Learn to play like a Pro

[tikay]

Two small points from Miami:
We don't criticise players because they are also our customers. We all know when we play a bad hand. Sky Poker analysts and presenters are very careful not to rub our noses in it and that's that.
Tom Sambrook is also coming to the Boot Camp to offer advice and help and yet another Sky Poker personality to be confirmed will be added to the mix to work with Tikay, Matt, Nick and Kara.
See you in Brissle (flights from Orlando permitting),
Vic from Miami

I see your point of view Vic and I fully realise that Sky is all about entertainment and not aimed at teaching people to "Earn a living at poker" but...
If people actualy knew how badly they had played a hand then surely they would benefit from constructive criticism ...Of course making them feel silly is not what it`s all about, but being honest about their play in a tactful way is surely the way forward.
And to do that...the Analyst has to have a total understanding of all aspects of the game..ie not misread the situation he or she is trying to explain to the viewer..

Well yes.

In a 4 hour Live Show, analysing, on the hoof, hundreds of hands, mistakes & misreads are made now & then, & I probably head that MisRead League Table. But the Sky Team are very understanding & supportive, & the viewers enter into the spirit of it. Technically, reading hands in the Studio is quite difficult - we read off the floor, which is painted bright, flourescent green, & the table image is beamed onto the floor, in monochrome via a ceiling-mounted projector & operated by the analyst using a hand-held device. Usually a gun, which when well-aimed, fires into our feet. Parallel with that, we are getting messages via an earpiece from the Producer about the next hand, or repo, hard counts to an Aston, from the Director asking for a different camera, slow it down, speed it up, "give me 20 seconds please" (so we have to "fill"), a Floor Manager waving his arms hither & thither, & do the Guests look OK?, can we throw to them? Oh, & don't forget to smile.

I think it's known as E & O E.

PS - Your very good friend Lucy Rokach had a spell "up-front" on Friday night, Analysing, & I think she'll confirm, it's a bit tougher than it looks.

[blonde17]

 

Tikay, I`m not criticising any of your analysts...I know its a tough job ( A sharp mind and a sense of humour is very helpful) and mistakes happen but, you have to look credible...again directed at no one in particular.
We appear to be going off track a little from the origional thread i.e. letting people down gently when they play badly
Bad play is bad play no matter how you dress it up...we are all guilty of it even after 20yrs I still make some crass plays but... I have no problem admitting it, and if I do it on TV... I can accept all the criticism levelled at me.

[Grier78]

As a bit of friendly criticism, what I notice most often is players saying that they are always getting their money in with he best hand but still can't win tournaments. Analysts tend to reply that they are obviously doing the right thing and to keep plugging away. Whilst it would seem to me that they are probably doing something wrong either calling instead of betting, getting blinded down waiting for big hands, not isolating players with big hands or not putting down big hands when they miss the flop.

I fully appreciate that they might not have time to fully answer the question posed by the player and it can also be hard to tell what kind of level the player is at and give appropriate advice without being condescending. But I do feel that the above phrase is over used.

BTW I think that the analysis of hands as they are played is usually very good.

[tikay]

Tikay, I`m not criticising any of your analysts...I know its a tough job ( A sharp mind and a sense of humour is very helpful) and mistakes happen but, you have to look credible...again directed at no one in particular.
We appear to be going off track a little from the origional thread i.e. letting people down gently when they play badly
Bad play is bad play no matter how you dress it up...we are all guilty of it even after 20yrs I still make some crass plays but... I have no problem admitting it, and if I do it on TV... I can accept all the criticism levelled at me.

Thank you Pete. It's a matter of perception really. If we feel they played a hand incorrectly, we tell them, quite clearly, but in a polite & constructive manner - what we think they should, or could, have done, to play it better, & how they might consider playing it differently next time. There are no circumstances in which we are gonna tell them "you mangled it". It serves no purpose. There are not pro players, or even wannabe pros, they are folks who play poker purely for fun. And it's sort of interesting to help them with their game in a manner which serves two purposes - to improve their poker skills, & to do so in a way which optimises their desire to stay with Sky Poker, & at the same time, the viewers find interesting. It is, after all, about player acquisition & retention, combined with entertainment. The Sky Poker success story - & I speak of the Cardroom, not the TV Show - has stunned the industry with how fast it's player base has grown, almost all of them new to poker, starting from scratch without the benefit of liquidity an existing network brings. The TV Show has contributed greatly to that. 

