Top 5 most prestigious live NLHE tournaments to win (excluding Main Event)?
Excluding the Main Event, what are the top 5 live NLHE tournaments that are the most prestigious to win?
They should run a tournament series where they invent a new poker variant for each tournament and don’t tell players the rules until the night before.
That way, you are testing players’ abilities to intuit core poker concepts at a deeper level rather than their ability to memorize strategies for one particular variant.
This. NLHE played well is boring as hell to watch.
Oh yeah, poker would be amazing if we had these tournaments where play is as godawful as a result of a game that has just been invented and no one could possibly develop any sophisticated strategy.
Was the 2003 WSOP terrible to watch because everyone was playing what we would now consider an unsophisticated strategy?
No, it was entertaining as hell, largely because both the audience and many of the players are working through how to think about the strategy of the game in real time.
We actually get to see how players think about poker itself rather than how well they regurgitate memorized charts.
Was the 2003 WSOP terrible to watch because everyone was playing what we would now consider an unsophisticated strategy?
No, it was entertaining as hell, largely because both the audience and many of the players are working through how to think about the strategy of the game in real time.
We actually get to see how players think about poker itself rather than how well they regurgitate memorized charts.
this is why I think deep stack cash games are and will become much more popular to watch than MTTs. nowadays all the televised final tables you see the pros sitting with hoodies and not speaking or moving a single word. I don't blame them because those spots only come up a few times a year and are super high EV, so there is much less risks they take with their strategies. In cash games especially with antes/straddles deep structure, 72 games/bombpots/standup etc. there's way more room for crazy **** to happen and makes it overall way more fun to watch imo. but most people will understand the rules and be interested in the strategy as opposed to random game formats which doesn't have the history or "cool factor" that nlhe has
this is why I think deep stack cash games are and will become much more popular to watch than MTTs. nowadays all the televised final tables you see the pros sitting with hoodies and not speaking or moving a single word. I don't blame them because those spots only come up a few times a year and are super high EV, so there is much less risks they take with their strategies. In cash games especially with antes/straddles deep structure, 72 games/bombpots/standup etc. there's way more room for crazy
Zero chance of this ever happening. Watching a big MTT play out is like March Madness or the Super Bowl........people want to see a champion.
The Boski Daily Double
this is why I think deep stack cash games are and will become much more popular to watch than MTTs. nowadays all the televised final tables you see the pros sitting with hoodies and not speaking or moving a single word.
At some point, I need to watch old poker with a spreadsheet and figure out just how many players silently wear sunglasses and hoodies without speaking a word in 2024 vs. 2016 vs. 2010 vs. 2004, etc. That archetypal look certainly comes up quite a bit right now, as we just saw during the recent Main FT, but I'm not convinced it was a rarity 20 years ago, either.
The funny thing is when there is someone who is lively and talkative, all we get are the same fans saying "This dude needs to STFU, please move him off the featured table ASAP," etc."
To be honest, I think a lot of players remember the edited packages of the mid-2000s and think every player had a Noel Coward level of wit, not realizing that after 12 hours of shooting and rolls and rolls of film, 441 found five or so moments of interaction and managed to stuff them into 42 minutes worth of coverage.
^This is a big factor.
It isn’t that there were no nits back then. Even some robots. But the shows were edited and produced. So they only needed 45 minutes of poker out of 4 hours of play. We all know that even heads up, most hands are boring and play themselves with little impact to the outcome. Especially when playing deep. Live streams will never compete with produced episodes.
Robotic play is also part of the problems. The play is definitely correct play but it does not make for interesting TV. That is why we talk about the punts when GTO type players make a misstep or take a gamble.
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Robotic play is also part of the problems. The play is definitely correct play but it does not make for interesting TV. That is why we talk about the punts when GTO type players make a misstep or take a gamble.
Do bear in mind that while you might be watch streamed tables to be amused, we the players are not there for your amusement.
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Do bear in mind that while you might be watch streamed tables to be amused, we the players are not there for your amusement.
Never said you were. As I said, the play is strategically correct and is what the players should be doing. No the players are not there to provide amusement but people do watch streams for amusement. Both can be true. I was just stating facts.
The proper plays is boring to watch. That does not mean the play should change. But it is true. And it is part of the reason life streams suck imo. But if I was in such a position that is precisely how I would try to play. Not that I could.
