High Stakes Poker on GSN
 

http://www.gsn.com/hsp/

Anyone of you guys followin' this?

I've been watching this since season one episode one and it's seriously the best TV poker show around. Basically, it's a non-tournament Texas No Limit Hold'Em cashgame with 300/600 blinds and the participants are some "elite" poker players, but every now and then, there are also amateur players around (like Bob Stupak, some casino owner who once wanted to become mayor of Las Vegas but failed, lol). Generally, there's a lot of table talk, especially if Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, Shawn "Sheiky" Sheikan or Phil "The Poker Brat (lol)" Hellmuth are around.

Season three started four weeks ago and it's been hilarious. Gabe Kaplan, who's commentating along with some dude named AJ Benza, switched seats with poker player Daniel Negreanu, which was more than just awesome.

I find myself bored immensely when watching poker on TV. The mechanics of the game itself are boring - and I say that as someone who enjoys playing it. See, where the enjoyment in playing it lies for me is the risk element, the sense of danger, and the excitement attached with winning money. You don't get this conveyed with TV poker because they're all high-flyers only playing in front of cameras for ego and glamour. They're already millionaires, nothing to lose. Their annoying daddy cool personalities certainly don't make up for the lost interest.

What we need is a TV poker show where the participants are seriously desperate. So you'd have family men in crumpled, sweaty shirts and displaced ties playing beyond their means, fighting to pay off massive loans and save their houses being reposessed; petty drug dealers playing to save their legs being broken by gang heavies; and sometimes maybe the odd tramp reeking of alcohol who managed to find or pickpocket the $20 tournament buy-in that evening.

Phil Hellmuth doesn't exactly have a "daddy cool" personality. I really enjoy watching poker on television. There's a lot to learn from the players on tv. Sure they're rich, but they're still motivated to win cause they want to be the best of the best.


Mush, I've also been following this season of HSP. Loved watching Jamie Gold get eaten alive by all the big dogs!

I have to kinda disagree with this. It's entertaining to watch them play, but if you try to learn anything from that and apply it to your own game, it'll probably end badly. Those are games where some of the best players of the world participate (and Jamie Gold lolol), they're on a completely different level. You can't apply their way of playing unless you're actually playing quite high stakes (with good opponents) yourself.

I used to watch poker a little, but the novelty wore off really quickly. It especially pisses me off when ESPN or Fox Sports decide that it is better to show poker than a basketball game between ranked teams. It also helps that I don't really ever play poker anymore.

Fox Sports has a poker show?

Poker Superstars is on Fox Sports, World Series of Poker is on ESPN, and about 7 other US channels show Poker.

I've seen that High Stakes Poker a couple times, and I'll tune into it whenever nothing else is on, which is usually the case when it's on. I don't watch much poker on TV anymore though. I kept up with the last 3 WSOPs (before last year's) on ESPN, and that was entertaining, but it was not for learning or anything of course. I was definitely more into poker during that time too.

But yeah, the celebrity games are fun. ^^

Not gonna lie, I enjoy watching Jamie Gold getting some of that money snatched away from him.

I've watched all of the first two seasons, but we don't get GSN in this damn town, so I'm reduced to finding torrents of them as they come out. I've only seen episode 1 of season three, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with this Negreanu/Kaplan switch.

Season Four started some weeks ago, it's been pretty cool so far, they have a 7-2 side bet, everytime somebody wins with 7-2, he will get additional 500 bux from everyone at the table, it's hilarious. Oh, and Phil Hellmuth is back. And Mike the Mouth. Very entertaining. Hehe.

You shouldn't watch it if you want to see good poker, though, some of the amateurs play worse poker than my grandmother. But it's entertaining!