a priceless educational tool for new players, as he walks through his
decision-making process step-by-step for each hand that was shown on
television.
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The bonus disc. Here's the true gem in this collection.
The bonus disc includes highlights from the $1000 No-Limit Hold'em final
table, highlights from the $2000 Pot-Limit Omaha final table, insightful Main
Event final table commentary by World Champion Greg Raymer, a featurette on
three-time WSOP Main Event champion Stu Ungar, the entire 2004 WSOP Tournament
of Champions, and the final table of the Kansas City Lowball event which never
aired on ESPN. It would have been very easy to throw a handful of worthless
"features" together for a DVD that's guaranteed to sell well during the poker
boom, but ESPN took the high road on this one. Particularly entertaining is
the Tournament of Champions, in which Annie Duke sends Phil Hellmuth spiraling
into one of his biggest meltdowns of all time.
The Lows
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Explaining the rules of Texas Hold'em over and over. One
of the best parts of the DVD format is that it allows you to remove
unnecessary material. ESPN decided not to take advantage of the format, and
included the minute long explanation of the rules of Texas Hold'em in every
episode of the Main Event. This means fast-forwarding every time this segment
comes up, an annoyance that could have easily been avoided by including the
segment once on the bonus disc for anyone who needed to review the rules.
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"The Nuts." These segments, included in each episode of
ESPN's coverage, feature such fascinating material as watching Chris "Jesus"
Ferguson chop vegetables in half with playing cards and a Blind Man's Bluff
tournament among top professionals. Again, these are segments that get in the
way and could've been included separately on the bonus disc.
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The commentary. ESPN's poker commentary duo of Lon
McEachern and Norman Chad just isn't as good as their competition, mostly
because there's very little real poker analysis and too much stilted joking.
While it's understandable that having a professional help out with the
commentary might be difficult during the one event every professional wants to
play, the commentary is still a bit forced.
The high points of this DVD set far outweigh the low
points, and make the 2004 World Series of Poker a must-have for anyone with a
poker DVD collection. The three-disc set is available for $19.99 at
www.espnshop.com and
www.championshipdvd.com .
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