Ratings for the first two weeks of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship are down significantly:
Week 1:
2008 vs 2007: minus 6.7% in households, minus 12.2% in viewers
2008 vs 2006: minus 20.5% in households, minus 19.4% in viewers
Week 2:
2008 vs 2007: minus 18% in households, minus 25% in viewers
2008 vs 2006: minus 48% in households, minus 54% in viewers
Ratings for poker shows are down across the board since the early years of the poker boom, and the US government's stance against online gambling hasn't helped advertising revenue either. One bright spot, however, seems to be Poker After Dark, which keeps on getting renewed.
Ratings from Media Life Magazine (see "NBC POKER SERIES"): week ending 4/13, week ending 4/20. Comparisons from player agent Oliver Tse's 2+2 posts: week 1, week 2.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
National Heads-Up Poker Championship To Award Some Spots To Qualifiers
The National Heads-Up Poker Championship has always been an invitational, but they just announced that next year some of the spots will be awarded to qualifers:
· Previous 5 National Heads-Up Poker Champions
· Previous 2 National Heads-Up runners-up
· Defending National Heads-Up semifinalists
· Any player who cashes in the past 4 consecutive years of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship
· Previous 3 World Series of Poker Main Event Champions
· Defending World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up
· Beginning with the 2008 WSOP, multiple bracelet winners in the same year will receive an automatic invitation to the next Heads-Up Championship
· Defending World Series of Poker Player of the Year
· Defending World Series of Poker Heads-Up Champion
· Defending World Series of Poker Europe Main Event Champion (must be 21 or older)
· Reigning World Poker Tour Player of the Year
· Reigning Monte Carlo European Poker Tour Grand Final Champion (must be 21 or older)
· Reigning Card Player magazine Player of the Year
· Reigning Bluff magazine Player of the Year
· Reigning ALL IN magazine Player of the Year
· Online and NBC qualifiers (1-3) (must be 21 or older)
· Host venue qualifiers (2)
About 40 of the 64 spots will still be by invitation, however. See also our editorial Can an Invitational Be a Championship? and the press release.
· Previous 5 National Heads-Up Poker Champions
· Previous 2 National Heads-Up runners-up
· Defending National Heads-Up semifinalists
· Any player who cashes in the past 4 consecutive years of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship
· Previous 3 World Series of Poker Main Event Champions
· Defending World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up
· Beginning with the 2008 WSOP, multiple bracelet winners in the same year will receive an automatic invitation to the next Heads-Up Championship
· Defending World Series of Poker Player of the Year
· Defending World Series of Poker Heads-Up Champion
· Defending World Series of Poker Europe Main Event Champion (must be 21 or older)
· Reigning World Poker Tour Player of the Year
· Reigning Monte Carlo European Poker Tour Grand Final Champion (must be 21 or older)
· Reigning Card Player magazine Player of the Year
· Reigning Bluff magazine Player of the Year
· Reigning ALL IN magazine Player of the Year
· Online and NBC qualifiers (1-3) (must be 21 or older)
· Host venue qualifiers (2)
About 40 of the 64 spots will still be by invitation, however. See also our editorial Can an Invitational Be a Championship? and the press release.
ESPN On Sloths and Toothbrush Color
A while ago I read a post about ESPN's WSOP coverage on the 2+2 poker forums that I haven't been able to forget, so I thought I'd share it with you:
The reason the ratings are declining is because they have evolved the WSOP TV brand into the Degree All-In Preflop Fest thats more concerned about telling stupid back story promos than SHOWING ACTUAL POKER. I, for one, just don't care what color Kido Pham's toothbrush is....
Stop "The Nuts" segments... and the rest of that filler garbage. Stop all the stupid backstories about people. I know, I know: he was born with a sloth hanging out the back of his head... and he's made it his dream to play in the main event... yadda. Stop It.
ESPN needs to concentrate on trying to get at least three hands into each segment and evolve from there.
