ALL STAR POKER ITV 1

[goldgoat]

Anyone else see this poker show on ITV 1 tonight? Not having Sky, i had high hopes to see some poker on terrestrial tv, but to be honest to the non-poker player i think it would have been pretty boring. The celebs weren't exactly top notch, although snooker players must have a penchant for poker as i believe a couple of them feature in the series, and i know that one of the Bookiebusters players from the WSOP sat beside Stephen Hendry in the main event.

.....And i figured at the start that Helen Chamberlain was going to go through when the opening credits to the show had her wearing a different outfit to the one she played in.

Disappointing to say the least, especially with the commentators claiming that any hand with a picture card in was 'amazing'.

The ITV website has the other 'celebrities' taking part, as follows. McRirick should be entertaining and i think Raj Persaud is a poker player, but otherwise an uninspiring bunch. Unless any of them look at this message board in which case i think you're great!

 
The line-up
Who will be lining up in the five heats of All Star Poker? They're all here.

Monday 25th
Rory McGrath - Comic, presenter and actor
Jesse Birdsall - Actor (Footballers Wives)
Jonathan Maitland - Tonight with Trevor McDonald
Matthew Stevens - Champion Snooker Player
Helen Chamberlain - Presenter, Soccer AM

Tuesday 26th
James Hewitt - Man About Town
Terri Dwyer - Presenter (Loose Women)
Mike Tindall - Rugby World Cup winner
Michael Underwood - Presenter on CITV
Richard Norton - Actor (The Bill, Brookside)

Wednesday 27th
Kelvin Fletcher - Emmerdales Andy Sugden
Romeo - So Solid Crew Rapper
Lee Mack - Comic (The Sketch Show)
Chris Simmons - The Bills Mickey Webb
Mark Williams - World Snooker Champion

Thursday 28th
Marc Bannerman - Actor and TV personality
Sue Perkins - Comic & presenter (Mel & Sue)
John McCririck - Racing pundit
John Thomson - Comic Actor (Cold Feet)
Richard Dunwoody - Champion jockey

Friday 29th
Patrick Mower - Emmerdales Rodney Blackstock
Darren Campbell - Olympic Gold medalist
John Hopkins - Midsomer Murders Dan Scott
Dr Raj Persaud - Celebrity psychiatrist
Andy Goldstein - Television presenter
 
 

[BrumBilly]

I saw this programme...had just got in from a night playing 9-Ball and quite fancied watching it....Verdict? What a waste of time!!! I don't have Sky TV so poker on terrestrial tv is a bit of an event for me but this was awful....I suggest the celebs be forced to play with their own money...that would make things much more interesting...just my two penneth...but will be avoiding the other shows apart from the one with Dunwoody as I reckon he must have played a few hands in the weighing room...

[The Wall]

Shocking TV I watched about 5 mins, saw Chamberlin RAISE with Q-7 off suit and that was it for me............. ha ha

[TightEnd]

I watched it, and agree it was a bit grim. Particularly enjoyed the journo bluffing off half his chips by betting three times with Q2 off on a board with an A on it!s   

Helen Chamberlain and Matthew Stevens clearly were the best players and had the best instincts. Both are proteges of Mad Marty Wilson I believe and Stevens has previous form, having won a big televised event against pros and such last year

[AdamM]

yep, that's an hour I'm not getting back. Matthew Stevens can play a bit but had no idea how to deal with players that bad (who would). did I hear the guy in seat 1 ask Thomas Kremser for a list of hand rankings at one point. I know from a business point of view, every new poker fan is a potential customer so I should basically be in favour of any coverage the game gets but as a player programmes like this and that aweful poker den on fall a long way short of the fasinating spectacle of a good WPT final.

[snoopy1239]

Shocking TV I watched about 5 mins, saw Chamberlin RAISE with Q-7 off suit and that was it for me............. ha ha

Yeah, but you didn't see Rory McGrath calling that raise with a J7 off.

[Scottish Dave]

I only saw it from 4 handed onwards.

That Johnathan guy is just a tosser, and should never have been on the show.

Agree that Helen and Matt were defo best two, but Matt ran the whole show!

