I'm not talking about how I always play, but rather the well over-hyped ESPN series. When Tilt debuted in mid-January it was met with resounding and heartfelt boos from all over the web. Everyone from bloggers to pros to mainstream sites almost universally agreed that Tilt was just a bad show which horribly misrepresented the poker world and oversensationalized everything to the point of being comical (for many more reviews just try a Google search).
Of course, bloggers and poker pros and writers for big-time websites don't exactly represent the Average Joe or even the Average Joe Poker Player (certainly the latter two groups are well above average while the former group is well, well below average). During my casino trip to Lake Charles, LA this past weekend, I found out a lot about what the Average Poker Joe ("APJ") thought of Tilt. This wasn't intentional; the show was quite the topic of conversation at many of the tables I played at.
APJ #1: "Great show."
APJ #2: "Any poker player would love it."
APJ #3: "I love how they [the show] show how they [the big-time pros] do all their tricks to win, like hand signals and stuff."
APJ #4: "There seem to be more fights at the tables because of the show."
So, from APJs #1-3, the Average Poker Joe seems to love the show and some even believe it accurately represents high stakes Las Vegas poker. I've never actually seen the show, but I've heard enough about it to have my doubts on that regard (ie, Person #1 pulls a gun, Person #2 pulls a bigger gun and says, "Now I raise, bitch!").
APJ#4 brings up an interesting point, however. Since a lot of the show seems to center on people's fighting over poker hands, what would the show do to how the random impressionable young wannabe poker stud handles himself at the table? I can't say that I've seen any increased aggression at the tables, but then I've logged fewer than 40 live hours since the show's debut. I did meet the most overtly aggressive person I've ever met at the tables. However, that's just one data point and can hardly be attributed to the show (completely irrelevant, but he was quite a character, too, literally trying to pick a fight with anybody who beat him in a hand, calling names and antagonizing anyone and everyone. It was pure entertainment for this player, let me tell you).
So although the more intellectual type (poker pros, writers) and the dregs (poker bloggers, heh) seem to hate the show, the APJ really seems to enjoy it. Or at least, the guys who were willing to be vocal about it liked it.
The show is doubtful to have much of an impact overall, besides perhaps adding its tiny weight to the media deluge that is helping to further integrate poker into the mainstream. Some people might be disillusioned as to what big-stakes games are really like, and I'm sure some people will try to imitate the rough-and-tough hotshots on the show, but most people will realize it's an overly-dramatic fairly tale only loosely related to real-life poker.
And, hey, if the show gets people thinking they have a more macho image as a poker player and keeps them coming back to the tables time and again, that can only be a good thing.
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Posted by: Conviction DVD | June 03, 2006 at 03:40