The reason the ratings are declining is because they have evolved the WSOP TV brand into the Degree All-In Preflop Fest thats more concerned about telling stupid back story promos than SHOWING ACTUAL POKER. I, for one, just don't care what color Kido Pham's toothbrush is....
Stop "The Nuts" segments... and the rest of that filler garbage. Stop all the stupid backstories about people. I know, I know: he was born with a sloth hanging out the back of his head... and he's made it his dream to play in the main event... yadda. Stop It.
ESPN needs to concentrate on trying to get at least three hands into each segment and evolve from there.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Deal Opens Friday, WSOP Live Next Week
The movie Deal opens Friday, but I recommend you avoid it: it's bad even for a poker film.
Monday's WPT episode is the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship. The players are Jared "TheWacoKidd" Hamby, Danny Wong (Hendon Mob stats), David Levi (Hendon Mob stats), Shawn Buchanan, Thayer Rasmussen, and David Haddad. Hamby became famous as an online tournament phenom under the screenname TheWacoKidd, and since 2007 has had great success in live tournaments (interview, Hendon Mob stats).
Thursday, May 1 at 6 PM WSOP Live is airing the WSOP Circuit from Caesars Palace.
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
Monday's WPT episode is the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship. The players are Jared "TheWacoKidd" Hamby, Danny Wong (Hendon Mob stats), David Levi (Hendon Mob stats), Shawn Buchanan, Thayer Rasmussen, and David Haddad. Hamby became famous as an online tournament phenom under the screenname TheWacoKidd, and since 2007 has had great success in live tournaments (interview, Hendon Mob stats).
Thursday, May 1 at 6 PM WSOP Live is airing the WSOP Circuit from Caesars Palace.
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Would You Like To Write About Poker On TV?
I'm looking for one or more people interested in writing about poker on TV. Position(s) may be paid or unpaid, and involve editorial or non-editorial content. Please email me if you're interested.
ADHD Onscreen (A WSOP Europe Review)
* The World Series of Poker Europe is one of the worst poker broadcasts I've ever seen. Consider my experience watching the first episode. The episode was mostly about Phil Hellmuth, but when they did show some poker... what was I watching? They didn't tell me (it turned out to be day 1a of the Main Event). They also never told me who the players at the featured table were, what their chip stacks were, or how much the blinds and antes were.
The show has perhaps the worst case of ADHD I've ever seen. Sit still for a minute! They're constantly flitting from table to table to show bustouts or the end of big hands. It's impossible to cover an entire tournament well: the number of hands off the featured table they show should be zero. When they're not flitting, they're interrupting the poker with non-poker content. I don't watch a poker show to hear Dave Ulliot telling jokes or Robert Williamson telling me how to fold. The number of nonpoker segments they show should also be zero (I might make an exception for brief biographical bits). This show is more a collection of unconnected clips than it is the story of the featured table.
Occasionally they do show a hand from the featured table, and it usually involves one or more high pocket pairs. They don't show the action onscreen, and there isn't competent play-by-play to make up for it. You may not even know if a player raised or called, let alone the amount. They don't show most of the hole cards either.
I've written extensively about the problems with WSOP telecasts in the past, and this show pretty much fits the mold. The production has no redeeming feature, other than that it covers an important event. If you feel the need to watch it, I recommend you watch only the last two or three episodes, which feature the eventual champion.
You can download or stream the World Series of Poker Europe from the usual places.
The show has perhaps the worst case of ADHD I've ever seen. Sit still for a minute! They're constantly flitting from table to table to show bustouts or the end of big hands. It's impossible to cover an entire tournament well: the number of hands off the featured table they show should be zero. When they're not flitting, they're interrupting the poker with non-poker content. I don't watch a poker show to hear Dave Ulliot telling jokes or Robert Williamson telling me how to fold. The number of nonpoker segments they show should also be zero (I might make an exception for brief biographical bits). This show is more a collection of unconnected clips than it is the story of the featured table.
