Why Are Poker Reality TV Shows a Big Bust?
by Bodog Poker | Nov 25 2009
Poker players and reality shows are no strangers to each other. Jean-Robert Bellande was part of the cast of Survivor, Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle have been on the Amazing Race, and Annie Duke has been on a collection of game and reality shows including The Apprentice. Most poker shows carry big ratings for their respective networks, so promoters have been looking for new formats to display the game. The newest attempt at combining reality television and poker is the NBC
poker game show Face The Ace.
The show debuted in August to mixed reviews and hasn't picked up in popularity throughout the fall. The concept of the show is to pit unknown contestants against seasoned professionals with a chance to win as much as a million dollars. With a stellar line-up of professionals rotating in and out of the action, the show had promise to become an instant hit. But that hasn't been the case. The show has bombed in the ratings, and internet forums bashing the show far out-number any positive opinions of the show that might be out there.
It doesn't work for a couple of reasons. First off, the competition doesn't mean anything to the viewer. Yes, there are big-name professionals, but they're playing against amateurs, and this diminishes the level of competition. Any other heads-up action you see on television pits pro against pro, and the viewer gets to see the big moves that the best players in the world make. When one of the players is an amateur, the higher levels of skill are lost from the action. And the professionals are much better at entertaining the audience during hands; most of the action on Face The Ace has little table banter.
The other factor that makes this show boring is the host. As likable as Steve Schirripa is, he's not the right choice to host this show. He seems awkward and doesn't make you laugh like Gabe Caplan does. There's no way the hosts can make the action seem important like they do when airing shows on major
poker tournaments and high stakes cash games. It seems the average poker fan doesn't care that Joe Truck Driver is able to get lucky and beat Phil Ivey in a one-game matchup.
If this concept is to succeed there will have to be a few changes made to the format. Poker fans want to see good poker being played on television so they can either learn to play better, or so they can criticize a bad play that a player may make. If they want a reality poker show they should bankroll an amateur with $100K and send him into Bobby's at the Bellagio. If he can double the roll given to him in that room, against the best cash game players in the world, he wins a million dollars. That I would watch faithfully.
