The show airs the next two Saturdays, then once a month through January:
- August 1, 2009 - 9:00pm ET
- August 8, 2009 - 9:00pm ET
- September 12, 2009 - 2:00pm ET
- October 31, 2009 - 5:00pm ET
- November 14, 2009 - 3:00pm ET
- December 12, 2009 - 3:00pm ET
- January 2, 2010 - 2:30pm ET
The show is hosted by Steve Schirripa, who played Bobby “Bacala” Baccalieri on The Sopranos; model Megan Abrigo (pictured below; more pictures) is the hostess; and Ali Nejad is the tournament director.
See also NBC's press release.
Strategy commentary:
The players will be getting 4 to 1 on their money at each decision point (e.g. risking $40,000 to win $160,000 plus the return of the $40,000 they'd already earned = $200,000), making it a breakeven decision if they're 20% to win. In a single heads-up match with relatively short stacks (reportedly 50, 100, and 125 big blinds) the pros would only have a small edge against a competent opponent (e.g. one who understands heads-up hand values and knows to play longball [big pots] against a superior opponent). All that makes it seem like the amateurs would want to go for the full $1,000,000. On the other hand, most online qualifiers for TV shows have been terrible players, most people are risk averse (degenerate gamblers being the classic exception, willing to take bad bets for the chance of a big score), and money generally has declining marginal utility (the first million improves your life more than the next one). All those factors make the decisions complex, so it will be interesting to see what the players do.
Don't miss any poker on TV: sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed.