Occasionally they do show a hand from the featured table, and it usually involves one or more high pocket pairs. They don't show the action onscreen, and there isn't competent play-by-play to make up for it. You may not even know if a player raised or called, let alone the amount. They don't show most of the hole cards either.
I've written extensively about the problems with WSOP telecasts in the past, and this show pretty much fits the mold. The production has no redeeming feature, other than that it covers an important event. If you feel the need to watch it, I recommend you watch only the last two or three episodes, which feature the eventual champion.
You can download or stream the World Series of Poker Europe from the usual places.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
World Poker Tour and Players Settle Lawsuit
The World Poker Tour and a group of players have settled the players' lawsuit over the WPT's release form. The players objected to the WPT's expansive release form, which gave the WPT rights to the players names and images. The lawsuit was settled after the parties agreed on a new release. We can once again expect to see plaintiffs Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, Phil Gordon, and Howard Lederer participating in WPT events.
WPT Press Release
PokerNews.com Article
WPTLawsuit.com
WPT Press Release
PokerNews.com Article
WPTLawsuit.com
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Friday, April 18, 2008
Aussie Millions Tournament Coverage Starts
This weekend's Aussie Millions coverage is the first episode of the tournament.
The next World Poker Tour is the North American Poker Championship featuring Barry Greenstein, Jonathan Little (FieryJustice), Jeffrey Garza (Action Jeff), Scott Clements (BigRiskky), David Cloutier, and Kofi Farkye.
Poker After Dark is still in rerun. The NHUPC and I Bet You are running new episodes.
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
The next World Poker Tour is the North American Poker Championship featuring Barry Greenstein, Jonathan Little (FieryJustice), Jeffrey Garza (Action Jeff), Scott Clements (BigRiskky), David Cloutier, and Kofi Farkye.
Poker After Dark is still in rerun. The NHUPC and I Bet You are running new episodes.
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
Review Update: Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark didn't change a lot for season three. I still consider it to be the best of the major poker shows on TV. It retains the strong **** rating I gave it in my last review. A few notes about this season:
- Doyle's litany of wisdom in the opening segment seems contrived to me, as do the times when Ali clearly talks to "cover up" silence at the table.
- Marianela Pereyra is the first poker hostess that has held her own in the peanut gallery's comparison with Shana Hiatt, and I'm one of the many that prefer her. I'm sorry that she won't be back next season. Doing interviews during hands is still a bad idea when she does it, however.
- They seem to have changed the blind structure or editing this season: it seems that players last a long time, then it becomes a series of coinflips for the win in the last episode. There was at least one week this season where five players made it to the final episode.
- The most troubling episode this season was when Eli Elezra busted out on the first hand of the "Jam Up" tournament, then they let him rebuy. Changing the rules after the fact is troubling, but more troubling is that they presented it as if it had been a rule all along. That, and the episode of High Stakes Poker where they pretended that Daniel Negreanu left the table to do live commentary, makes me think that POKER PROductions is honesty-challenged.
- Pretending that the show is filmed over a week and using cash in a tournament are still offensive.
- There are still problems with the sound, e.g. too much background noise, and Ali's level is too high relative to the players.'
Review Update: Aussie Millions Cash Game Invitational
This is a brief update of last year's review of the Aussie Millions Cash Game Invitational, for the 2008 edition.
I'd reprioritize my criticisms of last year's show: not having onscreen graphics for the action may be a bigger problem than not showing all the hole cards. The show is partially rescued, however, by decent commentary: Barry Tompkins and Howard Lederer do a lot of play by play, audibly indicating much of what should be onscreen. And at least the show has pot sizes onscreen. The position of the hole-card graphics is confusing, as with most shows; this time I didn't bother to figure out any hidden logic to the card graphics' order. The lack of stack-size information is a serious weakness of this show. I'm not even sure how deep this game is playing in general, which significantly affects playing style. It impedes the analysis of individual hands as well. As with last year, the show spends far too much time on non-poker content.
