WPT worse for each season?

[MyMindIsGoing]

Is it just me who thinks WPT is gone very bad? I think it has become worse for each season. I hardly even care to watch it anymore. Also seems like the made the audience more part of the show, I never heard so much screaming before in poker. I think it would be nice with more tournaments when people are not all in every second hand. Like American poker championship and Championship poker at the plaza. These two are my favorite when it comes to good poker.

[Hold'me]

I think the WPT does a decently good job. You have to keep in mind they are only a 2 hour show and their target audience is the casual poker fan. And every hand on the WPT is not an all-in hand, you might be thinking of the Poker SuperStars Invitional. As for the crowd, its good to see them get involved, it adds more excitement to the event. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[toots]

I can do without the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" lightshow. And, it's even more of an all-in fest than before.

On the other hand, the audience participation is at least a bit of a change, and MS/VVP have been given a couple new cliches for the season, and they haven't quite got old yet.

[knapple]

If by worse you mean bringing in more and more people that reall dont know what they are doing and can possibl bring down the game... yes. But Idon see it turning poker into a fad that will eventually go away.. no. I see it to the likes of pro wrestling... with exposure comes ups and downs.. The lightshows and all are just capitalizing on the popularity, when the cycle continues it will calm down. And so on and so forth.

[jojobinks]

nah, it's not worse. but it is bad.

pros:
big buy in tournies = pros every week
the only show on tv that gives 2 hours to a 6 man table
shana

cons:
mike and vince
too many homegame heros (this bugs me for some reason, i want to see more pros)
the lightshow
the invitational garbage
did i mention mike and vince?

in all, i'll not quit watching until a better weekly poker show comes along. there are no better ones that air new episodes regularly, unless i'm missing something.

[toots]

Actually, I think a six-person final table warrants more than just two hours.

It probably wouldn't have the same ratings appeal of these loosely assembled collections of all-ins and suck-outs, but what we have now is just a "Classic Comics" reduction of a real poker tournament.

[jojobinks]

i didn't say that 2 hours was ideal, b/c i agree with you that it's not.

but does any other tv show even do more than an hour? pro players tournament did. but that's the only one i can think of. oh yea, and the turning stone thing.

everything else, including wsop coverage, gives 1 hour.

the wsopme coverage is of the final table is a joke, btw.

wpt does it better, but that doesn't make it good.

[MicroBob]

Actually I think it has gotten a little bit better.
not by much....maybe I'm just used to it.

I really think Sexton's commentary has improved. At times he actually says something that isn't completely idiotic.


In season 1 he said on more than 1 occasion "they'll be talking about that hand for the next 50 years."
Well...I don't think he says that as much anymore (and...FWIW I can't specifically remember any of the hands that we supposedly would be talking about for the next 50 years).



Regarding the crowd participation...obviously some of it is actual screaming during the hand itself...but some of it is dubbed in.

We went to a few minutes of the final-table on the PPM IV cruise (in the ship's theatre). Before they started Linda Johnson had the whole audience make various noises that they could use to dub in later.

one was the 'oh gosh...I can't believe my favorite player got knocked out on such a horrible beat' reaction
the next was 'hoo-ray....our favorite player pulled off the poker-miracle of the century'

and then there was moderate (almost polite) applause...and then roaring applause.

I suspected they did this btw...but it was interesting how they had all of us completely manufacture these stupid reactions BEFORE the show had even started.


If you watch closely you might be able to tell which times they edit in something.

Of course...if it's a situation where the last two players are all-in and are standing waiting for the cards then the reactions and cheering that you can see in the background behind them are genuine. But if they cut away to something it's possible it was edited in from the fake-reactions of 5 hours earlier.


I don't have a real problem with this btw even though it is kind of silly.

It's really not much different than the applause sign that they use on David Letterman or the techniques that a sit-com might use to make the studio-audience laughter sound louder than it really is.

This is what the WPT is after. They want to be able to say in EVERY episode "Look!! The crowd can't believe it."
It would be pretty amusing if they were ever honest about it and said "The crowd really couldn't care less Vince."
"Yup Mike. It was a tough beat for him to take...but he's the first player EVER to get knocked out of a tournament who is NOT going to draw the 'Ohhhh...he's got to be sick to his stomach'."

[toots]

Seems little different from adding a canned laugh track.

Actually, I might like it better with the yucks.

[MicroBob]

"He's got a REAL hand Mike. A wired-pair of 5's."

Crowd - Moderate laughter

"This is what happens when you get your hand caught in the cookie jar Vince."

Crowd - More moderate laughter

"Oh...he's just SICK about that one Mike."
"He'll be remembering this hand for the next 50 years I can tell you Vince."

Crowd - Wild hysterical laughter




There's DEFINITELY some potential for this idea.