Bad tv, good tv

The season finale of The Sopranos was particularly disappointing.  I was excited to see AJ start to turn his life around, but that didn’t make up for the complete lack of a plot climax.

However tonight starts the new season of High Stakes Poker on the Game Show Network.  I first heard about High Stakes Poker from my ex-poker acquaintance, Bradley.  (Bradley stopped speaking to me when I analyzed one of his blogged hands in a way he didn’t appreciate)

I have to agree though, that High Stakes Poker is about the best poker show on TV.  I’m not cocky enough to suggest to you that I play anywhere near those stakes, but some of the dynamics are similar.  The thing I’ve come to loathe about the poker tournaments on TV is that they only show the last bit of the tournament.  A lot of important things happen before the final table that aren’t televised that you really need to know to understand the game.

On High Stakes Poker, 10 people (some pros, some amateurs with money) sit around a table and play a high stakes cash game.  They don’t say, but I think it’s $300/$600 no limit hold’em.  (There may also be a $100 ante, I can’t tell.)  The dynamics of this are applicable to the cash game poker many of us play every week (or every day, if you’re lucky).

If you miss it you can tivo it.  It’s rotated heavily in repeats.

2 Comments

  1. josephgrossberg on June 6, 2006 at 9:01 am

    “Bradley stopped speaking to me when I analyzed one of his blogged hands in a way he didn’t appreciate”

    I read both posts, and his response, and I still don’t understand why he’d be so upset about it.

    If you’re posting about how you played a hand, you have to expect some feedback, no?



  2. BilldaCat on June 7, 2006 at 7:18 am

    same here.

    some people have really thin skins and don’t like any kind of criticism.

    which is a shame, because that’s how you learn. i don’t know jack about home ownership and maintainence yet, but i’m learning every day because i listen to other people, regardless if they know what they are talking about or not.

    c’est la vie.