Epic

[Doobs]

I guess people will still play on full tilt when it relaunches, but they can't seriously expect people to be willing to stump up $20k to play any of these future events if they find a way of continuing. 

gg $20k seems so likely to me.

[smashedagain]

i was agog when annie duke got to announce 'shuffle up & deal' on one the wsop ME days last summer, never mind fronting a new tour.

the incident where a convicted pedophile won a seat in the super/sat & was then told he couldn't play the ME & oh btw, no you're not getting the $20k for the seat you just won, just your initial $1500 buy-in was just plain wrong.

alas it seems a lot of the pros are only too happy to promote anything old thing if it gets there mugs on the telly;

the 'this is our league' soundbite had me both grinding my teeth & rolling around on the floor in equal measure.

i did enjoy watching it tho if i'm honest...

Chino Rheem winning $1 million in the first comp was lol. Just about covered what he owed out to people

[AlunB]

i was agog when annie duke got to announce 'shuffle up & deal' on one the wsop ME days last summer, never mind fronting a new tour.

the incident where a convicted pedophile won a seat in the super/sat & was then told he couldn't play the ME & oh btw, no you're not getting the $20k for the seat you just won, just your initial $1500 buy-in was just plain wrong.

alas it seems a lot of the pros are only too happy to promote anything old thing if it gets there mugs on the telly;

the 'this is our league' soundbite had me both grinding my teeth & rolling around on the floor in equal measure.

i did enjoy watching it tho if i'm honest...

Putting aside the concept of added value (which obviously all poker pros like) do you like the concept of a pro-only tour Julian? Or does anyone else? Personally I think it's an idea perpetually doomed to fail, but interested in what others think.

[DaveShoelace]

i was agog when annie duke got to announce 'shuffle up & deal' on one the wsop ME days last summer, never mind fronting a new tour.

the incident where a convicted pedophile won a seat in the super/sat & was then told he couldn't play the ME & oh btw, no you're not getting the $20k for the seat you just won, just your initial $1500 buy-in was just plain wrong.

alas it seems a lot of the pros are only too happy to promote anything old thing if it gets there mugs on the telly;

the 'this is our league' soundbite had me both grinding my teeth & rolling around on the floor in equal measure.

i did enjoy watching it tho if i'm honest...

Putting aside the concept of added value (which obviously all poker pros like) do you like the concept of a pro-only tour Julian? Or does anyone else? Personally I think it's an idea perpetually doomed to fail, but interested in what others think.

Actually writing a column on this very subject right now - also think it is a doomed concept. Just like the WPTs side project the professional poker tour, Onyx Cup, and all those stupid rankings systems nobody gives a shit about.

What makes poker special is the inclusive factor of it. My mum plays poker, and if the cards fell her way she could beat Phil Ivey heads up. The fact that people saw Moneymaker beat the best in the game and become world champion, and then the people who watched that could go out and do the same thing with ease, is the reason there was a poker boom.

Quite frankly, I am getting sick of anything that kiss the asses of the 'pros', we need to stop putting them on pedestals and remember that for poker to work, we need to think about the majority.

[snoopy1239]

i was agog when annie duke got to announce 'shuffle up & deal' on one the wsop ME days last summer, never mind fronting a new tour.

the incident where a convicted pedophile won a seat in the super/sat & was then told he couldn't play the ME & oh btw, no you're not getting the $20k for the seat you just won, just your initial $1500 buy-in was just plain wrong.

alas it seems a lot of the pros are only too happy to promote anything old thing if it gets there mugs on the telly;

the 'this is our league' soundbite had me both grinding my teeth & rolling around on the floor in equal measure.

i did enjoy watching it tho if i'm honest...

If I recall correctly, he wasn't a convicted pedophile. I think he was charged for mooning a man in a public bathroom.

[Ant040689]

i was agog when annie duke got to announce 'shuffle up & deal' on one the wsop ME days last summer, never mind fronting a new tour.

the incident where a convicted pedophile won a seat in the super/sat & was then told he couldn't play the ME & oh btw, no you're not getting the $20k for the seat you just won, just your initial $1500 buy-in was just plain wrong.

alas it seems a lot of the pros are only too happy to promote anything old thing if it gets there mugs on the telly;

the 'this is our league' soundbite had me both grinding my teeth & rolling around on the floor in equal measure.

i did enjoy watching it tho if i'm honest...

If I recall correctly, he wasn't a convicted pedophile. I think he was charged for mooning a man in a public bathroom.

Now I am all for a jovial mooning when the time is right, but choosing a public bathroom is probably the worst place going.

[DaveShoelace]

i was agog when annie duke got to announce 'shuffle up & deal' on one the wsop ME days last summer, never mind fronting a new tour.

the incident where a convicted pedophile won a seat in the super/sat & was then told he couldn't play the ME & oh btw, no you're not getting the $20k for the seat you just won, just your initial $1500 buy-in was just plain wrong.

alas it seems a lot of the pros are only too happy to promote anything old thing if it gets there mugs on the telly;

the 'this is our league' soundbite had me both grinding my teeth & rolling around on the floor in equal measure.

i did enjoy watching it tho if i'm honest...

