World Poker Tour and Aussie Millions Air This Week
Date: Thu, Mar 20, 2008
The Aussie Millions cash game and tournament start airing on Fox Sports Saturday at 11 PM. As always with Fox Sports, the time may be different on your local affiliate so check a programming guide. They'll reportedly start with four episodes of the cash game, which I rated **** last year. It features some of the world's greatest players: Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Niki Jedlicka (KaiBuxxe), Gus Hansen, Tony G., Tom Dwan (Durrr), Brian Townsend (sbrugby), Chris Ferguson, and John Juanda. The Aussie Millions tournament, which I rated ** last year, will follow in later weeks.
The World Poker Tour returns for season six Monday night at 9 PM on GSN. This week we'll see the Mirage Poker Showdown. The TV table features Phil Ivey, Jonathan Little (FieryJustice), Amnon Filippi, Darrell Dicken (Gigabet), Cory Carroll, and Richard Kirsch. Reruns include midnight Monday and Sunday at 7 PM.
Poker After Dark is also new next week. They have a terrific lineup: Barry Greenstein, Mike Matusow, Antonio Esfandiari, Howard Lederer, Eli Elezra, and David Williams.
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
Black Poker Stars Invitational, WSOP Live
Date: Fri, Mar 14, 2008
On Saturday WSOP Live airs the Caesars Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Event, starting at about 3 PM.
The Black Poker Stars Invitational starts airing on BET Tuesday at 10:30 PM. It's a charitable celebrity tournament. David Williams plays some role in it. Various reruns include Wednesday at 10:30 PM.
Poker After Dark is still in rerun.
After watching some more episodes of The Game, I've decided to give it a five star rating. I don't normally rate foreign shows, but I think its quality deserves to be recognized.
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
Jeffrey Pollack: Here's How To Fix The World Series Of Poker Broadcasts
Date: Fri, Mar 14, 2008
Regular readers know that I consider ESPN to be the worst major poker broadcaster on US TV. I'd almost given up hope for the World Series of Poker broadcasts till I read a month ago that WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack had said "I think we need to be focused on quality more than quantity." In this archive review, Jeffrey, you can find everything you need to know to make the WSOP broadcasts great.
My first reviews of ESPN's broadcasts, the 2005 US Poker Championship and 2006 WSOP, were just one paragraph long each, but they summarized the basic problems with ESPN's broadcasts well. I said ESPN's "poker coverage is by people who aren't interested in poker, for people who aren't interested in poker." The Wall Street Journal wrote one of my best articles for me. It was an article about fans' criticism of ESPN's soccer coverage, but I found that the problems were so similar to ESPN's poker broadcasts that I quoted the article extensively to create Fans Say ESPN's (poker) Coverage Deserves Penalty. I started my most thorough review of an ESPN poker show, ESPN Presents Short-Attention-Span TV (A US Poker Championship Review) with "the 2006 US Poker Championship may be the worst poker broadcast I've ever seen." I expressed disappointment that ESPN still seemed to be unreformed in Changes For ESPN's 2007 World Series of Poker Broadcasts. I did like one WSOP broadcast (see World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table Live Review)... but it wasn't done by ESPN. Unfortunately, the other non-ESPN production (see World Series of Poker Live Review) was dreadful. I had another article written for me when Norman Chad said "the viewers don't care," which perfectly summed up ESPN's attitude towards poker on TV. By the time I reviewed the 2007 WSOP (A Few Yuks For the Channel Surfer (A Review of ESPN's WSOP Coverage)), I had given up writing serious reviews of ESPN's broadcasts and, instead, mocked ESPN executives mercilessly. I continued in a similar vein with what I consider to be my best article: ESPN/ABC To Apply Poker Model To Football Broadcasts. I thought that if ESPN executives imagined butchering football broadcasts in the way that they butcher poker broadcasts they might finally see the light. The article was a parody, but some people believed it was real and were mortified.
Now we have a potential savior, and it turns out it's not even someone in ESPN. Don't disappoint me Jeffrey.