If you look at the last two hands:

1/ Helen looks down to see (small suited connectors)
Blinds were 100 / 200, she raises to 800.

Matt looks down to see 8 3 off, thinks for a while, looking Helen up and down, then announces all in (great move, if he had a read on her)

Helen, correctly folds.

2/ Helen looks down again to see (again small suited connectors)
She announces, in a loud bold voice, "i raise again to 800"

Matt looks down to see 8 9 off, and thinks for a while again (i think we all knew what was coming, Helen totally gave her weakness away with her loud announcment, and bold antic's - blatant weakness)

Matt RR's all-in, correct move.

Helen still has plenty chips, so you think - Fold?

Nope helen decides, F*ck it, lets go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CALL!

Matt face drops when she calls, then a sheer look of total dis belief when he sees Helens 4 5!

He ask's her, "you called with 4 5"

And then she reply's with the crazy infamous line from so many Novices in the past "But they were suited"


--------------------------


I dont particularly think Helen played badly with these 2 raises, after all, if she was playing a lesser player, they probably would have folded to both raises, stealing helen 2 BB's.

It was the justification of the Final call, that puzzlied me.

Or am i wrong, and her play was fine??

Comments?

[snoopy1239]

Nothing more frustrating than when you make a good move and someone says 'are what the hell' and calls.

[Junior Senior]

celeb poker is ruining the game! - the non-poker player is tuning in to watch people they recognise absolutley slaughter the game we all love and therefore end up having a false view on what the game actually involves!  And if celebs who have no idea don't have to put up their own money to play then why should the genuine player have to play for their own money?!! - the whole thing stinks!

When i watch poker on the Tv i want to watch real poker players playing real poker.  Not plastic celebs playing crap shoots.  They may as well introduce it as the national celeb coin flip championships - it is shite! - utter rubbish and i refuse to watch even one second of celeb poker. - lets erradicate this trash and remove it from our screens!

IMO.

[TightEnd]

the non-poker player is tuning in to watch people they recognise absolutley slaughter the game we all love and therefore end up having a false view on what the game actually involves!

So when these guys turn up at Notts please direct them down the M1 to J11 where they will get a  warm welcome! 

but seriously, of course you are right in many ways, but dumbing down is a fact of life in many areas of television these days. Poker is not alone here

It could of course be the pre-cursor to putting Jac Arama, Devilfish, Hellmuth, Negraneau, Matusow et al in a house in Elstree for 10 weeks without so much as a pack of cards and watching them go stir crazy. God knows who I'd vote out first tho'

[snoopy1239]

celeb poker is ruining the game! - the non-poker player is tuning in to watch people they recognise absolutley slaughter the game we all love and therefore end up having a false view on what the game actually involves! And if celebs who have no idea don't have to put up their own money to play then why should the genuine player have to play for their own money?!! - the whole thing stinks!

When i watch poker on the Tv i want to watch real poker players playing real poker. Not plastic celebs playing crap shoots. They may as well introduce it as the national celeb coin flip championships - it is shite! - utter rubbish and i refuse to watch even one second of celeb poker. - lets erradicate this trash and remove it from our screens!

IMO.

so, you're not a fan then... 

[Newportlad]

Couldn't agree with you more Junior.

Where DO they get these people from?
Helen Chamberlain and Matthew Stevens know how to play the game. (Helen has in fact won 2 heats of Poker Million to make the semi's), and I know for a fact that Mark Williams plays quite a lot of Poker (frequents Cardiff Grosvenor).
The others seem to have NO IDEA how to play this game.
To whom is this show meant to appeal to?

It was so bad i had to switch it off, or else the remote was going through the TV screen.

The sooner Late Night Poker is brought back the better.

[ag4111]

Absolutely dire. End of

[ag4111]

And the 2nd episode was even worse, what was Terri Dwyer like

[snoopy1239]

Makes a ridicule of the game when someone just doesn't care. Who can blame her though? She didn't know what day it was and it was free...

Suppose it is all for charity.

I did enjoy watching Tindell & Underwood though. They had a pretty decent understanding of the game and possessed that will to win.