24 replies to this topic

[KKsuited]

What business sense does it make for ESPN to make poker and Las Vegas looklike complete trash. I'm not saying many of those things don't go on, butto make a show about can only hurt their business.Next time people watch the WSOP, everyone is going to be talking about howit's rigged and everyone cheats. Tilt sure as hell won't help the pokerindustry's desire for corporate sponsorship. I can't wait to hear thereaction of some of the top name pros. I'd be upset.ESPN starts a WSOP tour, then makes a show about poker being f'ing fixedand only played by a bunch of thugs. lol, what morons. I hope someoneloses their job over this one.I won't even get into the lame ass acting. No one says the sh!t they were saying during a game. Not real ones at least.

[richgambler]

I would have to agree, for the most part. Some of the crap the players were saying was just laughable. However, I must say that I found it entertaining, and will probably continue to watch. I don't think many of the top pros will be that upset, I mean it is, after all, just a show. If they (ESPN) were going for realism, which is what I was hoping for, then they failed miserably. For pure entertainment value, however, all I can say is that unless it gets drastically worse story wise, I will keep watching.P.S. Nice cameo, TJ......lol

[Karis13]

LOL!!!!I love your little caption - "pokers a lot like sex..." truer words never been told.

[BigEasy6]

I agree that the show was lacking. However, I recently played in a cash game where several players were exactly like the Matador. They talked alot of trash and thought they had everything figured out. If you have spent any time playing in tournaments around the country, you would see players much like these guys. I have been at many a table with guys like this.

[cashinnow]

I have to admit that the images of cheating are not good for the game, but we have to remember that this is a T.V. show. Remember the football show Playmakers that ESPN did, that showed football in a unfriendly way also. As for the cheesy dialog it was a bit over the top.

[KKsuited]

In response to 2 different posts.1) I have played in a lot of card room across the country and hopefully will hit all the major ones before it is over. Yes, there are trash talking players like the guy on Tilt, but he was lame and cheesey as hell. I've never seen an entire table erupt in laughter after some lame ass comment made by some hotshot. But whatever.2) Eddie, most of your posts amaze me. On this last one, you are actually wrong both ways. You say "come on, you don't think people think this really happens do you?"Well, if you don't think some very high level cheating goes on, you're stupid. Ask Daniel about Men and some of his teams. I've had a professional player here in Atlanta tell me never to play the mid to uper level cash games during the WSOP. There are teams that come in from all over the place for the WSOP. I'm sure your vast poker knowledge could tell me other wise. I'll just defer that question to Daniel.The other way you're wrong is, actually people who don't play poker, but watched the show, now think it is even worse. Example, my girlfriend and a guy I work with, neither play poker. They watched and both said "what a sleezy hobby you have." So then I had to explain how all that stuff does happen (except maybe the casino president being in on it, which in the old days, that may have happened too), just not in the games I play.

[speedz99]

All I have to say is:No string bets, b-tch!

[TeetopND]

I agree 100% with the fact EPSN screwed the pooch on this.knee jerk reactions, maybe, but its america kinda what we do.I think this is a black eye for poker, right when poker was showing how legit it really is.Poker is not about back room scum bags cheating their asses off to make 1 AHole look like a king.I hope this show tanks fastbad bad TV show

[fluxer]

The acting and storyline are just plain bad. It's pure entertainment and is very similar to rounders as far as the type of grainy film used and lighting but only without the realism aspect.

[GoBucksIndy]

"grainy film used"I didn't like the film either. It was hard at times to even see what cards were being played.

[razorhate]

from what I've been reading, the matador character is actually a compilation character based on phil helmuth and eric seidel. Apparently they've been known to break the arms of those people they are unsure of. If you look closely at at their posses, you will see that many of them are missing at least one finger, some of them several. They do this when they screw up to show loyalty to the boss, either helmuth or seidel. I remember a story of some ultimate fighting dude at this past world series who somehow pissed off phil helmuth. phil immediately grabbed one ear and ripped the motha off. he the grabbed the other ear, dragged this poor sucka into the bathroom and just destroyed that son of a bitch.

[kevin562]

I was watching a Tilt BEHIND the SCENE PREVIEW and they said that every script goes through ERIC SEIDEL to make sure all the poker lingo and language are up to par. So if you think the script was cheesy, you gotta THANK ERIC for that one!

[justblaze]

