The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

Set up a table in a special, closed-off room of a major casino and run it 24/7. Let people play there completely rake-free and with all the perks(food, room, etc.). The only caveat is that your hole cards will be recorded. Run the table at as high of a limit as can be sustained. How high do you think this could go? I doubt they'd play 4k/8k NL there, but I'm sure that you could keep a 200/400 NL game going.

Broadcast a nightly hour-long "highlight" of the previous day's action. This would be like Late Night Poker, but far more entertaining. People would want to play there just to be on TV, and I'm sure some of the name players would come by because it would be too juicy to pass up. You could switch up the game sometimes to keep it interesting, though I'm sure the public will remain most interested in NLHE.

I'm somewhat suprised that no one has tried this yet. I'm almost certain that it would get better ratings than most cable programs, and cost very little to produce. As long as it was decently produced, I think this would be a sure fire hit for all involved.

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

Brilliant! I can see this on the not-yet-in-existence PokerTV channel.

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

I would imagine that no one has tried it since your idea is a 'tv person' idea and the people who control the card rooms are 'casino people' who may not care about ratings or tv or anything, just about raking in the dough, which there generally do quite well.

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

They also are not shy about doing things that maybe they don't make money on directly, but attract players and money to the casino.

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

Agreed. Especially with the amount to new poker room opening/expanding in vegas, casinos(especially new ones) are going to have to find a way to make their place stand out. How high of a limit do you guys think a game like this could sustain?

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

Well, I can see the brilliance of the idea, and it might even work.

Then again, it could all too easily become "Closeups of animals with a wide angle lens."

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

Then just get Robitussin to sponsor it. What's the problem?

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Well, I can see the brilliance of the idea, and it might even work.

Then again, it could all too easily become "Closeups of animals with a wide angle lens."

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Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

4/8K NLH??? Ive never even heard of this being spread. Do you mean 4/8 limit hl?? Limit wont be that entertaining. A 125/250 game would suffice IMHO

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

I just mentioned that number because it is the highest NL game I've ever heard of people playing. It was played at the Golden Nugget during the last WSOP and has been discussed numerous times. And the question is not what would suffice, but what is the highest limit that could run 24/7.

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4/8K NLH??? Ive never even heard of this being spread. Do you mean 4/8 limit hl?? Limit wont be that entertaining. A 125/250 game would suffice IMHO

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Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

I flatout LOVE this idea! Good show!!!

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

I don't want to rain on this parade, but as someone who works in TV production, especially sports-documentary shows, this idea would never work.

First of all, besides the hole card cams, you'd have to have at least 2 roving hand-helds to get shots of the players. No one wants to watch footage that's nothing but hole card cams. Then you need mounted cams above the table and some over the shoulders to get full shots of the tables. Where do you direct the action? With people just coming in out of nowhere to play, you need a story producer on hand to focus on characters.

You can't just shoot everybody and edit it later when you see the footage, because it's too expensive not to save tape/manpower by putting the cameras on the right guys. ESPN cameras can race around Binion's because they know it's a shot when Doyle goes all in on an outer table.

If you shoot it like a WPT tournament, the lighting and camera setups and audio become very expensive, so you can't shoot hours and hours of a table every single night hoping you get some crazy action. Those tournaments pay off because audiences get to see Barry Greenstein, Gus Hansen, Paul Phillips, and Martin DeKniff play hands for a million dollars. At this hypothetical table, you're spending many thousands of dollars on lighting, audio, camera, stock, and post-production for a show with unknown characters, unknown action, and unknown drama. The drama might eventually create itself (with wackos coming in to be on TV and acting insane for the camera), but getting everyone to sign a release could be a nightmare once they see what they're getting into.

I know I'd hate to produce this show, but it would sort of be fun to edit it...

