There are great poker truths presented in the documentary "No Limit," released on DVD this week. The problem is timing.

Inspired by Chris Moneymaker's improbable World Series victory in 2003, "No Limit" tells the story of a high-strung "soccer mom" who embarks on an eight-month journey along the poker-tournament trail, pursuing a version of the American Dream.

The mom is Susan Genard, who also produced the independent film. She formulates a plan to save her company by playing in high-stakes events around the country, winning some money and documenting the adventure.

She convinces ex-husband Tim Rhys, who co-directed the film, to come along, and with their small child in tow, they're off to the Four Queens in Las Vegas, Foxwoods in Connecticut, the Commerce Casino and Bicycle Club in Los Angeles, then back to the Bellagio and the Horseshoe in Vegas.

The poker scenes mostly devolve into a collection of bad-beat stories, but losing is part of the game, of course, and "No Limit" captures the disappointment and distress that accompany defeat.

Smartly interspersed throughout the film are clips of interviews with more than 40 top players. Their comments are matched with Genard's experiences, such as the thrill of competition, luck versus skill, women's role in poker and the impact on a player's family.

Some quotes resonate firmly.

"Everything in life pretty much parallels a card game. It's all about the people," said Bobby Baldwin, the 1978 World Series champ who now is president of Mirage Resorts. Baldwin compares dealing with people at the poker table to dealing with relationships in our business and personal lives.

Down-to-earth pro Kenna James strikes a chord with: "Poker is a microcosm of life. It will either educate you and you'll learn from it, or it will break you."

But stealing the show in "No Limit" was the late Puggy Pearson, who showed more spunk than anyone else in the film. Pearson, 1973's main-event champ, died last year at age 77.

"There are three things you must do to end up in the plus column," the exuberant Pearson explains. "One, know when you've got the best of it. Two, know how to money-manage. And three, most importantly, know how to control the human element, which is yourself."

For every fresh and thoughtful player's comment, however, there was an all-too-familiar worn-out response. Thanks to television, we've already heard Phil Hellmuth brag about his WSOP bracelets, we're unimpressed when David "Devilfish" Ulliott darkly says poker's all about the money, and we've long known that Daniel Negreanu wants to crush every opponent.

Compare those attitudes to what Jerry Yang, a deeply religious social worker in California, said last week after winning the WSOP main event and $8.25 million: "I just can't explain the feelings inside me. I just thank my God. I can use this money to do a lot of good for people. There are more important things in life than poker."

How about a film on him?

I suppose "No Limit" had to include the expressions, "Poker takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master," as well as, "Poker is one big long game, it's not about one day." But four years after poker boomed, we've now heard it all before. "No Limit" comes at us three years too late.

Timing also was a problem for Genard's poker adventure, as it turned out.

The buildup to her entering the $5,000 WSOP Omaha high-low championship became a bust for the film crew when new owner of Harrah's Entertainment banned their cameras from the tournament. Perhaps Harrah's unintentionally did Genard a favor because she had the journey's best finish.

Poker fans likely will enjoy "No Limit," which premiered on the big screen last summer in Vegas and has been critically acclaimed in several publications. Non-fans, however, may get the most out of the film because the story lines will be fresh for them.

E-mail your poker questions and comments to [email protected] for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com or www.luckydogpoker.com.