New York

NEW YORK, NY --- When IMG Media approached Tone Boots about a new poker show last year, all they knew was that they wanted to combine hip-hop with poker. Boots and his crew came up with the style, look, and feel of the total Hip-Hop Hold'em package. That involved not only set design, including walls lined with hip-hop artwork and platinum albums, but also a consistent core of personalities bringing the show to your living room each week. Longtime popular radio personality Ed Lover was the first person who came to mind when Boots considered who should host the show; Boots described him as a "true professional" who maintains the light, playful feeling of the show among all the bravado. Also featured each week is the legendary DJ Scratch, who spins classic hip-hop tracks to open and close each show.

NEW YORK CITY --- "These guys is playing crazy!"

Those words came from the astute mouth of AZ after a hand where DJ Clue made a big raise with T-2 and Tony Woods called him with K-Q - with no deuces, tens, queens, or kings on the board. That particular hand wasn't atypical at all. There was a lot more gambling than poker involved in Hip-Hop Hold'em, but that's not a big surprise.

"Gambling and hip-hop go hand in hand," AZ told me after the game was done. He's been playing since he was a kid, learning at family reunions where everyone played penny poker and spades. He got involved with this show because, as he said, "poker's the thing right now. Everyone's doing it, and now hip-hop's involved with it. It's natural."

In the end it was DJ Clue who came out on top. He held a 20.5K-4.5K leads going into heads-up play against Tony Woods, and all it took was one hand to finish Woods off. True to the spirit of play up to that point, Clue cracked Woods' Q-Q with J-7. That suckout means that the $10,000 prize will be going to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.

At the end of the show, Ed Lover talked with the players about their projects. Saigon confirmed that Doug Ellin had called him up to ask him back for the fourth season of HBO's Entourage. This guy's got a profile that's getting bigger every day - going out first in this charity poker game won't hurt him a bit.

NEW YORK--Big Joe busted into the green room while the guys were practicing. Turns out nobody knows Big Joe's full name...nobody. What we do know is he is a manager of musicians of some sort and that he is a riot. I wish he was playing with these guys, because TRUST ME...he would make good TV. He is full of himself, animated and he knows how to play poker. He likes the ladies too and the respect seems mutual in this photo to the right where he is posing with the Hold'em ladies.

Big Joe begged one of the producers to let him play, and with DJ Clue being late, he might have had his chance. Seems Big Joe will have to wait until they tape next Thursday. His episode would be one I want to watch.

Update: I just found Big Joe's MySpace page. Turns out he is Joseph "Big Joe" Sherman of New Era Management. Looks like not only is he an entertainment consultant, but he's looking for ladies for a new venture, Beautiful Women Modeling, Inc.

NEW YORK, NY --- We've just completed two levels of blinds here at Metropolis Studios, where Hip-Hop Hold'em is being taped, and we've got our first man down. Saigon played tight in the beginning, holding true to his pre-game education, but his loose nature got the best of him - his sixes and deuces went down by the river. Much as expected, we've seen some pretty funky hands shown down so far - that was just one of them. Lots of deuces and treys in the hip-hop world.

NEW YORK, NY --- Saigon is learning the old poker adage "tight is a right" the hard way...dropping hand after hand, turning over bottom pair and shipping his entire stack someone else's way. This guy's got a serious aversion to folding, but practicing with a small stack seems to be working. He's mucked three hands in a row.

And now we've got some prop betting going on, too - there's a little game of high-card going. An ace on the flop won the bet for somebody - we just can't figure out if it was Big Joe or DJ Envy. Joe swears it was him, but the rest of the room says it was Envy. Now if only it these bets were for real money instead of the play chips they're practicing with...

Big Joe lucked out a few minutes ago and hit a straight on the river, trumping AZ's two pair with a miracle card. "You don't need brains for this game," Joe said. "You need balls!" The banter between these guys is going to be the best part of the show, hands down. There's plenty of ego in the rap game and it translates well to the world of betting and bluffing.

The players just got a three-minute warning - it's game time.

Pictured above: Tony Woods, Big Joe, and DJ Envy sharpen their chops before taping

NEW YORK CITY--After a nice walk through Central Park, Jen and I have arrived at Metropolis Studios, where Hip-Hop Hold'em is being filmed today. We're hanging out in the green room where some of the participants are getting a primer in the finer points of the game, compliments of a dealer and a poker expert.

All you Entourage fans out there will be happy to know that Saigon is sitting right in front of me learning to play the game. Also here is Ed Lover, the well-known radio personality and former Yo! MTV Raps host. He's got a fat stack of singles ready for wagering - leftovers, he says, from the strip club last night. AZ, DJ Envy, DJ Blue, and Tony Woods are also in the game. There's a nice home game atmosphere going in the room...all we need is a little prop betting and it'll be just like playing with poker bloggers.

Our guys are learning all about when to fold right now - they're enthusiastic even if they don't all have a lot of experience, and as you'd expect that's leading to a lot of action. My guess is this'll be pretty good TV.

NEW YORK, NY --- It's Thursday morning in New York and in all its cacophonous glory the city has come to life. That means I've come to life as well - not an unexpected development despite having gone out to drink with a crazy group of poker bloggers upon my arrival last night. My only other stay in the City was marked by an inability to sleep past 8 or 9 in the morning. I think it's the sound of millions of people moving about that keeps me from continuing my slumber. Whatever the reason, it's a good thing I'm up and about. I have an assignment today that will require my full brain capacity.