As to the suggestion you made that the Analysts need to be able to understand the situation, & not have misreads, I certainly stand guilty as charged on the latter. The current Analysts Team have a real in-depth knowledge of the game, with the likes of Matt, Nick, Tom, Ed, Tim, Grub, & others about to be augmented by, fingers crossed, two potential new recruits, in James Browning, & Compo. In that expanded Team there is experience, skill, personality, tv nous, & appalling dress-sense.

Oh, & it's our first Birthday this week.

[tikay]

As a bit of friendly criticism, what I notice most often is players saying that they are always getting their money in with he best hand but still can't win tournaments. Analysts tend to reply that they are obviously doing the right thing and to keep plugging away. Whilst it would seem to me that they are probably doing something wrong either calling instead of betting, getting blinded down waiting for big hands, not isolating players with big hands or not putting down big hands when they miss the flop.

I fully appreciate that they might not have time to fully answer the question posed by the player and it can also be hard to tell what kind of level the player is at and give appropriate advice without being condescending. But I do feel that the above phrase is over used.

BTW I think that the analysis of hands as they are played is usually very good.

Fair comment Grier, & as you suggest, time is our enemy, on a Live Show.

But that's about to change, & via a different medium, & very soon - weeks rather than months - we will have as long as it needs to properly go into the questions you suggested we are not currently, for whatever reason, giving enough time to, on the Show. Watch this space, we are nearly there, & it will solve the problem to which you refer.

[Dingdell]

Two small points from Miami:
We don't criticise players because they are also our customers. We all know when we play a bad hand. Sky Poker analysts and presenters are very careful not to rub our noses in it and that's that.
Tom Sambrook is also coming to the Boot Camp to offer advice and help and yet another Sky Poker personality to be confirmed will be added to the mix to work with Tikay, Matt, Nick and Kara.
See you in Brissle (flights from Orlando permitting),
Vic from Miami

I see your point of view Vic and I fully realise that Sky is all about entertainment and not aimed at teaching people to "Earn a living at poker" but...
If people actualy knew how badly they had played a hand then surely they would benefit from constructive criticism ...Of course making them feel silly is not what it`s all about, but being honest about their play in a tactful way is surely the way forward.
And to do that...the Analyst has to have a total understanding of all aspects of the game..ie not misread the situation he or she is trying to explain to the viewer..

I completely agree with you Pete which is why I was so surprised to see and hear your commentary from Spain last year. IMHO I thought that the commentary was way too soft and forgiving bearing in mind that it was a pro match.

I did wonder actually if life was being made difficult for you and that you couldn't see the game from where you were sitting when your co presenter had to prompt you to say something as you seemed to have gone very quiet for quite some time. Were you away from the action? As it wasn't broadcast live I'm surprised they didn't do some of it over again, especially the mis-reads on the hands. If you're not doing it live they should give you an opportunity to make it look really good. 

Are you doing it again this year? Please get closer to the action - I would love to hear you in full flow. 

[totalise]

any chance blonde will do a boot camp?

[RED-DOG]

any chance blonde will do a boot camp?

Flushie might have some camp boots if that's any good.

[totalise]

any chance blonde will do a boot camp?

Flushie might have some camp boots if that's any good.

too expensive for me!

[TightEnd]

any chance blonde will do a boot camp?

looked at it in 2006, at which time costs of running were prohibitive (and management resource was scarce)

tbh its not on our list of priorities. Not to say we wouldn't do it but we are flat to the decks behind the scenes on a whole host of initiatives with potential partners, and we are running with those for the time being

[tikay]

As I said earlier, I sent this thread to Sky. We had a pow-wow on Monday about it - with every level of Management present, right up to Sky Bet Board Level - and they've now decided, in the light of the comments in this thread, & the advice from Matt & myself, taken on board by the Suits & Suitesses,  to reduce the capacity to 60 maximum. This will enable the participants to spend more time with Matt & Nick, without compromising the community feel to the weekend.