National Poker League Looking for Broadcasters
Date: Sat, Mar 8, 2008
The National Poker League has renamed themselves the International Poker League, and is looking for outlets to air their second series. I'd previously reported that they were expected to air on WGN this month. There's a new video promoting the show on their old site. Their new site, IPLTour.com current just hosts sales material, revealing that they've produced 52 episodes. As far as I can tell the show is similar to their last series: shorthanded tournament tables filmed in HD.
More Cash Poker on TV Please: Some More Arguments
Date: Tue, Mar 4, 2008
A couple of days ago I argued that producers should air more cash poker on TV, and Barry Carter of UK Poker News added his own arguments today. Some excerpts:
But I must admit that my love of shows like the WPT waned for some time.... The reason I stopped watching was that they became samey. There is only so many times you need to see ace-king v pocket queens.
...
I would urge TV producers to take note of the increasing popularity of cash game poker...
...
Sicker Hands
By the end of a tournament, even the craziest of players is more solid with their hand selection. Big cards and big pairs will usually win you the title when the blinds get high. But in a cash game the flexibility to play a mediocre hand and turn it into a monster is there. You'll often see an 8-way pot with everyone happy to play 8-2 out of position; as a result, you see some crazy action.
Skill
If there is one negative point about TV poker, is that it can wrongly imply that a poker tournament is a series of coinflips and the champion is the person that wins the most 50/50s. High blind poker can often make very skilful players look average when they are shoving their chips in the middle with king high. By contrast, a cash game should never get in that situation and the deep structure allows the players to make big moves and even bigger lay downs, to prove why they are the world elite.
Poker After Dark In Rerun
Date: Mon, Mar 3, 2008
Poker After Dark is showing reruns for the next three weeks, until March 25th.
Those of you who download or stream poker shows may want to check out Poker Den - The Big Game II. It's gotten some good reviews, but I find its poor production hard to take (I highly recommend The Game instead).
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
The Case For Running Poker After Dark as a Cash Game
Date: Sun, Mar 2, 2008
A recent poll on the 2+2 forums asked would Poker After Dark be better as a cash game? Better as a cash game won by a 2.6 to 1 margin.
In comparison to High Stakes Poker, Poker After Dark would have several advantages as a cash game: they show all the hole cards, the announcer talks over the table talk less, and they show most of the hands. Tournaments naturally vary in length, making them difficult to fit into fixed time slots. A Poker After Dark cash game could easily film just enough hands to show every one (or perhaps film a few extra for safety margin), however.
Cash games have a lot of advantages over tournaments. It's clear the producers recognize that, as they pretend Poker After Dark is a cash game by putting those bundles of cash on the table (I've always encouraged the players to use them as cash, e.g. by tipping the cocktail waitresses with them). Tournaments, on the other hand, are boring a lot of the time because players are finished if they bust out, so they play more conservatively early on. That's reflected on Poker After Dark where it seems like people raise and fold most of the time for four episodes then go all in and coinflip for the win on the last episode.
Cash games, on the other hand, can have a lot more action, especially when played shorthanded. Anyone who's seen the shorthanded Swedish cash game The Game can confirm that it's an amazing show. It's probably what Poker After Dark would be like if it were a cash game, and it may well be the best poker show in the world right now.
I've heard a lot of people say they'd like to see High Stakes Poker played shorthanded. Shorthanded cash games are a common format online. Poker After Dark's current format, on the other hand, is damn near obscure. I've never played a shootout, and wouldn't be surprised if I never do. Personally I'd like to see Poker After Dark as a full ring (9- or 10-handed) cash game, since that's what I play, but I'd be happy if it were any type of cash game.
Cash games are hugely underrepresented on US TV. Only one of the five major US poker TV shows is a cash game. For cash games to be fairly represented on TV, they should be more like three of five. Doyle Brunson once said on Poker After Dark that he preferred real poker, by which he meant the traditional form: cash games. I do too. Let us see another cash game on the next season of Poker After Dark.
Major Poker Show at the Venetian
Date: Wed, Feb 27, 2008
From Doyle's blog:
There is a big push going on to have a major TV show at the Venetian Hotel. There are some major players involved, headed by Merv Adelson. He has access to the best directors and producers in the business. There will be ten pros that host the show. I’m on board as is Antonio, Phil Laak, Gus Hansen, Todd Brunson, Eli Elezra, Jen Harman, Clonie Gowen, and Daniel Negreanu. Mike Caro is an important cog in the operation because there will be seminars and teaching classes.
