I was going to write a piece about how ridiculous the poker scenes were in the episode of “Luck” that debuted last Sunday on HBO, but I’ve been busy all week and haven’t gotten around to it. Fortunately, Rich Ryan had time to say everything I was thinking and more. Take a look.
I was looking forward to “Luck” because of its pedigree (David Milch and Michael Mann behind the scenes) and cast, which includes Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Farina, Nick Nolte, Kevin Dunn, and others whose work I generally enjoy. Unfortunately, Milch’s writing is so dense that it’s almost impossible to understand and some of the plotlines aren’t exactly rushing to be clear, either. I also wonder whether a show that gets poker so wrong is getting the horse-racing parts right. I know nothing about that world, so I can’t judge, but if this Sunday’s episode doesn’t offer a dose of clarity, it’ll be the last I watch.