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The Official Thread of Poker

  • Thread starter Thread starter Priceless
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Priceless

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It looks like the old thread was deleted, so here's a new one.

The final table of the WSOP final table is on ESPN2 "live" with a 15-minute delay to prevent cheating. We also can't see the hole cards. Lon and Norm are getting assistance from Antonio Esfandiari in the announcer's booth. Gotta admit, hearing his commentary is enlightening.
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

There was just a long spell where it was Lon with Phil Helmuth and Antonio. Lon's actually OK to listen to with the live action and no Norm. This almost-live action is surprisingly interesting to watch.
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

I just tuned back in; Phil is back, and someone besides Lon is doing pbp. It's very interesting listening to Phil and Antonio riff, and far more enlightening about strategy and so on than Norm ever thought of being. I'd be fine with him being gracefully (or not so gracefully) retired from ESPN's poker broadcasts.
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

Wow, first hand of the final night and Staszko is all in against Lamb in a coin flip hand!

And Staszko's pocket 7's held up against Lamb's overcards.
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

If someone can respond to this without a spoiler, is there a reason my auto-recording of the last LIVE WSoP events include not just 7.5 hours on Sun and 2.5 hours on Mon, but another 2 hours tonight?
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

Slap Shot said:
If someone can respond to this without a spoiler, is there a reason my auto-recording of the last LIVE WSoP events include not just 7.5 hours on Sun and 2.5 hours on Mon, but another 2 hours tonight?
Click to expand...

Tonight is the final three of the final table. Sunday night was the play down to three. Monday was either the continuation of that, or a condensed rebroadcast.
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

It's funny to hear Norman Chad say something and then Antonio not just say that he's wrong, but explain why he's so wrong and leave Chad speechless.
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

It's not entirely clear to me how Norman ended up on the poker telecasts in the first place. He's the putative color analyst, yet he really has no insight at all into what's going on with the play, as both Antonio and Phil Helmuth have shown in spades. Antonio speaks well and offers interesting insights into the kinds of reads that players are making, all the kinds of things that someone who's somewhat of a novice, or even an intermediate player, wants to hear.

I find Lon to be rather annoying in the situations where he's narrating the pre-taped, edited segments (I think he doesn't do the faux-surprise/amazement well at all), but as I said before, I think he's actually pretty good doing the live play-by-play.

One thing I did find interesting, there was one case where Antonio was talking about how Heinz's betting wasn't making sense, because first he represented one thing, then another, then another, and I said, "wouldn't that be consistent with a big pocket pair?" He showed down A-A. (Most of the time, I don't really have a clue what they're playing. This example is notable by it's extraordinary nature.)
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

Antonio, while knowledgable, is a doosh. And Norm is annoying beyond all hell.

That being said, Phil is great away from the table (he likes his Brat Of Poker bit, it actually helps him at the table), so much knowledge and insight. And Lon is decent. I forget the names, but the guys from High Stakes Poker would be good for the WSoP commentary.
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

Craig P. said:
It's not entirely clear to me how Norman ended up on the poker telecasts in the first place. He's the putative color analyst, yet he really has no insight at all into what's going on with the play, as both Antonio and Phil Helmuth have shown in spades. Antonio speaks well and offers interesting insights into the kinds of reads that players are making, all the kinds of things that someone who's somewhat of a novice, or even an intermediate player, wants to hear.

I find Lon to be rather annoying in the situations where he's narrating the pre-taped, edited segments (I think he doesn't do the faux-surprise/amazement well at all), but as I said before, I think he's actually pretty good doing the live play-by-play.

One thing I did find interesting, there was one case where Antonio was talking about how Heinz's betting wasn't making sense, because first he represented one thing, then another, then another, and I said, "wouldn't that be consistent with a big pocket pair?" He showed down A-A. (Most of the time, I don't really have a clue what they're playing. This example is notable by it's extraordinary nature.)
Click to expand...