The Aussie Millions Cash Game Invitational is neither the best cash game I've seen (The Game), nor the worst (I wasn't a big fan of Million Dollar Cash Game or Poker Den). Compared to the universe of poker shows, however, Aussie Millions Cash Game Invitational is still above average, deserving something in the range of the **** I gave it last time.
I'd reprioritize my criticisms of last year's show: not having onscreen graphics for the action may be a bigger problem than not showing all the hole cards. The show is partially rescued, however, by decent commentary: Barry Tompkins and Howard Lederer do a lot of play by play, audibly indicating much of what should be onscreen. And at least the show has pot sizes onscreen. The position of the hole-card graphics is confusing, as with most shows; this time I didn't bother to figure out any hidden logic to the card graphics' order. The lack of stack-size information is a serious weakness of this show. I'm not even sure how deep this game is playing in general, which significantly affects playing style. It impedes the analysis of individual hands as well. As with last year, the show spends far too much time on non-poker content.
The Aussie Millions Cash Game Invitational is neither the best cash game I've seen (The Game), nor the worst (I wasn't a big fan of Million Dollar Cash Game or Poker Den). Compared to the universe of poker shows, however, Aussie Millions Cash Game Invitational is still above average, deserving something in the range of the **** I gave it last time.
Poker After Dark Season Four Details
POKER PROductions released details of season 4, which will start airing in July. Some excerpts:
...the filming of the 4th season of NBC’s hit late-night program Poker After Dark will conclude on Friday, April 18 in Las Vegas. Ten new episodes will be aired beginning in July...
Perhaps the biggest change to PAD4 will be the introduction of two new formats. All shows in the past have been 6-player winner-take-all freezeouts, but that won’t be the case this season. Viewers will now also be able to witness heads-up play and cash games on Poker After Dark...
One week will feature a double elimination heads-up battle between the four winners of NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship; Phil Hellmuth, Ted Forrest, Paul Wasicka, and Chris Ferguson, who will put up $50,000 each and compete for the $200,000 winner-take-all prize.
Also, look for two weeks of a $200/$400 no-limit hold’em cash game to be aired next season. The 12 players participating will be Howard Lederer, Dee Tiller, Gabe Kaplan, Patrik Antonius, Doyle Brunson, and Eli Elezra during one week, and Guy Laliberte, Phil Hellmuth, Tom Dwan, Allen Cunningham, Mike Baxter, and Antonio Esfandiari in the other.
One of their many match "themes" will be:
“Nets vs. Vets,” a match featuring three highly successful young Internet players in Tom “drrrr” Dwan, Brian “sbrugby” Townsend, and Andrew “good2cu” Robl against veteran pros and former World Champions Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Huck Seed.
See also our articles:
Leeann Tweeden Replaces Marianela Pereyra On Poker After Dark
The Case For Running Poker After Dark as a Cash Game
...the filming of the 4th season of NBC’s hit late-night program Poker After Dark will conclude on Friday, April 18 in Las Vegas. Ten new episodes will be aired beginning in July...
Perhaps the biggest change to PAD4 will be the introduction of two new formats. All shows in the past have been 6-player winner-take-all freezeouts, but that won’t be the case this season. Viewers will now also be able to witness heads-up play and cash games on Poker After Dark...
One week will feature a double elimination heads-up battle between the four winners of NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship; Phil Hellmuth, Ted Forrest, Paul Wasicka, and Chris Ferguson, who will put up $50,000 each and compete for the $200,000 winner-take-all prize.
Also, look for two weeks of a $200/$400 no-limit hold’em cash game to be aired next season. The 12 players participating will be Howard Lederer, Dee Tiller, Gabe Kaplan, Patrik Antonius, Doyle Brunson, and Eli Elezra during one week, and Guy Laliberte, Phil Hellmuth, Tom Dwan, Allen Cunningham, Mike Baxter, and Antonio Esfandiari in the other.