you guys cant be serious. KK, i remember you from RGP. You generally make sense. But really, its a TV show. And from a business perspective, its very smart. They will make a lot of money off it, thanks in part to people like you. You watched it. You saw the commercials. Every poker player in the world watched it, if only so they could criticize it. And id bet that many will continue to watch, if only so they can post on RGP afterwards about how unreal it was so they can make themselves feel good about being a 'real poker player'. Advertisers dont care why you watch it, just that you watch it. And to say its bad business for the WSOP is also untrue. "Next time people watch the WSOP, everyone is going to be talking about how it's rigged and everyone cheats."notice how you admit people will still watch the WSOP. ESPN does not care about peoples opinions of poker, just that they will watch programming about it. This show will only generate more interest amongst the viewing public in general. Perhaps they will want to see if the cheating can be spotted. "ESPN starts a WSOP tour, then makes a show about poker being f'ing fixedand only played by a bunch of thugs. lol, what morons. I hope someone loses their job over this one. "ESPN did not start a WSOP tour. A WSOP tour was started, and due to overwhelming demand, ESPN decided to broadcast coverage of it. And showing an image of poker as a game played by thugs will likely enhance its popularity with TV consumers. People like watching thugs and criminals. No one is boycotting the Sopranos because they're all mobsters, are they? Someone will likely get a big promotion over this one, look at the buzz its creating. Any publicity is good publicity. I bet you a show which realistically portrayed poker players would hurt the game more, as it would reveal us to be a relatively uninteresting group, full of nerds discussing arcane subjects like EV and game theory, sitting around a table for hours doing almost nothing. "Tilt sure as hell won't help the poker industry's desire for corporate sponsorship" ESPN couldnt give two shits about the poker industry, in and of itself. They only care about the ratings poker generates, which i cant imagine TILT will be detrimental to. It will likely perpetuate the infatuation which america has developed towards the game. "I can't wait to hear the reaction of some of the top name pros"Top name pros will likely have absolutely no opinion on this show, besides whether or not they were entertained. It will have no effect on their livelyhood. I can tell you no one playing high limit poker is going to watch this show, and think "oh no they have guns im never playing again." DN and TJ had cameos, and surely they saw the script before signing on. You may not find entertainment value in the show, but do not be so naive as to search for anything more than that, because thats all it is: entertainment. Tape a dialogue at a 20-40 table and i bet 90% of viewers will have no idea whats going on. they wont even know its english. "i was pumping it pre-flop to isolate the limper, but got wrapped around when the big blind checkraised the turn. Good thing i spiked that hook for my three outer, or i'd have been stuck for half a rack." WHAT? no one but us wants to watch that.

[CodyHartman]

[quote name='"faketree"]if he wipes his ass with $9000 why is he only buying into the table with one $10000 chips. so' date=' according the the Matador, has the whole table set up so he can win the amount of money that wipes with. outrageous.If I remember right in the scene, he just wanted that changed up, I also seem to remember that when he put "Nickel" all in he push a stack of 10k chips into the middle, could be wrong though.[quote=faketree']"you have the ass end of it" - the 12 year old girl in the high-stakes game (how believable was that?)"[/quote] I agree with ya, I wonder if they are going to go into that story more, it just didn't make sense that a 12 year old would actually be in a high stakes NL game. But what do I know?My other thoughts personally were that it was WAY to dramatic, somewhat entertaining BUT come on two guys pulling out guns in a private game. Nickel and the Matador "roughing up" those 2 guys.Also what are the chances that these guys are SO good that they can win any tourney they get in to (like the private 1k game) OR make it to the final 3 in the super satellite, where only 1 gets a seat in the "Big One."These guys always seem to win, I mean how often do you always walk away a winner.the cheating apect got to me too, it is hard enough for SOME people to accept poker reagrdless of the cheating and fighting aspect.Also TJ and Daniels cameo, that was funny. DN said he has to be there the whole day for a 10 second cameo.

[Dane]

Give the show a chance, new shows often uses the first few episodes to get the storyline started and build the characters.

[digitalmonkey]

I didn't see the show, but it seems that most of you weren't impressed. This is not surprising considering your pre-existing interests in poker. This show is aimed at an audience unfamiliar with poker. No TV or movie production company is interested in casting a favourable light on a subject if it means jeopardizing potential profits. ESPN has shown through its coverage of poker tournaments that it is more interested in showing tantrums and controversy. The poker is a medium. They would show knitting if there was a reasonable chance that two knitters would go after each other with #5 needles. It's all about the ratings baby.The NHL (remember them) was not pleased when Slapshot came out. They said it portrayed the sport as nothing but fighting. It didn't hurt the game of hockey, and in fact, most hockey fans love the movie. It is a classic! Again, having not seen Tilt, I cannot say the same, but realize that however it turns out it will have very little impact on the game of poker. Poker is much bigger than any TV show or movie! Oh...gotta go - Jerry Springer Uncensored is on!

[KKsuited]

I see your point justblaze, I just disagree.One, I think ESPN has a major stake in the future of the poker industry. Producing shows that make poker look terrible to people who do not play the game can only hurt the chances of making poker players household names.Second thing is, yes I watched the first one and then posted about it. The bad thing is, I won't waste my time with that crap again. I have limited time so that's another hour I could be playing.I just think it was bad acting, bad plot, and bad for poker. I just thought it sucked. JMO.

[CodyHartman]

digitalmonkey said:

I didn't see the show, but it seems that most of you weren't impressed. This is not surprising considering your pre-existing interests in poker. This show is aimed at an audience unfamiliar with poker. No TV or movie production company is interested in casting a favourable light on a subject if it means jeopardizing potential profits. ESPN has shown through its coverage of poker tournaments that it is more interested in showing tantrums and controversy!

Great point Monkey. I think what bothered me most is that these are the same writers that did "Rounders," and that one had some good but not over the top drama within it. I also remeber that cheating was in that movie to, but I don't recall many people claiming that was a bad portrayl of poker. I think the drama is what will make the masses watch the show, and if that means someone has to jump across a table or break a leg then I guess so be it. I mean look at "ER,""CSI," or Law and Order" the drama in these shows is over the top but we are not experts on those subjects so to us it seems semi-realistic and intriguing. I think that this the same thing that ESPN is trying to do with "Tilt," appeal to the masses with the drama and throw a card game or two in once in a while to add the twists to the plot and get the poker players to check it out.I think I will still tune in to watch the story unfold and just hope it gets better.