Ran across this series of the Travel Channel of all things this weekend and actually watched a disgusting amount of it.
The high stakes nature, quirky personalities and expert commentaries really were interesting. Still, people playing cards on TV- why the heck is this interesting?
Hell I didn’t even understand the rules until the second show.
One of the more bizarre guilty pleasures in a while.
Please tell me I am not the only one, and why a poker show is on the Travel Channel?
I dunno, but my dad watches it too. He also claims it’s “interesting.”
Then again, this is the man who has watched “Ernest Goes To Jail” at least twice that I know of. He said he missed some parts the first time when he got up to go to the bathroom.
I dunno, but my dad watches it too. He also claims it’s “interesting.”
Then again, this is the man who has watched “Ernest Goes To Jail” at least twice that I know of. He said he missed some of it the first time when he got up to go to the bathroom.
I dunno, but my dad watches it too. He also claims it’s “interesting.”
Then again, this is the man who has watched “Ernest Goes To Jail” at least twice that I know of. He said he missed some of it the first time when he got up to go to the bathroom.
I put it on for background noise while I was doing housework and at one point my wife, whose idea of gambling is playing the nickel slots, started asking me questions about playing poker. It was oddly compelling, watching people make decisions that would cost them as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As to why it was on the Travel Channel: They run a lot of commercials for Las Vegas and regularly have Vegas-themed shows. I suspect that a good chunk of their programming is sponsored by one or more of the casino properties, so it didnn’t surprise me that they ran this series.
I got sucked in as well. I saw an earlier in the series, liked it, but forgot to tune in again. I went over my parents on Saturday and watched it with them for ~1 1/2 hours. I then proceeded to watch another one Saturday Night. It has the ability to suck me right in. I cheer and groan while watching it as well. The only bad thing about it iws you know who is going to win when there is about 15 minutes left.
I have watched every episode, including the two hour recap of all the previous episodes. I love this show. I am an avid poker player and can replay the triumphs and mistakes of the players in my head. I also enjoy because some of the personalities in the world of professional poker are so strong that you devlop real rooting interests.
You might tend to admire the quiet cerebral types like Andy Bloch and Howard Lederer or the loudmouth Phil Helmuth and Tony G types. The commonality they all have though is they are all exceptionally bright people. If you watch it a bit you start to see how much less important luck is than you may have initially thought. This is my favorite show on TV at the moment.