World Series of Blackjack III, Week Three

Are poker tourneys really that good to watch?

I find them for the most part quite boring. They only get interesting near the end just like TBJ. I say poker is over-hyped!!! Every man and his dog are hold'em specialists these days.

Cheers

Reachy

 

agree with TV impact

I totally agree that studio lights and cameras can really affect someone - I've done some local tv/radio talk shows and a lot of tv/radio news interviews, and a lot of public speaking - and when someone shoves a microphone into my face and I know that a few tens of thousands of people are watching - I still go into a state of controlled panic - don't know how I would do in a televised tournament - most likely play everyhand trying not to look like a dufus, thereby looking like a total dufus -

same could be said for playing for these amounts of money - a lot of difference I am sure in playing for $5,000 and playing for $500,000 - much higher stress level -

I am sure I was much to harsh in judging the level of play - I do shoot off my mouth first then consider afterwards - but BJ tournaments are pretty inherently boring - even for newly minted tournament addicts like myself - and I don't think gimmicks make them more interesting - just makes them silly -

I think BJ players tend to be analysts firsts and competitors second - unlike poker players who are pretty much predators - the way you win a poker tournament is to totally destroy every other player and take away all their chips - you know that going in - that's your goal - and if you can back up the intent with some skill - that can make for an interesting show - Phil Helmuth is simply fun to watch -

but BJ players seem to have an attitude of 'be nice' and 'play the probabilties' - and the best player will win sometimes - we need more players who see tournament play as competition between players and come in with an attitude of 'I am going to eat you' - and are out front about it -

I think that is why I am liking tournaments - a combination of analysis (fits my academic background in research methods) - and player to player competition (I used to play rugby) - so destroy people through sharp analysis - fun

 

Excitement of Poker Tourneys:

Reachy:

Short answer no. And before TV not a lick of escitement, except to the survivors.

Even with TV, not that esciting. But the edits, cuts and up close and personal personality profiles fill the 90 per cent of dead time.

The introduction of the hole cards cam was a more important added "gimmick" than personality wars.

Still and all, even with celebrity poker, still not that esciting, and perhaps less so.

But, it's the money that made everyone an expert(and the original years of WSOP paid back and distributed the entry money, without the aid of any TV overlay.

GSN took a chance, since it's originally A Game Show venue, that BJ would, could fit their business plan. It must have satisfied some bench mark the first year, or it wouldn't be back, or facing the new CBS-UBT competition.

And the circular question: Is BJ on tv a game show, a televised competition or just another reality TV show?

 

I played a poker tourney yesterday

and it was no where near as much fun as TBJ!!! I used to play alot of poker but got bored of it. It just stopped being exciting. So I thought I'd give it another go yesterday to see whether my opinion had changed. No it hasn't. There I was yesterday at a 90 player online tourney which I managed to come 8th in with very little skillful play or action (it's not that I can't play skillfully, I just didn't need to). Players where just going all-in from the start and they either doubled up or busted out. Almost literaly a coin toss! Those that got lucky doubled, quadrupled and 16-tupled their BRs until they could sit back. I adopted the old-school strategy of playing only strong hands and playing them aggressively. I was never in contention really but nevertheless I felt it was a dull, luck-based experience that was totally unsatisfying. In many ways I felt that luck was more of a factor in that poker game than many of the recent TBJ games I've played.

Cheers

Reachy

 

Reachy's Poker:

Hey mate, what site was that?

And I see where you're coming from. The other link, for week four of WSOB has started the merry go round again.

There is a lot of hope that TV will bring big money tourneys open to all.

Cause when the advantage players started infiltrating the casino's invited guest free rolls or minimum buy-in events as kind of a reward for loyal play, similiar to slot tourneys, that's when the casino's got upity.

But them being casino's, it took them too long to notice that a good percentage of the folks playing and winning the tourneys knew what they were doing over the recreational high roller.

Some casinos accepted it and thought as along as everyboy pays, let em play. Stardust and Frontier live money events (and now Golden Nuggett) stand apart.

But other houses started scraping tourneys, or restricting play, for their reasons. Along comes the Hilton Million Tourney(for a short three years) open to all who want to plop down the $1,000 entry fee. There was always a mix of novice and pro winning spots to the yearly final.

The level field of the Hilton I believe appealed to all and with its consistant and reasonable rules over the three years gave a lot of players hope of hitting it big, before TV was even in the equation.

Along comes TV and you'll never get em back on the farm.

A Hilton "look a like" was considered, but after much work my some people on this site, it just didn't come about.

So again, here comes GSN and then UBT and who knows, maybe TX's idea gathers more mo than those two and WGN in Chicago,(a superstation) picks that up. Ha Ha.

Personally don't like the "Reality" aspect of any tv tourney, but to win a way in or get picked, what the hey.

In short, those who enjoy tourneys, those who go for the gold ring, those who go for the competition, or the social gatherings now see a major change in how things are run and will be run. It's a sorting out process and when the dust all settles there will be good competitive, big money BJ tourneys, or they will have run their course and we'll all have to buy Wong's dice manipulation book and take a minute between tosses.

 

Full tilt

Alwight Brov!

Aren't we all getting a bit obsessed with televised BJ tourneys, especially WSOB? Let's face it, any card game, be it poker, blackjack, gin rummy or snap is not designed for TV. They were designed for the parlours of the Victorian world along with charades, pin the tail on the donkey (or ass for our American cousins) and knock-down-ginger! The future of TBJ does not rest on the success of WSOB III and UBT! However Hollywood D, Paul Haas and their ilk may well prove to be the fathers of a bastard child that grows it's hair, puts on eye make up, listens to music that we don't approve of and generally pisses us off!

Come on, the only way that TBJ is going to go anywhere is via the virtual world of online gambling. Online TBJ will feed into meat-space TBJ and vice a versa! Let's all just get with the program!

More online TBJ. Hurrah for blackjack21.com. Hurrah for Global Player!

Cheers

reachy

Ps. I have just got back from a late night out with the better-half AKA Mrs. Reachy and let's just say she was the designated driver!!!!

 

Pin The Tail:

My favorite parlor game after charades.

 

Is that because you get to wear a blindfold?

I quite like the dizzy feeling you get after you've been spun around a few times. Can be quite a dangerous game; blindfold, player running all over the shop, big pin...

Cheers

Reachy

 

Parlour games:

Reachy:

No blind fold in my game. And charades is the "warm-up."

 

Good post NOMAN !

I really liked your post on the past the present and maybe the future of BJ tournaments.
The Hilton Million BJ tournament was the high water mark for sure and the current made for TV efforts filled with tiresome self-promoters will surely run it's course, hopefully quickly.
And then, hopefully, another casino will see the light and offer a version of the Hilton Million, really open to all, not just the connected or juiced-in.:joker: :joker: :joker:

 

Bjfan4

TY:
See my suicidal post under UBT.

Nice knowing Ya.