One of their many match "themes" will be:
“Nets vs. Vets,” a match featuring three highly successful young Internet players in Tom “drrrr” Dwan, Brian “sbrugby” Townsend, and Andrew “good2cu” Robl against veteran pros and former World Champions Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Huck Seed.
See also our articles:
Leeann Tweeden Replaces Marianela Pereyra On Poker After Dark
The Case For Running Poker After Dark as a Cash Game
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Poker After Dark Films a Cash Game and Various Other Formats
Poker After Dark is filming one of next season's shows as a cash game (see previous article The Case For Running Poker After Dark as a Cash Game), and shooting various other formats, according to Phil Hellmuth's blog:
I'm in Vegas, and I just finished playing in four "Poker after Dark" shows. I cannot reveal my record in them as per my contract with NBC. On Friday I play another "Poker after Dark," but only three of the five that I play are normal $20,000 POD's, the other's are "Special" and have different formats. One is a heads up tournament between Chris Ferguson (2008 NBC Heads up Champion), Paul Wasicka (2007 NBC Heads up Champ), Ted Forrest (2006 NBC Heads up Champ), and me (the 2005 NBC heads up champ). The other is a cash game.
... I need to get some sleep for the $100,000 cash game on POD Friday.
I'm in Vegas, and I just finished playing in four "Poker after Dark" shows. I cannot reveal my record in them as per my contract with NBC. On Friday I play another "Poker after Dark," but only three of the five that I play are normal $20,000 POD's, the other's are "Special" and have different formats. One is a heads up tournament between Chris Ferguson (2008 NBC Heads up Champion), Paul Wasicka (2007 NBC Heads up Champ), Ted Forrest (2006 NBC Heads up Champ), and me (the 2005 NBC heads up champ). The other is a cash game.
... I need to get some sleep for the $100,000 cash game on POD Friday.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Heartland Poker Tour Review
**-*** I'd heard that Heartland Poker Tour was a bad show, especially its commentary, before ever seeing it. When my regional Fox Sports affiliate started carrying it (check a programming guide to see if it airs in your area) I watched it and found that I liked it more than I expected.
Heartland Poker Tour's format is like that of the World Poker Tour: they show the final six players of multi-table tournaments. The production values and tournament buyins are lower, however. They take two hours per event, though it's split into two shows. The commentary is indeed weak, sometimes showing a poor understanding of poker theory, and they talk over the table talk too much. The onscreen graphics are notably poor: they don't show the action, pot size, or all the hole cards. Like many poker shows, they don't indicate position clearly, and they don't show the chip stacks often enough. They don't do play-by-play well enough to make up for the lack of onscreen graphics. It's hard to tell who is who among these unknown players, and they only put their first names onscreen. The structure insures that the second episode of each event is coinflips.
So why do I like this show as much as I do? I think it's because it seems real. Too much poker on TV these days is made for TV, overproduced, too much like reality TV, and features the same cast of "TV pros." Heartland Poker Tour, on the other hand, just seems like real people playing a real local poker tournament that just happens to be filmed. I'm not sure if you'll like this show or not; all I can say is that I liked it more than I expected. I suggest you watch it for yourself and decide.
Heartland Poker Tour's format is like that of the World Poker Tour: they show the final six players of multi-table tournaments. The production values and tournament buyins are lower, however. They take two hours per event, though it's split into two shows. The commentary is indeed weak, sometimes showing a poor understanding of poker theory, and they talk over the table talk too much. The onscreen graphics are notably poor: they don't show the action, pot size, or all the hole cards. Like many poker shows, they don't indicate position clearly, and they don't show the chip stacks often enough. They don't do play-by-play well enough to make up for the lack of onscreen graphics. It's hard to tell who is who among these unknown players, and they only put their first names onscreen. The structure insures that the second episode of each event is coinflips.
So why do I like this show as much as I do? I think it's because it seems real. Too much poker on TV these days is made for TV, overproduced, too much like reality TV, and features the same cast of "TV pros." Heartland Poker Tour, on the other hand, just seems like real people playing a real local poker tournament that just happens to be filmed. I'm not sure if you'll like this show or not; all I can say is that I liked it more than I expected. I suggest you watch it for yourself and decide.
