While I dont' have the stuff to torrent it, I was able to watch last night and it wasn't too bad. The inconsistancy of the hole cards was something that really put me off.
They would display all the hands before the action started... sometimes. Occationally they would just not bother with a few people and that told you who was going to fold that hand. I think I'd rather see the hole cards pop up as you got the player who's turn it was.
CanadaKev did a wonderful job on commentary and gave good feedback on what was going through the player's mind. My only feedback for him is to watch his verb tense. I know he did it once, and I thought he did it one or two more times, but he'd briefly describe the action in the past tense, then went back to using present tense.
It hurts the illusion that they're they and commentating and makes it obvious that he's describing a tape that he's watching. (If I see it again, I'll point out the moment I saw)
My favorite flub was in the explanation of the Rules of Texas Holdem. I'll leave that as a excersize for other's to find. (It's both subtle and obvious, all at the same time)
I unfortunately am not currently commentating for the CPT.
My buddy KrazyKanuck is tho, and his expertise with tournament poker comes out in what he says.
If the editors and people behind the scenes get things going they way I think they soon will, Jim Worth will be a much better colour man than Norman Chad, Mike Sexton, crazy John Duthie, or any others you've seen commentating poker before.
Sorry... Meant to say KrazyKanuck and threw in CanadaKev.
And to Dave, having followed you and the CPP mag since early in it's life, it was wierd hearing them tossing around the history of the mag and the CPT without hearing your name mentioned.
(1) The Canadian Poker Tour was my creation. My partners were magazine people with, essentially, no knowledge or expertise regarding poker. I wrote about, and worked towards, creating a Canadian Poker Tour in 1997/1998, a long time before the current poker boom. This is documented.
(2) The first season of the Canadian Poker Tour was designed by me. This is documented.
(3) I had many many "conversations" about how it should look on TV and what the show required with the principles at Fifth Street Publishers Ltd. This is documented.
I was dismissed from duties at Fifth Street Publishers Ltd in December, 2004. It hurts to see my dream come true and be shut out.
It is, I am glad to say, emotionally behind me. I *was* pissed. But, I am a grown up and I am over it. In life, not everything works out like you hope.
I truly hope the CPT soars. I think Jim will do a great job of commentary. And, the folks at Casino Regina did, from everything I have heard, a fantastic job with the CPT Finals. The future is, I hope, bright.
It is, I am glad to say, emotionally behind me. I *was* pissed. But, I am a grown up and I am not over it. In life, not everything works out like you hope.
typo or repressed rage coming back to the surface? man, if i was you, i'd be super pissed and contemplate legal action.
I caught some of this tonight. It was well-presented in my opinion. My only complaint would be that the blinds/antes were too big, there was not much room for people to play post-flop. But it could just be me, I didn't watch the whole thing from beginning to end and only caught a bunch of all-in preflop hands.
I saw a broadcast on Sunday afternoon. There were some things I liked about it, and some things I didn't like about it. In general, it was more impressive than I thought it would be. An example of something I wasn't a huge fan of was that the background of a lot of the shots was just black. Also, there was an instance where one player had made a bet and the other had gone into the tank. The two players were sitting right next to each other, so clearly, what we want to see is a 2-shot: the person who had made the bet being stared down by the person contemplating a call. What we got instead was a good six seconds or so of the backs of their heads.
However, I thought the production value was for the most part quite good, backgrounds aside. The commentating was good, the shooting was good, and the transitions to and from commercials, field pieces, etc. were really really good. They used the best techniques employed by the WSOP and the WPT with great success: fast, cool shots of chips, neon signs, sunglasses reflections, etc. This is what adds some excitement to what is essentially a few guys sitting around a table staring at each other, and it was done well.
I think they could use a Shana Hiatt-type reporter, if you know what I'm saying. If they have one and I missed it, my apologies... I didn't see the whole thing. Also, even though the prizes for 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. were quite small, I think they should still put up a font of how much the guy who busted out just won, as he busts out, if they're not going to announce it.
One thing I was definitely impressed with was the fact that I saw my name in one of their CPP promo spots. They were showing cutaway shots of the magazine, and they focused on one of my articles for a few moments, including my name. I happened to catch that moment, and just by chance my dad and brother were there too, and we all got excited and high-fived each other.Â
I have seen two CPT episodes so far. I thought the pacing of the final cut was way too slow. They showed FAR too much of people's thinking time, even including several times when players were faking going into the tank. Bizzare and boring.
Apart from the pace, I thought the episodes were nicely done for the most part. I'm sure it's much harder than I think to pull off a smooth poker production, and I thought that these episodes were pretty solid, especially when it's basically the first try at doing such a thing.
I thought that the commentary was also quite strong, both interesting and knowlegable. And I think that if they tightened up the pace of the visuals, it would make the commentary even better. It felt like the commenators got hung out to dry a little bit during some of the long "I'm thinking" stretches.
My favorite flub was in the explanation of the Rules of Texas Holdem. I'll leave that as a excersize for other's to find. (It's both subtle and obvious, all at the same time)
Hmmm... I didn't catch it, unless you're referring to the ubiquitous "You can bet all your chips at any time" dealio.