I think Chad was brought in back in the early part of the decade (don't know if it was before the craze started in 2003 or of that was his first year) to be comic relief for what ESPN figured would be throwaway coverage. They had been broadcasting poker for years, but it wasn't much of a ratings winner. Then 2 things happened: The pocket cam allowed us to see the cards they were playing which gave viewers more insight (and made poker look much easier than it really is) and Chris Moneymaker hit it big, making casual fans believe they had a chance to win too. The result was an explosion in ratings. I don't know if ESPN gave Chad an ironclad contract to appear on these poker shows indefinitely, felt that they were stuck with him since he was in the right place at the right time or just never considered a change. I knew Antonio was doing WSOP regional events as the color analyst for ESPN (broadcasts aired on Versus, for some reason) so it appears TV executives at the Mothership want to ease Chad out. It's becoming glaringly obvious how little he adds to the broadcast.
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

Brenthoven said:
Antonio, while knowledgable, is a doosh. And Norm is annoying beyond all hell.

That being said, Phil is great away from the table (he likes his Brat Of Poker bit, it actually helps him at the table), so much knowledge and insight. And Lon is decent. I forget the names, but the guys from High Stakes Poker would be good for the WSoP commentary.
Click to expand...

Mr. Kotter or Norm MacDonald? ;)

Gabe Kaplan is a poker pro as well, so his insight would be welcomed AND he can provide comedy relief because he can certainly tell a joke.
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

Priceless said:
Mr. Kotter or Norm MacDonald? ;)

Gabe Kaplan is a poker pro as well, so his insight would be welcomed AND he can provide comedy relief because he can certainly tell a joke.
Click to expand...

Gabe was the guy I had most in mind. I was critical at first, but he definitely can analyze a hand/break down what people are thinking.

Edit: this is one of the hands that totally sold me:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_ufZ-DHVCBQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

Some guy named Ro8erto 7uon8o finished in the money at the WSOP Main Event. I'm sure he'll be mentioned, but can you imagine the coverage the Mothership would give if it was an NBA player? There would be updated chip count on the bottom line, regular updates on SportsCenter, live cut-ins when he was in a hand and E:60 would follow him around Vegas to show us what he does in his off time.
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

This might have been the furthest into the archives I've had to dig to find a thread, but imho it was worth it.

Doyle Brunson, soon to turn 85 years old, and considered by many to be the godfather of professional poker, announced that he is retiring from professional poker this summer.

On the encouragement of his son, Todd Brunson (also a professional poker player), Doyle signed up for one last event at this year's World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. The $10,000 2-7 Lowball event is considered by many poker professionals to still be the most prestigious title in the World Series of Poker, and Doyle decide to play one last time.

They are down to the final 11 players in the event, and Doyle sits fifth in chips, with his son Todd also still alive in 9th place.

http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/updates/?rr=5&aid=2&grid=1487&tid=16423
 
SJHovey said:
This might have been the furthest into the archives I've had to dig to find a thread, but imho it was worth it.

Doyle Brunson, soon to turn 85 years old, and considered by many to be the godfather of professional poker, announced that he is retiring from professional poker this summer.

On the encouragement of his son, Todd Brunson (also a professional poker player), Doyle signed up for one last event at this year's World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. The $10,000 2-7 Lowball event is considered by many poker professionals to still be the most prestigious title in the World Series of Poker, and Doyle decide to play one last time.

They are down to the final 11 players in the event, and Doyle sits fifth in chips, with his son Todd also still alive in 9th place.

http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/updates/?rr=5&aid=2&grid=1487&tid=16423
Click to expand...
Wow, 2012!
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

Actually following the WSOP Main Event as coworker/friend is playing in it (he won a tournament here for his buy-in). He’s 25th in chips right now after Day 2B
 
Re: The Official Thread of Poker

Jimjamesak said:
Actually following the WSOP Main Event as coworker/friend is playing in it (he won a tournament here for his buy-in). He’s 25th in chips right now after Day 2B
Click to expand...

When I'm at the local watering hole, they have it on the tv. Trying to find updates on the ESPN site has been laughable, especially when they are airing it.
 
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