Friday, April 11, 2008
National Heads-Up Poker Championship Airs Sunday
The National Heads-Up Poker Championship starts airing Sunday at noon on NBC (full schedule; review of previous season).
This week's World Poker Tour episode is the Legends of Poker featuring Dan Harrington, David "The Dragon" Pham, Tom Schneider, Thu Nguyen, Mike McClain, and Jack Liu.
EPT Live streams the EPT Grand Final from Monte Carlo on Wednesday the 16th and Thursday the 17th. It's one of the most important tournaments in the world.
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
This week's World Poker Tour episode is the Legends of Poker featuring Dan Harrington, David "The Dragon" Pham, Tom Schneider, Thu Nguyen, Mike McClain, and Jack Liu.
EPT Live streams the EPT Grand Final from Monte Carlo on Wednesday the 16th and Thursday the 17th. It's one of the most important tournaments in the world.
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
National Heads-Up Poker Championship Schedule
The National Heads-Up Poker Championship airs on NBC. The brackets are here.
Sunday, May 11th, noon – 2 PM
Sunday, May 18th, noon – 3 PM
Sunday, May 11th, noon – 2 PM
Sunday, May 18th, noon – 3 PM
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Leeann Tweeden Pictures, Pics
Leeann Tweeden will replace Marianela Pereyra (pictures) on the fourth season of Poker After Dark, which is about to film. She did a good job as hostess of PokerDome. As previously mentioned, she is the sideline reporter for the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship. See also the press release. Click the pics to see full-size versions.
You may also enjoy our pictures of Layla Kayleigh, Kimberly Lansing, Megan Abrigo, Marianela Pereyra, and Alison Waite.
The 10 Most Profitable Online Poker Sites
Don't miss any poker news: sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed.
You may also enjoy our pictures of Layla Kayleigh, Kimberly Lansing, Megan Abrigo, Marianela Pereyra, and Alison Waite.
The 10 Most Profitable Online Poker Sites
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Tuesday, April 08, 2008
World Poker Tour Canada
... the inaugural Coast to Coast Poker Championships taking place May 5 thru 13, 2008 at the River Rock Casino Resort, featuring 7 events over 9 days, with an estimated 2,650 players and $2.4 million prize pool. The main event offers a top prize of $377,300 based on a sell-out.
The Coast to Coast Poker Championships will be the first stop for World Poker Tour Canada.
The Coast to Coast Poker Championships will be the first stop for World Poker Tour Canada.
WPT Canada, a licensed product of WPT Enterprises, will film four one-hour episodes of the Championships to air nationally in Canada late August 2008.
Source: PokerPages.com
World Poker Tour Europe Barcelona Announced
Casino Barcelona will host its second World Poker Tour event May 21 - 27, 2008.... "We are honored to extend our partnership with Grup Peralada and return to Spain with a regional tour stop that Catalonians can call their own...." The main event begins at Casino Barcelona on May 24 concluding with the non-televised final table on May 27.
Press release
Previous coverage of the WPT Europe
Press release
Previous coverage of the WPT Europe
Monday, April 07, 2008
Will High Stakes Poker Return To TV?
Will High Stakes Poker return to TV? Someone associated with producer Poker PROductions stated a while back that another season hasn't been ordered yet, but a decision would be made by GSN after the World Poker Tour premiered. We'll soon see how the shows' ratings compare. Some industry observers believe that the World Poker Tour will produce higher ratings than HSP. Additionally, the GSN executive that brought in High Stakes Poker and the World Poker Tour was removed amid declining ratings last year; and GSN appears to be a poor demographic match for poker compared to ESPN or Fox Sports.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
WSOP To Play To Final Table, Adjourn For 90 Days, Then Broadcast "Plausibly Live?"