As well as Matt & Nick, Tom Sambrook will be there, & Kara too, & they are hoping to add another face or two.

So Suzanne, in light of your comment....

It looks like it will be a fun weekend and if I can get in cheap a hug from Tony will make it money well spent

....let's hope you Qualify - it would be great to see you there. And it will be a hoot of a weekend, & everyone should be able to impove their game significantly, and have a little fun at the same time. That's a promise.

You talked. Sky listened.

[tikay]

This was the official Press Release issued by Sky today. Sorry about the "ever popular Tony "tikay" Kendall bit. Assume a typo. Sky typewriters don't have "u" & "n" on their keyboards. Or, I fear, "o", "l", or "d".

Sky Poker is hosting its first Boot Camp event in Bristol on the weekend of the 8th and 9th March, 2008.

The Boot Camp is strictly limited to only 60 students to ensure everyone gets maximum attention from the Sky Poker presenters hosting the event.

Chief instructors will be Sky Poker’s Matt Broughton and Nick Wealthall with the ever popular Tony ‘Tikay’ Kendal and Kara Scott also on hand to ensure plenty of one-to-one interaction with the players.

Other familiar faces from Sky Poker’s The Open, The Club and Poker Week will be dropping by so it will be a great opportunity for players to meet some of the best known names in poker.

The highlight of the weekend promises to be the Saturday night tournament where all 60 players will play with the instructors and personalities from Sky Poker. Awards will accompany the bragging rights that go with knocking out Tikay and the other bounty players.

The Sky Poker Boot Camp is open to all and costs £250, which includes one night’s accommodation, meals, Boot Camp tournament entry and much more.

For how to qualify or enter, just go to the Sky Poker website, it's all there.

[boldie]

It was a no goer for me as already taking Mrs Indy away for the weekend. But i think there are a lot of players like me that would like to be better, and could read poker books,  could make use of various poker sites such as card runners,  could read my poker magazines properly etc. Many things that i could do, but don't do. I am in favour of poker boot camps as having face to face training forces you to learn. Also bearing in mind you have paid for it you would imagine that you would be giving it your attention. only thing I am unsure of is cost in that i have no idea what a good price is for a boot camp including accommodation. Not aware of any cheaper than £250?
Good luck to anyone trying this, would be interested to read feedback for future events.

Translation; I'd pay £250 because there are cameras there

[tikay]

It was a no goer for me as already taking Mrs Indy away for the weekend. But i think there are a lot of players like me that would like to be better, and could read poker books,  could make use of various poker sites such as card runners,  could read my poker magazines properly etc. Many things that i could do, but don't do. I am in favour of poker boot camps as having face to face training forces you to learn. Also bearing in mind you have paid for it you would imagine that you would be giving it your attention. only thing I am unsure of is cost in that i have no idea what a good price is for a boot camp including accommodation. Not aware of any cheaper than £250?
Good luck to anyone trying this, would be interested to read feedback for future events.

Translation; I'd pay £250 because there are cameras there

Oh yes, I forgot to add. We will have a TV Crew there all weekend, & hope to get interviews - before, during & after - with as many as the players as are willing to be interviewed. These will appear on Channel 846, on "The Open" & "The Club" shortly thereafter.

[cia260895]

It was a no goer for me as already taking Mrs Indy away for the weekend. But i think there are a lot of players like me that would like to be better, and could read poker books,  could make use of various poker sites such as card runners,  could read my poker magazines properly etc. Many things that i could do, but don't do. I am in favour of poker boot camps as having face to face training forces you to learn. Also bearing in mind you have paid for it you would imagine that you would be giving it your attention. only thing I am unsure of is cost in that i have no idea what a good price is for a boot camp including accommodation. Not aware of any cheaper than £250?
Good luck to anyone trying this, would be interested to read feedback for future events.

Translation; I'd pay £250 because there are cameras there

Oh yes, I forgot to add. We will have a TV Crew there all weekend, & hope to get interviews - before, during & after - with as many as the players as are willing to be interviewed. These will appear on Channel 846, on "The Open" & "The Club" shortly thereafter.

Thats gotta change your mind Ed???