Starting to get bored by TV poker

[PokerPaul]

Its really only been on the airwaves in canada regularly for about a year now, but my interest in it is already starting to wane.

Its all same old same old. And i am a big poker fan and enthusiast. Wonder how long the general populace will find it enticing enough to keep the TV numbers up.

Maybe its also just getting to stage of oversaturation. Between all the constant WSOP events broadcasts and re-broadcasts, all the WPT events, the PPT events, and all these non-mainstream channels picking up previous years WPT and WSOP shows it just seems there is so much out there now that its losing its novelty.

Just a suggestion....but what might make it a bit more interesting is to have it in such a way where the audience can get to know certain individuals for consecutive weeks and generate somekind of favourites or antagonists during these shows, instead of having 6 different people for each week.

Don't know how, but i just think these poker shows need to think of something new.

[Walter Pullis]

Excellent point. Instead of showing us only the final table of a WPT, why not spend 3-4 weeks on one tournament and see how it evolves. I sometimes think that the producers of TV poker
coverage think we are only interested in all-in bets and
"train-wreck" situations(Joe Awanda at the WSOP, for example).

[Kevmath]

Speaking of TV showing only all-in bets, last week's Ultimate Poker Challenge showed SIX hands total of that week's tournament, using the rest of its time to go over the first 10 weeks of shows.

Kevin...

[otnemem]

I personally enjoy the WSOP coverage on ESPN more than the WPT coverage for two reasons. One, ESPN shows the entire life of the tournament. Sure, they whittle it down to choice, interesting hands. But like it was mentioned earlier, you aren't just witness to all-ins and big balls preflop bets. You get to see a lot of hands as they actually occur in the mid to late stages of a tournament. The second reason I enjoy their coverage more is because their broadcasts include more interaction among players. You get a better idea of what it's really like to sit in one of these tournaments. On the WPT broadcasts, there is little to no player interaction, and when there is, it often isn't miked up, and you don't even know what they're saying. Maybe other people don't care about this as much, but this is why I prefer ESPN. I wish that they would create their own tour type show, where they cover many tournaments beginning to end.

[LargeCents]

I agree. TV poker will continue survive and thrive, but they need to continue to improve the product and make adjustments. They've come a long way in the last few years, just letting us see the hole cards! I was watching the 1998 WSOP last night, and you couldn't see the hole cards unless the player himself flipped them over. It was still extremely exciting to see Scotty Nguyen use professional technique to dismantle an "amateur" in the final heads-up battle. Well done, Scotty!

I agree with the concept of making a "story" about one of the final table players, from buy-in to the final cut. Interviewing players is always fun too. During the final table of the 1998 WSOP mentioned above, Phil Hellmuth showed up and started doing play-by-play with the announcers, actually calling the hole-cards of both players before they were flipped over, on the final hand! It was solid gold! More top players in the booth would be a big plus. This is why John Madden is so great. We get to hear insight from a former coach with a Super Bowl ring! Give me a commentator with a WSOP bracelet!

[Killer Mike]

I agree with you about having more pros involved in the commentary. I'd love to see people who actually know what they're talking about giving the play-by-play, but I don't know that it will happen now that the commentary is dubbed in later. When Hellmuth came along and started commentating with VVP and Albrecht at the 98 series, they were actually doing it live so having a pro who could read hands was more beneficial. I also thought it was amusing that Hellmuth actually called out to Cloutier while he was sitting at the table to ask him how long he played in the CFL. This guy's playing for a million bucks and you're bugging him about his football career.

As long as the pros don't start drawing all over the final table with a telestrator like Madden does, I think it's a good idea to have them in the announcers booth.

[2unlucky2win]

Final table of WPT should be invitational of the winners from the tour stops.

Reruns should have the players dub-in commentary about thier hands to make it different.

[ThaSaltCracka]

what took you this long?

[ClaytonN]

Two words: Live poker

It's the only hope to save the market. It works for other "sporting" events year in and year out, and it worked very nicely at Turning Stone.

I can foresee a year in the future where the final table of the WSOP is broadcast live.

[Army Eye]

[ QUOTE ]
Speaking of TV showing only all-in bets, last week's Ultimate Poker Challenge showed SIX hands total of that week's tournament, using the rest of its time to go over the first 10 weeks of shows.


[/ QUOTE ]

I saw that.. I'm guessing it was a brutally boring table if they did that. Even the hands they did show were dull as dirt. And the demeanor of everyone there, even the live announcer, you'd think they were at a funeral.

[ed8383]

You know one of the main reasons TV Poker is getting boring? NOT ENOUGH STARS! The amateurs are making it less interesting. It reminds me of that final table at the WPT with Eskimo Clark and the rest being amateurs. The quality of play was so bad and the interest level was so low because nobodys ever heard of most of the guys of the final table!

Just like in any other sport, people want to see the stars. TV land wants to see Helmuth, Phillips, Lederer, Ferguson, Ivey, Farha etc etc. You might say this is the reason they're coming up with the PPT. The WPT bosses realize that the tournaments are getting so big and most of the playing field are unskilled, that it is becoming more and more a game of luck and good players are being weeded out. The PPT will ensure that the recognizable, fan favorite stars of the poker world get on tv.

Like Doyle Brunson said when referring to the world series main event 2004 '75% of the playing field is unskilled.'The masses want to see the stars, but the bigger and bigger tournaments make it difficult for a mostly Pro-filled tv final table. The making of a PPT was only logical.

[PokerPaul]

so whom do i or anyone else have to sleep with to get onto the PPT for free tourney entries???

[italianstang]

I agree, the production quality of the ESPN broadcasts is great, everything including their graphics, their camera angles and their announcers are great. I am REAL tired of Mike Sexton playing daddy to Vince Van Patten's stupid analogies. Lon and Norman Chad do a good job, they are funny and entertaining.

My problem is these rebroadcasts of old-ass WSOP's on ESPN classic and the recent plethora of old WSOP DVD's that I will unfortunately and undoubtedly receive for Christmas or something. I love poker, I like watching it live, playing it, watching it on ESPN, reading about it etc. but watching the old final tables, without knowing what cards people have is close to the most boring thing ever. I am afraid that new fish will watch that and be so bored they will run away.