It looks like Ty Stewart's idea may happen: to play down to the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event, adjourn for a while, and then play the final table just before broadcast or live. Pokerati is reporting some details (1, 2; read the comments below the post for the most current information):
... the WSOP reportedly has serious intention of playing the 2008 $10k NLH Championship down to a final table in July, then reconvening three months later as these nine new millionaires play down to a winner. The intent being lots of build-up to a near-live final table on ESPN.
... here are a few more quasi-confirmed “facts” regarding a major potential schedule change mid-main event:
1) ESPN would be able to show normal edited broadcasts of the tournament days leading up to the final table;
2) ESPN and Harrah's would have months to extensively promote the event and the players; and
3) people wouldn't know who won before they watched it.
... the WSOP reportedly has serious intention of playing the 2008 $10k NLH Championship down to a final table in July, then reconvening three months later as these nine new millionaires play down to a winner. The intent being lots of build-up to a near-live final table on ESPN.
... here are a few more quasi-confirmed “facts” regarding a major potential schedule change mid-main event:
- No decision is final yet, but on the big pro-con list, the left side of the board has it all but locked up.
- Television ratings are the driving force behind this idea.
- It was essential, however, that the integrity of the game be protected and blind structures unaltered, no matter what ESPN says.
- “Plausibly live” is the buzzphrase for what they’re trying to create...
- The final table will be played over two days — from the final 9 to 2, and then heads-up the next day...
- Timing will be carefully coordinated so most people will be watching to see who will win, not how one wins (the Olympics broadcast model)
- All final tableists will be paid 9th place money in July and will have their return trips to Vegas comped.
1) ESPN would be able to show normal edited broadcasts of the tournament days leading up to the final table;
2) ESPN and Harrah's would have months to extensively promote the event and the players; and
3) people wouldn't know who won before they watched it.
Friday, April 04, 2008
The Grand Review
The Grand is a pretty good, but not great, film. It's got some funny moments. I recommend it for poker players, and perhaps a general audience.
Don't expect a realistic portrayal of the poker world here (other than an excellent Benny Binion-based character): the humor is pretty broad and far out. I do think the best realistic parodies can be better than this film, but this is a welcome improvement on the awful poker films that have been produced since the boom started. You won't be able to figure out who wins the tournament because this is truly an improvisational film: they actually played out the tournament rather than scripting it. While the film was funny early on, I did find it slowed down later.
You'll recognize lots of people in this film, like Gabe Kaplan, Phil Gordon, David Cross, Richard Kind, Dennis Farina, Cheryl Hines, Ray Romano, and Werner Herzog (ok, most of you won't recognize him). I think Woody Harrelson turns in the best performance in the film. Shannon Elizabeth and a few well-known professional poker players do cameos.
I give it ****, which means above average (for a poker film anyway). The critics have given the film mixed reviews (see Metacritic). The small number of voters on IMDB so far give it high ratings.
The other poker films I recommend are The Big Blind (torrent), Rounders, and The Cincinnati Kid.
Don't expect a realistic portrayal of the poker world here (other than an excellent Benny Binion-based character): the humor is pretty broad and far out. I do think the best realistic parodies can be better than this film, but this is a welcome improvement on the awful poker films that have been produced since the boom started. You won't be able to figure out who wins the tournament because this is truly an improvisational film: they actually played out the tournament rather than scripting it. While the film was funny early on, I did find it slowed down later.
You'll recognize lots of people in this film, like Gabe Kaplan, Phil Gordon, David Cross, Richard Kind, Dennis Farina, Cheryl Hines, Ray Romano, and Werner Herzog (ok, most of you won't recognize him). I think Woody Harrelson turns in the best performance in the film. Shannon Elizabeth and a few well-known professional poker players do cameos.
I give it ****, which means above average (for a poker film anyway). The critics have given the film mixed reviews (see Metacritic). The small number of voters on IMDB so far give it high ratings.
The other poker films I recommend are The Big Blind (torrent), Rounders, and The Cincinnati Kid.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
I Bet You Returns To TV
EPT Live will be airing San Remo on Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th at 9 AM.
