Today, Poker Stars announced that Wil Wheaton has joined their stable of affiliated celebrities, and will play in the World Series of Poker main event. Other than Stand By Me and Star Trek, Wil isn't very much in the mainstream any more. He isn't doing much acting lately, but he has published some books. He's also been very active in the Linux community (apparently he's quite the geek), and he's been getting into poker. Those interested in seeing what he's up to should visit his blog. (Link to specific related post here.) So, Wil and a thousand or more online qualifiers from Poker Stars are going to play in the WSOP main event. Last I heard, the event will be capped at around 6,600 entrants -- the largest ever, and triple the size of last year's (which in turn was about triple the size of 2003's). It's clear that poker is in the middle of a boom. Some have said its growth would flatten out and then decline. Eventually it will, I'm sure, but not any time soon. Anyway, I think Wil Wheaton might have game. I respect him as a person, as a fellow geek, and now as a fellow poker player. It'd be interesting to sit at the same table with him, watch how he plays, and get a feel for how good he really is. There have been other, bigger celebrities joining the poker community, and so far they all have chops. Good luck, Wil. I've completed my first 2,500 hands (made it to about 2600 or so tonight). Tomorrow it's no ring game poker -- I'm going to analyze my data, look for leaks in my game, and share the results here. I'm also going to play a multi-table tournament or two, for a change of pace and to keep my skills sharp. Right now I'm building up a little roll to use for WCOOP satellites, and if I don't keep up with tournament play I'll be at a disadvantage when that time comes around. The two are very different types of poker (even when the same game is being played), and that's the subject of a future post. So far, I'm coming in just barely on the profitable side. I expected to be doing much better than I actually am. But, again, this is only 26% of the data I need for reasonably accurate measurement. In any case, now is a time to review and adjust.

Source: Poker