they should alter the length

[jdl22]

After watching the show tonight I had a thought. Most people watching have no idea who won the event when it's shown on tv. One thing that really kills the suspense is that you can tell who will win a hand based on how much time there is remaining in the show.

I thought of it on the hand from tonight where Hansen went all in with T9 suited against Hoyt's A9s. VVP said something like 'well this could be it for Gus!' and I looked at the clock and said "probably not Vince it's only quarter to eleven!" It's the same at the end. You know if there are only a couple minutes left who will win the hand if they go all in.

Again, given that most of the viewing audience doesn't know who will win shouldn't they run the show a little overtime to take this element out?

[harrypalmer]

I noticed this too last year. I made a vow to turn my clock around a half hour before it starts and made a point to not change the T.V. channel so I haven't a clue what time it is. This has helped keep the show's suspense.

Harry

[TimTimSalabim]

Tivo is the answer. To everything, really.

[ThePopinjay]

[ QUOTE ]
Tivo is the answer. To everything, really.

[/ QUOTE ]

He's right you know. What's the meaning of life? Tivo. What should eat for dinner tomorrow? Why Tivo of course. Is there a God? Tivo.

[wayabvpar]

Yea, verily.

[Rushmore]

Another "TV tell"--I just made that up--is the order in which they show the player profile segments. They invariably do these in the order in which the players are cracked out.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

Tivo is the answer. For those schleps who don't have Tivo, though, maybe they should have the conclusion of each tournament run 20 minutes, give or take, into the next show before they start the next tourney. It's pretty tough to run over a variable amount of time on a regular basis on TV, but they could always just run it into the next show. That would probably suck though - "tune in next week for the conclusion!". I'm sticking with Tivo and a completely oblivious sense of time. This is pretty easy for me, since I generally have no idea what day or time it is anyway and regularly have to try to remember even how old I am. What was the question again? All I know is Tivo is the answer - I can be pretty sure of that.

[iash]

I put post it's over all visible digital clocks.

I've found that i prefer the 5 hour format that ESPN uses sometimes..they show all stages of a particular tournament, switching from table to table. You get to see a lot more players this way. It also gives you a better feel for the tourny.

[DoctorDrew]

While in general I agree TiVo is the answer, I have one question though. I abhor inane commercials. So, I MUST fastforward(I will not debate this). Then I see how close we are to the end and it still ruins it for me.

How do you get around this?

[FloppedFlush]

I have a TiVo, and I scramble all the clocks in the room, but now I have another problem.

As soon as the dealer turns the river card, it becomes totally obvious who's going to win the hand. Maybe they could pan the camera out before the river card is dealt and keep the suspense going a little longer. I wouldn't be able to tell who wins the hand until the pot gets pushed to one player or the other, then they could show what the river card was for anyone interested in the small details.

But wait... you could probably get a pretty good read on which way the dealer was about to push the pot from the angle his arms are at when he starts to reach. Now what can we do?
/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[DoctorDrew]

Sever the dealers arms.

[schroedy]

I think you have to take WPT and Lipscomb's product for what it is. To make poker interesting at all to people whose money is not actually in the middle, is tantamount to getting people to watch paint dry.

Somehow, I don't think watching poker will ever have the suspense of . . . say 4 miracle shots in the last 90 seconds of a basketball game (including two REALLY miracle shots in the last 5 seconds, and one INSANE shot in the last .4 . . . but I digress).

A lot of guys I know watch only in the hopes that a little too much slips off of Shauna someday. My brother and his wife watch and, as a result, are picking up a little interest in poker, but they know virtually nothing about the game now. Many people get sucked into the WPT format with the lights strobing all around, and cameras zooming down onto the table. Lipscomb does a credible job of presenting the ups and downs, ebbs and flows of final table play. The "personality" segments keep new and non players interested. I think that most anyone with enough sense to figure who will win by watching the clock, probably knows who will win because they read it in Card Player (can we still say Card Player here? a jab Mason, even though I think you are on the higher ground here).

I watch WPT more as some kind of training video -- and also (which is one thing the pros were concerned about) to spot tells and tendencies.

Because of a project I am working on, I would be interested in what people think makes poker on TV correctly mixed with drama and realism.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
While in general I agree TiVo is the answer, I have one question though. I abhor inane commercials. So, I MUST fastforward(I will not debate this). Then I see how close we are to the end and it still ruins it for me.

How do you get around this?

[/ QUOTE ]
I either get up for a tasty beverage (Boddington's Pub Ale, Young's Double Chocolate, or Guiness) or pretend not to see the little tracker at the bottom of the screen when my couch won't let go of me or I feel a need to defend either my couch position or retain control of the remote. Either that, or I go to my computer and hit the 'raise any' button and then talk some smack on each of my 8 concurrent Party SNGs. By the time I get back, I have just enough time to bitch at my fiance to change the channel back before the show comes back on (if I'm watching it 'live'). The system works pretty well for me - individual results may vary.

[daryn]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In risposta di:</font><hr />
As soon as the dealer turns the river card, it becomes totally obvious who's going to win the hand.

[/ QUOTE ]



this is actually wicked funny. nice post /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Brain]

ooh, boddington's is good. i always had a good reason to head to my buddy's room across the hall senior year of college. that and he had the good video games.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
ooh, boddington's is good. i always had a good reason to head to my buddy's room across the hall senior year of college. that and he had the good video games.

[/ QUOTE ]
I know - I usually go for a stout like Guinness (or Young's or Murphy's), but Boddinton's does it for me.