Fox Sports is airing the Celerity Poker Challenge on Friday, April 4th at 4:00 PM and Wednesday the 9th at 4 PM (always check your local listings for Fox Sports times on your regional affiliate). It's a celebrity poker tournament, sponsored by Celerity Investments, that ran at the Sundance Film Festival. John Salley and Kato Kaelin are the most well-known celebrities to me.
GSN airs part two of the Bellagio Cup next week.
Poker After Dark is in rerun for the next few weeks.
I Bet You is a prop bet show featuring Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak. Its first season was popular with the poker crowd. Its second season premieres Thursday, April 10 at 9:30 PM on Mojo. 14 episodes will air (episode descriptions).
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
Fox Sports is airing the Celerity Poker Challenge on Friday, April 4th at 4:00 PM and Wednesday the 9th at 4 PM (always check your local listings for Fox Sports times on your regional affiliate). It's a celebrity poker tournament, sponsored by Celerity Investments, that ran at the Sundance Film Festival. John Salley and Kato Kaelin are the most well-known celebrities to me.
GSN airs part two of the Bellagio Cup next week.
Poker After Dark is in rerun for the next few weeks.
I Bet You is a prop bet show featuring Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak. Its first season was popular with the poker crowd. Its second season premieres Thursday, April 10 at 9:30 PM on Mojo. 14 episodes will air (episode descriptions).
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
WinStar Casino Hosts Televised Tournament
Oklahoma's WinStar Casino is hosting a $3 million televised tournament in August. The Herald Democrat reports:
The satellite tournaments are now airing, and have been picked up by ABC network. With an in-house television studio located in the Showplace Theater, the series will have a week long finales between Aug. 16-23 at the casino. The two separate multi-month tournaments will have a TV show dedicated to telling the back stories of the players as well as drama at the tables.... Production crews will be on site to video the participants. The Division of Commerce Marketing Department created a TV show called “The River” which covers the personalities and plays during the WinStar poker tournament.... Horner says the shows will air on WFAA Channel 8 (ABC) and sister station KFWD in the Dallas market for 16 consecutive weeks starting the first weekend of June. Representatives are shopping it in other large metro markets as well. WinStar has already lined up a series of host for the show including: reality TV star Boston Rob Mariano (Survivor, Amazing Race); host of Food Network’s Foody Calls, Michelle Merkin; professional poker players Annie Duke and Greg Raymer; and Texas Hall of Fame sportscaster Norm Hitzges.
See also:
WinStar World Championship Series
KTEN
The satellite tournaments are now airing, and have been picked up by ABC network. With an in-house television studio located in the Showplace Theater, the series will have a week long finales between Aug. 16-23 at the casino. The two separate multi-month tournaments will have a TV show dedicated to telling the back stories of the players as well as drama at the tables.... Production crews will be on site to video the participants. The Division of Commerce Marketing Department created a TV show called “The River” which covers the personalities and plays during the WinStar poker tournament.... Horner says the shows will air on WFAA Channel 8 (ABC) and sister station KFWD in the Dallas market for 16 consecutive weeks starting the first weekend of June. Representatives are shopping it in other large metro markets as well. WinStar has already lined up a series of host for the show including: reality TV star Boston Rob Mariano (Survivor, Amazing Race); host of Food Network’s Foody Calls, Michelle Merkin; professional poker players Annie Duke and Greg Raymer; and Texas Hall of Fame sportscaster Norm Hitzges.
See also:
WinStar World Championship Series
KTEN
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Best Damn Poker Show Review
** 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.
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.
Black Poker Stars Invitational Review
* Black Poker Stars Invitational is the worst TV show I've ever seen. I don't know if it even deserves a review, as it isn't really focused on poker. It consists of constant noise and various antics. It's hard to imagine that there is any audience for this show... perhaps very young children, who are still fascinated by sound and movement onscreen, would appreciate it.
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