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

i kind of doubt that people actually played 4k/8k NLH. the pot size would be well over 100k per small hand.

rj

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

Bah

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

What about something like a 360 degree camera that sits in the middle of the table, a few feet off the felt to look at everybody. Iunno how much these types of things cost though. It would be interesting to see a high stakes NL cash game being played, we would finally see the true best Hold'em players in the world.

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

Good response, joker. There may very well be some good reasons why this hasn't been tried before. I have no idea how much filming a card game 24/7 would cost, it may very well be prohibitive.

However... I can't believe that filming a static location would cost that much. Of course you'd have to have a cameraman or two, but that applies for everything. Also, its hardly an unknown that if you film a high stakes game for 24 hours you will be able to get 45 minutes or so of interesting action.

IMO, there are only two questions.
1)Would the public be interested in watching a game without a clear beginning and end, without a clear winner?
2)How high of a limit would it take for the public to be interested and would would the players willing to play that high be willing to be taped in action?

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

This is a silly thread. Poker is not like The Real World. This idea will not work for all the reasons that Joker stated. I believe he knows what he is talking about and he also makes some persuasive points. It's one thing to tape a certain game or tourney - it's quite another to tape a room ad infinitum until you find stuff you like. Besides, I would prefer watching pros on the real poker shows over average shlubs any day.

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

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but I'm sure that you could keep a 200/400 NL game going.

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200/400 no limit? Now that's a game I would like to see! LOL. The highest I've seen is the Bellagio's 600 min buy in with 10/20 blinds.

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

Hi private joker,

You make good points, but I'm pretty sure you're wrong that it won't work.

Late Night Poker is not a ratings juggernaut, but obviously does well enough for Fox Sports to run it roughly 90 times per week.

Something with production values along those lines would be more affordable. Yes, American audiences are accustomed to slicker presentation, but as I said, Late Night Poker is not a flop, and this could be where poker turns the corner in terms of being broadcast like sports.

To delve further into another thought from this thread, I think it's clear that TV poker programs need someone to bridge the gap between those who know poker, and those who know drama and television. If they're not showing every hand, they need someone who can select poker hands that are interesting and important to a match, even though they may not involve massive numbers of chips and two big pairs.

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

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but I'm sure that you could keep a 200/400 NL game going.

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200/400 no limit? Now that's a game I would like to see! LOL. The highest I've seen is the Bellagio's 600 min buy in with 10/20 blinds.

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You can see a bigger NL game than that just by going to Ultimate Bet..

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

Id love to see some high limit cash games.

Couldnt they go all digital and set up camera on each corner of the table. Drop a couple of mikes around the table and there you go.

Look at all the voyeur porn sites on the net. They tape whole houses full of young college girls showering and munching carpet 24/7!!

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

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Look at all the voyeur porn sites on the net. They tape whole houses full of young college girls showering and munching carpet 24/7!!

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Ah yes Brandon maybe we could get those same teens bankrolled to play in the 200/400NL televised game and try to put the pros on tilt with their scandelous antics.

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

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1)Would the public be interested in watching a game without a clear beginning and end, without a clear winner?

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Bingo! The average television watcher i.e. not serious poker player wants drama. A winner and a loser. Not just lost a big pot. They want to see one person's dream come true, while another's dream is crushed. It's the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

This is what most people miss. Tv is all about entertainment. Drama and emotion are what is driving the poker boom. I'm just not sure you would get that in a cash game.

Most pros could and do make a fine living playing cash games. So why even bother playing a tourny? Ah, the competition and thats what comes through to the average TV viewer.

Re: The real best TV idea ever.. that would work
 

Wouldn't it be extremely difficult to sufficiently edit 24 hours of poker?

Also, I'm not sure that casual viewers would understand the game enough to enjoy what they were watching...some, for example, may become confused when a player who is "all in" subsequently rebuys, and continues to play at the table.

Furthermore, a lot of the personal intrigue of televised poker would be lost, as it would be difficult to keep track of players' names, not to mention their respective biographies.

I don't think this would work.