Even after the assault on poker via the legislation that attacks the online version of the game, poker is still seemingly everywhere on television. Producers are attempting to cash in on low production costs and solid ratings that come with televising poker.
Poker also secures watchers at a much better rate than other shows, as evidenced by the fact that re-runs continue to garner good ratings time and time again. But in the haste to get poker on their station, some broadcasters are missing the boat completely. I often find unimpressive tournaments on TV, with smallish prize monies and ridiculously fast blind structures.
While the biggest poker fans may excitedly clamor to watch any televised poker, most casual fans are enticed by the money. To them, they want to see the dollar bills fly. Their heart skips a beat to see someone bad beaten out of a cool quarter-million bucks. They lean in with anticipation to witness a recreational player battling seasoned pros for an $8 million dollar top prize. After all, the biggest money produces the biggest entertainment.
My wife and I fly to Las Vegas several times per year. I always pry myself away from the poker tables long enough to make my way to some table games. Ever since poker pros Andy Bloch and Phil Gordon gave me a crash course on counting cards at Blackjack, I find myself in the Blackjack pit a fair amount of the time. While I toil away betting $15 a hand honing my card counting skills, I can't help but get distracted by those heavy hitters that are plopping down $500- $1,000 a hand on a whim.
I often find myself getting wrapped into their wins and losses more than my own. When I come across a bettor who happens to be wagering $5,000 or more a hand, I stop and watch. I can't help but get a bit excited. It is a vicarious mix of envy, hope, thrill, disappointment, and more. I snicker when they lose their shirt, yet I grin when they take the house for a big score. In short, it is awesome entertainment.
I would suppose that televising a $2-$4 cash game would get about the same ratings as a 3:00 AM infomercial. Watching a tourist from Nebraska pull in a whopping $16 pot is not going to get too much buzz going. It seems to me that there are plenty of television executives who need to understand that simple point. We are not very interested in watching random players fight over a pretty trophy and some trumped-up title that has no historical significance in the realm of poker. We do not want to watch players accumulate "points" or position toward some reward that is dangling only six more episodes away. Poker is a game that involves money, and the games that most players want to see involve a lot of it. Recreational poker players are tough to impress.
Henry Orenstein-who invented the lipstick camera- seems to understand this more than most. Perhaps this is because he is an accomplished poker player in addition to being a producer of TV's best rated & most interesting poker shows. Orenstein not only invented the hole card camera, he also had the insight to produce High Stakes Poker, the Game Show Network's high-end cash game that involves big money in a star-studded cash game. This is the type of show that makes us stop and take notice. This is what televised poker should be all about: big money equals big entertainment.
