Where does this information come from?

Everything you see on Smarx's WSOP Update Line is self-reported information from the players in the game. They call from their cellphones into an automated system that takes down their current chip count and any audio message they'd like to leave. That's what ends up here.

How accurate is the information here?

There are a few reasons the data here might not be 100% accurate:

• The player reporting his/her information might be wrong (by miscounting chips, for example) or might be flat-out lying for some reason.
• The automated phone system may have misunderstood... it asks for confirmation on chip counts, but if you cough when it says "Is that correct?" and your cough happens to sound like "Yes", then the wrong data may get reported.
• There may be some bug in my code that misreports something. Obviously I've tried to test things out and make sure that doesn't happen, but I can't make any guarantees.
• Someone may have deliberately hacked the system. It's not actually that hard to do, but hopefully no one has reason to want to.

How does it actually work?

Players call in to a phone service hosted by Voxeo. That service is programmed to load a file from this server (smarx.com) that contains programming in a language called VoiceXML. That VoiceXML instructs Voxeo to recognize the player by caller ID, prompt for information (chip count, finishing place if busted, and an audio message), and finally submit the data back to smarx.com. The submission works just like a normal web form. The form returns a little more VoiceXML that thanks the player and gives them the latest standings so they know how their fellow players are doing. Then here on smarx.com, the data gets entered into a database, and everything you see here is a typical data-driven web application.

The reloading on the main page is accomplished with ASP.NET "Atlas". (Evangelizing "Atlas" is my day job, so I couldn't help it.)

How can I get in on this?

If you're playing in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, I'd be happy to include your updates here. That policy might change in the future when I start to worry about bandwidth and storage limitations, but for now I should be able to accept more people. Just email me your name (as you'd like it to appear) and the phone number you want to call in from. (It has to be that number, because the application uses caller ID to recognize you.) You can find my email on my home page. I can then add you to the database and reply to you with the phone number you should use to call in.

If you'd just like to use this site to keep track of your favorite player, make sure they're signed up to use this, and then just use the main page to keep track of them. From there you can find an overall RSS feed or individual feeds per person, so if you use an RSS aggregator, you can simply subscribe to the feed that interests you most.

Can I hear what it's like on the phone?

Sure. Here's a sample call I made for instructional purposes.