Doyle Brunson Talks About High Stakes Poker
Date: Mon, Feb 25, 2008
Doyle Brunson's comments on High Stakes Poker, from his blog:
I’ve never watched poker shows. I think because they make me look like an old, fat, bald-headed cripple. Oh, wait a minute, that’s what I am isn’t it 
I accidentally tuned in on High Stakes Poker on GSN and I was absolutely fascinated by what I saw. This show isn’t a tournament; it is a real cash game where the players can buy more chips when they want and quit when they want. Also, the ante and blinds never go up. I sometimes wonder how I came off a cotton farm in Texas to where I am today. After watching that show every night for the past month, I can understand it. Most of these so-called poker stars can’t play a lick! It is almost embarrassing to watch how badly they play. There are a few that I would call winning players but the bad players far outnumber them. Tournaments don’t really teach you fundamental concepts and that is all most of them do – never playing what I call real poker. I think I have played eleven times since HSP started and have yet to have a losing session.
Another thing I don’t understand is the behavior of some of the players. In my opinion, many of them make fools of themselves by their conduct. The viewing public seems to like it though so I guess that justifies it in their mind. I never use two Doylisms in one blog but one comes to mind... it seems that Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, and “Sheiky” fit this one perfectly. “They are self-made men. And they love their creator.”
I have to add one more as I am in a sadistic mood tonight... “It is better to be silent and thought of as a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.”
See also Doyle's opinion of The High Stakes Poker Episode That Only Showed Seven Hands. His above comments also remind me of the time on Poker After Dark when Doyle told Shana he preferred real poker (to the donkaments they play). That was one of my favorite moments on Poker After Dark.
History of the Poker Boom
Date: Sun, Feb 24, 2008
PokerListings.com recently ran a series of articles on the history of the poker boom. Part one details the hole-card-cam fueled birth of the poker boom. Part three also has some relevance to TV: it's about the major televised tournament series. For more on the history of televised poker I recommend The First Modern Poker TV Show. Two interviews with producer Mori Eskandani (PokerNews, Ante Up!) also go into the history of televised poker.
This Week: Poker After Dark, WSOP Live
Date: Sun, Feb 24, 2008
This week's Poker After Dark features Patrick Antonius, Johnny Chan, Roland de Wolfe, Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, and John Juanda.
WSOP Live is streaming the WSOP Circuit from the Horseshoe Council Bluffs at 6:15 PM on Wednesday.
Check our poker on TV schedule for the list of shows regularly running new episodes, sign up for our weekly newsletter, and contact me with any suggestions or corrections.
World Poker Tour Europe Planned
Date: Sat, Feb 23, 2008
The World Poker Tour recently scaled back their schedule to 14 North American events, but, as previously mentioned (discussions to develop locally-based events, efforts in China), they are working on locally-based events for other regions. WPT boss Steve Lipscomb fleshed out their plans a bit at a press conference at the LA Poker Classic, saying:
We are expanding our presence in Europe and other international markets as we go into the online gaming space, and as we do that, we’re taking those markets piece by piece… This year, we’re going to do a WPT Europe event. We’re going to be doing regional tours similar to what we’re doing in China… Those audiences, as we understand, are very hungry for programming as they grow their own poker world, and we’re going to help them and grow it together.
The WPT has inked an agreement with Grup Perelada, the owner of Casino Barcelona, the site of last year's WPT Spanish Championship.
Sources: Pokerati, Bodog Beat
Antonio Esfandiari is the New Face of the World Poker Tour
Date: Sat, Feb 23, 2008
Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari is the new face of the World Poker Tour, and will be representing them on TV, in advertising, and for their online sites.
Sources: Bodog Beat, Pokerati
World Poker Tour Eases Logo Policy
Date: Sat, Feb 23, 2008
The World Poker Tour has eased their logo policy. Logos must still be approved prior to the tournament (see the WPT sponsorship page), but sponsors no longer need to submit a list of their players prior to the event. This leaves players that make a TV table free to negotiate for a sponsorship.
Source: Pokerati
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