** Most of the reviews of Best Damn Poker Show have been awful, but I don't think it is as bad as people say. I give it two stars, mostly for entertainment value.
It's a "reality" poker show, something I don't think we need to see any more of. Some of the reality elements of the show, like people hamming it up for TV and Annie Duke (who can be unbearable here) arguing with Phil Hellmuth, were painful or embarrassing to watch. I really don't need to see any more of that.
Best Damn Poker Show was also an educational show, however. True, it was a bad one, but I applaud the attempt. It reminds me of Phil Gordon's excellent Final Table Poker DVD, which is a scripted tournament designed to educate. Unfortunately, Best Damn Poker Show isn't nearly as well made. If they want to educate they'll have to cover the basics better: showing the whole hand, with blinds, stacks, position, pot size, etc. All those things are necessary to make an informed decision, therefore they need to be shown if you're going to educate. The reality-show elements predominate early on. Later on, when poker comes to predominate, the tournament is an all-in fest, which isn't of much educational use.
A second season of this show is supposedly in the works. There's a good idea hidden in this show, if only they would cut back on the reality show elements and improve the educational content.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
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Season 2 starts taping on September 8.
ReplyDeleteSeason 2 airs starting October 27 on Fox Sports Net (press release).
ReplyDeleteA participant is putting up a trip report of his experiences playing in Best Damn Poker Show season 2. Two parts are up so far: 1 and 2.
ReplyDeleteMore has been posted about the taping of season two of Best Damn Poker Show, including a spoiler which seems to explain why one of the players chose to go public. I won't post it here, but you can click the links if you're interested. Another participant posted his comments on PocketFives.com including "The set up of the show this year had a lot more emphasis on teaching poker knowledge and less on the interactions of the hosts." The original 2+2 poster also put up the third part of his trip report.
ReplyDeletePhil Hellmuth posted his comments on the BDPS season two taping drama on his blog.
ReplyDeleteSeason two's airdate has been pushed back to January.
ReplyDeleteUB has a page for season 2, including cast info.
ReplyDeleteThe press release about season 2 is up. It premieres January 12.
ReplyDeleteDoes UB want people to watch this? It is NEVER on when they say.
ReplyDeleteThat's the nature of Fox Sports Net these days. It didn't show on their northeast affiliate this week.
ReplyDeleteUB's site has two extra videos of Hellmuth's walkout a couple of episodes ago: part 1, part 2.
ReplyDeleteMy impressions of season 2 are similar to season 1. I do find the show entertaining to watch. It could also be educational for beginning players, but they'd need to show more information about hands, like stack depth and structure, to maximize that potential.
ReplyDelete