Too much politics...I want to talk about Vegas!
Quote: cclub79Does anyone still enjoy watching the WSOP on ESPN? Tonight (Tues 8/31) is another new episode. I must admit, as a poker fan, I really enjoyed the broadcasts when they first hit the scene bigtime in 2003. But does anyone still get into the broadcasts? I feel like I've seen every bad beat and every suck out and every double up and every bust already. Sometimes I'll put it on if nothing else is on while I'm doing work, but for me it's lost its charm. Am I alone? Did anyone here play in the main event or go watch any of it? If you just went to watch, what was the experience like? What could you actually see? I've been to and played in plenty of tournaments on the East Coast, but never been there for the Main Event. Maybe next year.
It's like watching the ESPN highlight recap of a baseball game. On the WSOP TV broadcasts, every hand is interesting. In real life, it's deadly dull to watch. If you want a better approximation, watch "Poker After Dark" with the snoozy action and that godawful theme music. One guy picks up AJ, raises, and everybody folds. Zzzzzzzz.
I do enjoy Norman Chad's commentary, and I think he makes the show. Contrast that with the World Poker Tour broadcasts with Mike Sexton and that babbling idiot, whose name I cannot recall ("Stupid" will do). That show is almost painful to watch.
I played in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 WSOP, but not the Main Event. Ten grand was way over my personal willing-to-throw-away threshold. I made enough in the side games to enter a few events, but the closest I ever got to cashing was going all in close to the bubble with AA and getting called and beaten by A4 offsuit.
Quote: cclub79Does anyone still enjoy watching the WSOP on ESPN? Tonight (Tues 8/31) is another new episode. I must admit, as a poker fan, I really enjoyed the broadcasts when they first hit the scene bigtime in 2003. But does anyone still get into the broadcasts? I feel like I've seen every bad beat and every suck out and every double up and every bust already. Sometimes I'll put it on if nothing else is on while I'm doing work, but for me it's lost its charm. Am I alone? Did anyone here play in the main event or go watch any of it? If you just went to watch, what was the experience like? What could you actually see? I've been to and played in plenty of tournaments on the East Coast, but never been there for the Main Event. Maybe next year.
I think I have to agree it has lost much of its charm. I don't watch much sports and mostly sports to me is about handicapping and picking a bet. I do consider poker a "sport" in many regards. But in 2003 we seemed to have more players who wanted to play and there just happened to be a camera around. Today they seem more concerned about mugging for the camera. And most viewers have figured out you see at most 10% of the actual hands, making it seem almost staged.
Quote: avargovPerhaps I am an elitist, but the WSOP (and big tourney poker in general), was much better when the top pros were pitted against each other.
I think that's why they tried the $50,000 World Championship Event (or whatever it was called) with the hope that only the top pros would enter.
I do kind of enjoy the Heads Up Championship NBC puts on. The Field of 64 bracket is compelling. Just watching chip stacks go up and down over the course of Tuesday nights in the WSOP doesn't cut it for me.
Quote: AZDuffmanBut in 2003 we seemed to have more players who wanted to play and there just happened to be a camera around. Today they seem more concerned about mugging for the camera.
Great point as usual. It's like NASCAR...don't let the race get in the way of the sponsors and those shiny logos!
Of course id much rather watch highstakes poker or PAD cash game. I dont see how there isnt a new episode every week (cash game that is). why not just recruit people from Bobby's room or maybe just make a show from there. I'd watch that. PAD tourneys are god awful i hope they stop with those.
Quote: jpprovanceOf course id much rather watch highstakes poker or PAD cash game. I dont see how there isnt a new episode every week (cash game that is). why not just recruit people from Bobby's room or maybe just make a show from there. I'd watch that. PAD tourneys are god awful i hope they stop with those.
High Stakes Poker used to air a cash game on GSN. They filmed for a few hours then chopped it up into weekly episodes to make a season. It wasn't half bad, but it was something only a poker player would watch. There were similar issues with Live at the Bike, which was a webcast that ended up cancelled when the producers realised there was no money to be found.
There was also an unedited broadcast of an invitational single-table tournament from Monte Carlo televised a while ago. It was a) boring as hell with four hours of play and b) interesting as hell because it's virtually the only publically available tournament where you can watch professionals and their hole cards from wire to wire.
I suspect the only viable way to broadcast poker is on a premium channel in small doses, something like Hard Knocks. I was going to watch the WSOP HORSE event on ESPN until I turned it on and discovered they were showing just the final table, and it was NLHE. Crikey.
It sort of is a victim of its own success: so many in "the field" now means the "stars" are unlikely to make it to the final table, and may not make it far at all. This clearly frustrates the producers.
Quote: cclub79Does anyone still enjoy watching the WSOP on ESPN? Tonight (Tues 8/31) is another new episode. I must admit, as a poker fan, I really enjoyed the broadcasts when they first hit the scene bigtime in 2003. But does anyone still get into the broadcasts? I feel like I've seen every bad beat and every suck out and every double up and every bust already. Sometimes I'll put it on if nothing else is on while I'm doing work, but for me it's lost its charm. Am I alone? Did anyone here play in the main event or go watch any of it? If you just went to watch, what was the experience like? What could you actually see? I've been to and played in plenty of tournaments on the East Coast, but never been there for the Main Event. Maybe next year.
Indeed, too much politics, not enough gambling threads.
Life is short.
And I miss Poker After Dark.
Quote: FTB
And I miss Poker After Dark.
Double entrede?
Quote: cmlotitoQuote: FTB
And I miss Poker After Dark.
Double entrede?
Is that anything like a double entredre?!
Speaking of which, just busted out in fourth place.
Quote: FTBQuote: cmlotitoQuote: FTB
And I miss Poker After Dark.
Double entrede?
Is that anything like a double entredre?!
Speaking of which, just busted out in fourth place.
Of how many? Get any good money?
And yeah, I miss the peak of the poker boom. Ive mostly moved on to other gambling games in the past few years. I should give a cheap mix game another try some day.
Free if you have a Roku.
I just wish somebody would show some Baccarat tournaments...
Quote: cmlotitoQuote: FTB
And I miss Poker After Dark.
Double entrede?
I even looked up how to spell it. Either my fat fingers or damn autocorrect screwed it up.
Double entendre
Hmmm. Wasn't autocorrect.
Damn fingers.
So much better of a WOV experience now.
Quote: michael99000Recently blocked all the political threads.
So much better of a WOV experience now.
This might improve my experience too, but it's like that trainwreck I can't look away from.
Quote: tringlomaneThis might improve my experience too, but it's like that trainwreck I can't look away from.
That reminds me, I blocked Nathan’s Corner too
I got to see Phil Ivey and his competitors play in upstate NY around 2004 for the TV cameras, probably ESPN. This was back when HD TV sets were unaffordable and the casino didn't know how to set the aspect ratio on their house TV sets. I seem to remember I was let into the stands to watch for about 20 minutes and then led out again because they wanted to rotate the line outside the door waiting to see this live event. Phil seemed catatonic at the final table, maybe he's always that way so he has no "tells."
PokerStars NLH Player Championship, Final Table (Cards Up) - YouTube - Jan 10, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svi5NVy5TJA