If I recall correctly, he wasn't a convicted pedophile. I think he was charged for mooning a man in a public bathroom.

Now I am all for a jovial mooning when the time is right, but choosing a public bathroom is probably the worst place going.

A nursery?

[AlunB]

i was agog when annie duke got to announce 'shuffle up & deal' on one the wsop ME days last summer, never mind fronting a new tour.

the incident where a convicted pedophile won a seat in the super/sat & was then told he couldn't play the ME & oh btw, no you're not getting the $20k for the seat you just won, just your initial $1500 buy-in was just plain wrong.

alas it seems a lot of the pros are only too happy to promote anything old thing if it gets there mugs on the telly;

the 'this is our league' soundbite had me both grinding my teeth & rolling around on the floor in equal measure.

i did enjoy watching it tho if i'm honest...

Putting aside the concept of added value (which obviously all poker pros like) do you like the concept of a pro-only tour Julian? Or does anyone else? Personally I think it's an idea perpetually doomed to fail, but interested in what others think.

Actually writing a column on this very subject right now - also think it is a doomed concept. Just like the WPTs side project the professional poker tour, Onyx Cup, and all those stupid rankings systems nobody gives a shit about.

What makes poker special is the inclusive factor of it. My mum plays poker, and if the cards fell her way she could beat Phil Ivey heads up. The fact that people saw Moneymaker beat the best in the game and become world champion, and then the people who watched that could go out and do the same thing with ease, is the reason there was a poker boom.

Quite frankly, I am getting sick of anything that kiss the asses of the 'pros', we need to stop putting them on pedestals and remember that for poker to work, we need to think about the majority.

I'm not sure I agree with the last bit. I like celebrating achievement in poker and I like there being pro players for people to look up to. These are good things. A pro tour is not.

For starters it's based on a nonsense premise that the best players will win a tournament. You can't have a PGA style poker tour based on a format where luck is as much a decider of the winner as skill. Poker is not a sport.

Besides poker tournaments are already self selecting to a degree due to the buy-in. The super high rollers are basically a pro league, and that is their function. To provide entertainment and headlines.

[DMorgan]

I actually think its a good concept that in the right environment could work really well. I think that the idea was ahead of its time. It didn't help that it was being spearheaded by one of pokers villains, had a terrible name and came about right after black friday.

In a few years time when poker is back on the map in the US and viewer numbers are on the up, I can't see why it wouldn't work. The pros will play because there is big overlay, the sponsors will put up the money for said overlay because the demand for poker on TV is there and the broadcasters will get on board for the same reason.

Trying to be a moral compass in this line of work was never really going to work out either, you're always going to get peoples backs up and thats the last thing they needed when its popularity was on a knife edge anyway.

If the same idea came back but was being spearheaded by someone like Mike Sexton or another respected member of the community and it didn't have a lame title I think it could work, and that it would actually make for more interesting viewing than the usual tournament shows. Get a high level thinking commentator like Oliver Busquet doing commentary and I think it'd make really interesting viewing.

[smashedagain]

I am not sure there is As much TV appeal as you think Dan. There seems to be less coverage with stars cutting back and Eddie and Bajul at Matchroom both saying that there has to be a wider public appeal before they have another shot at poker.

 I think that although the likes of Busquet have a place in the booth they just don't hold the audience captive long enough to be appealing to the masses. Marty Wilson covered the majority of the 4 days of the inaugural genting leg and was excellent from start to finish.  Jesse May and Mike Sexton could pull off it but not many others could.

Have to say that of all the people who have done the Dtd stream then Simon Alex and Tighty have stood out for me.

[DMorgan]

I am not sure there is As much TV appeal as you think Dan

Yeah thats what I was saying, given time when the TV demand comes back it seems like a good idea

[smashedagain]

I am not sure there is As much TV appeal as you think Dan

Yeah thats what I was saying, given time when the TV demand comes back it seems like a good idea

Oh right. Yes we defo need another Moneymaker effect given all the bad press of late.

[AlunB]

I am not sure there is As much TV appeal as you think Dan

Yeah thats what I was saying, given time when the TV demand comes back it seems like a good idea

I'm not convinced there is that much demand for poker on TV. Even in the US. Most of the US shows had low numbers and were funded by the online sites as a marketing tool. For sure those will return. But do you really need some forced and unconvincing 'pro' format to do that? What's wrong with the WSOP, WPT, NAPT and all the other tours? Or cash games?

[AlunB]

Also when the first series of the WPT came around the people playing in those (Esfandiari, Hansen etc) weren't stars. They became stars because of the TV show. And that WPT was arguably one of the biggest factors in creating the poker 'boom' in the US.

[EvilPie]

When you have to call something 'Epic' just to try to grab a bit of extra attention I'm afraid it's doomed to failure.