"Attention players. There are 3 minutes left in the dinner break."
"Attention players. There are 3 minutes left in the dinner break."
"I'm all-in."
I call.
Good point about the loooooooooong moments of dead air while the players were thinking, or "thinking". The commentators did a great job of filling the time, but they probably shouldn't have been put in that position to begin with. From what I've seen, the usual problem producers are faced with when editing together a poker show is that there are too MANY interesting hands to show. Less thinking time means they could have fit at least one or two more hands in, which is probably what the viewer wants to see.
Comments
They would display all the hands before the action started... sometimes. Occationally they would just not bother with a few people and that told you who was going to fold that hand. I think I'd rather see the hole cards pop up as you got the player who's turn it was.
CanadaKev did a wonderful job on commentary and gave good feedback on what was going through the player's mind. My only feedback for him is to watch his verb tense. I know he did it once, and I thought he did it one or two more times, but he'd briefly describe the action in the past tense, then went back to using present tense.
It hurts the illusion that they're they and commentating and makes it obvious that he's describing a tape that he's watching. (If I see it again, I'll point out the moment I saw)
My favorite flub was in the explanation of the Rules of Texas Holdem. I'll leave that as a excersize for other's to find. (It's both subtle and obvious, all at the same time)
My buddy KrazyKanuck is tho, and his expertise with tournament poker comes out in what he says.
If the editors and people behind the scenes get things going they way I think they soon will, Jim Worth will be a much better colour man than Norman Chad, Mike Sexton, crazy John Duthie, or any others you've seen commentating poker before.
And to Dave, having followed you and the CPP mag since early in it's life, it was wierd hearing them tossing around the history of the mag and the CPT without hearing your name mentioned.
For the record:
(1) The Canadian Poker Tour was my creation. My partners were magazine people with, essentially, no knowledge or expertise regarding poker. I wrote about, and worked towards, creating a Canadian Poker Tour in 1997/1998, a long time before the current poker boom. This is documented.
(2) The first season of the Canadian Poker Tour was designed by me. This is documented.
(3) I had many many "conversations" about how it should look on TV and what the show required with the principles at Fifth Street Publishers Ltd. This is documented.
I was dismissed from duties at Fifth Street Publishers Ltd in December, 2004. It hurts to see my dream come true and be shut out.
It is, I am glad to say, emotionally behind me. I *was* pissed. But, I am a grown up and I am over it. In life, not everything works out like you hope.
I truly hope the CPT soars. I think Jim will do a great job of commentary. And, the folks at Casino Regina did, from everything I have heard, a fantastic job with the CPT Finals. The future is, I hope, bright.
typo or repressed rage coming back to the surface? man, if i was you, i'd be super pissed and contemplate legal action.
My erstwhile partners worked hard and made it happen without me. That's the important thing.
I'm a big boy.
The finals in Regina were, on the other hand, awesome.
However, I thought the production value was for the most part quite good, backgrounds aside. The commentating was good, the shooting was good, and the transitions to and from commercials, field pieces, etc. were really really good. They used the best techniques employed by the WSOP and the WPT with great success: fast, cool shots of chips, neon signs, sunglasses reflections, etc. This is what adds some excitement to what is essentially a few guys sitting around a table staring at each other, and it was done well.
I think they could use a Shana Hiatt-type reporter, if you know what I'm saying. If they have one and I missed it, my apologies... I didn't see the whole thing. Also, even though the prizes for 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. were quite small, I think they should still put up a font of how much the guy who busted out just won, as he busts out, if they're not going to announce it.
One thing I was definitely impressed with was the fact that I saw my name in one of their CPP promo spots. They were showing cutaway shots of the magazine, and they focused on one of my articles for a few moments, including my name. I happened to catch that moment, and just by chance my dad and brother were there too, and we all got excited and high-fived each other.Â
Then we played some poker and they kicked my ass.
Man that was too funny. Nearly spit my drink out.
Apart from the pace, I thought the episodes were nicely done for the most part. I'm sure it's much harder than I think to pull off a smooth poker production, and I thought that these episodes were pretty solid, especially when it's basically the first try at doing such a thing.
I thought that the commentary was also quite strong, both interesting and knowlegable. And I think that if they tightened up the pace of the visuals, it would make the commentary even better. It felt like the commenators got hung out to dry a little bit during some of the long "I'm thinking" stretches.
Hmmm... I didn't catch it, unless you're referring to the ubiquitous "You can bet all your chips at any time" dealio.
"Attention players. There are 3 minutes left in the dinner break."
"I'm all-in."
ScottyZ
I call.
Good point about the loooooooooong moments of dead air while the players were thinking, or "thinking". The commentators did a great job of filling the time, but they probably shouldn't have been put in that position to begin with. From what I've seen, the usual problem producers are faced with when editing together a poker show is that there are too MANY interesting hands to show. Less thinking time means they could have fit at least one or two more hands in, which is probably what the viewer wants to see.