please tv, no more poker

that's it. i'm officially sick of watching poker on television. i love playing poker, and talking about poker, and even watching it live, but the terrible commentary, the cheesy human interest angles and the endless commercials of tv broadcasts have to stop!

poker telecasts aren't even the biggest problem; regular tv shows are ten times worse. not only does every sitcom/drama/porno (the three true legitimate genres of watchable tv) have a poker episode, but they always always always get it wrong. the most recent example was last week's episode of Lost. Jack, who I already hate for being the king of the island, sees Sawyer, Hurley and Kate playing a game of poker, and decides to butt in. We're supposed to get the impression that he is a very skilled player, as he can immediately tell what each player is holding (he's apparently good because he spent time in Phuket?!). Then when playing Sawyer, he beats him, but to prove who is more skilled, Sawyer wants to play one more hand. One more hand?? Wouldn't that prove who was luckier? They're also betting arbitrary amounts, like 'see your three mangoes, raise a bottle of polysporin.' WHAT?? In the end, instead of having Sawyer bluff and get called by Jack, they have Jack bluff with a very bad hand, and Sawyer call with NOTHING! Now even a non poker player knows that the aim of a bluff is to get someone off of their hand, so you can't 'bluff' someone that already put everything in. Also, Jack says "I'm all in." What does that mean? Four more mangoes and his tennis shoes?

Arg...I need to cool off. And Lost needs to start getting better, and fast!