Well Played, WPT

Have really been enjoying the latest addition to our already loaded menu of poker-related goodness on the interwebs, the short video recaps done by our friends Jessica Welman and B.J. Nemeth over on the World Poker Tour site.

The WPT has always done a nifty job reporting from its events, thanks in large part to people like B.J. and Jess, both of whom bring a lot of experience and know-how to poker reporting. Video content has always been part of the WPT site, too, mostly in the form of player interviews. But as far as I know B.J. & Jess’ show is something a bit new.

This week saw the Festa al Lago event play out at the Bellagio, won yesterday by Randal Flowers (his second WPT title). At the end of each day’s play, Welman and Nemeth recorded videos recapping the action and making predictions about how the tournament would continue to play out. The vids generally last 8-12 minutes and afford the viewer both a quick rundown of what’s happening in the tourney as well as some grins, too.

For each event, then, the WPT provides all sorts of content -- videos, B.J.’s photo blogs, hand reports, and more -- thereby making it possible to follow a given tourney quite closely from afar. The site is also smartly organized. It’s a simple matter to look up past events, stats, and all sorts of info related to the World Poker Tour’s history.

My sense is the WPT is doing well thus far in Season 9, in terms of both attracting players and successfully producing a general buzz around the tour and its stops. Goes without saying that having a good handle on the reporting/promotion side of things helps a lot when it comes to keeping the WPT relevant and in the minds of us poker fans.

On their final installment from Festa al Lago, B.J. and Jess asked for suggestions for a title of their show:



I actually enjoyed the running gag this week in which a new title was introduced each day. Even so, I understand the need to settle on some way to refer to the show, and thus have a suggestion, one that simultaneously evokes B.J.’s love of Coca-Cola products, Jess’ fondness for Starbucks, and a favorite term of WPT co-host Vince Van Patten...

“Wired Pair.”

If you have a better ideer, send it their way via Twitter @JessAndBJ.