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Talk, talk. Talk about talk. Talk. Talk.
It seems to have escaped much positive comment on here, but Ch 861 has been busy re-inventing itself lately.
One of the changes is the emphasis on a wider range of Guests. Some good, some not so. But more of them.
I am friends with almost all of them, & I'm pleased to see them on the telly. I don't necessarily agree that they all warrant a Guest spot, it's a subjective thing, but I agree that it is freshening up Ch 861.
It's tough to keep a Show like that fresh for 8 years, & in truth, its a miracle it has survived.
No other Site does this, & it's really quite something that Sky Poker have persisted with it.
Just try & imagine how much it has cost to run over it's lifetime, it's breathtaking.
Anyway, after all that waffle, I wanted you to have prior warning of TWO Guests on this Thursday's Show.
......
Comments
Of course, the only guest we really need is you, Tikay. Everyone else is just appetiser.
Paul Jackson (the poker player, not Jac35) is one of them.
Without a word of exaggaration, I could write a book about Paul. Not all of it praiseworthy of him, but most of it would be.
In Live Poker, he has done two of the most extraordinary things I've ever seen since I became involved in poker. Not one other person could have done both, few would have done either.
You probably know one of them. I bet you don't know the other. One clue. He did a good thing one day in Belfast, & it cost him, in hard cash, £65,000. I was at the table, & I'll never forget it.
Back in the day, of course, Paul had a nickname aside from "ActionJack".
He was known as the best online player ever ever ever.
Now, of course, Moorman, Brammer, Toby, Pads & co bash everyone up, & Paul is deemed old hat, as the game has changed.
But let me tell you this.
If you are a recreational player, with even a modicum of functioning grey matter betwen your ears, Paul will explain things in a way that you will understand, better than almost anyone. I've listened to, sat with, watched, thousands of poker mentors. Paul is amongst the top three ever ever ever. He is.
Don't 'arf rattle on, mind.
Watch him, listen to him, & if your game does not improve as a result, you are not paying attention.
Paul Jackson. Thursday's Show. Watch it & learn.
The other guest is a very close & dear friend of mine. We go out with 2 others for "Grumpy Old Men" days at Museums & Airfields together. And he drones on & on. And on.
He has a passion for buying & selling second-hand top end luxury cars. Buys them for £15k, uses them for a month, then sells them for £5k more. Been doing it for years.
He is a watch expert, too. You know, things you tell the time with. If you see him at the Sky Poker 6-Max UKPC, try a little trick on him. Ask him to value your watch. He'll value it within 5%, just like that.
He was in the original "Late Night Poker", too. He had a ponytail in those days. He's as bald as a coot these days.
But he has one very special, unique feature, apart from being the best TD in the whole of Europe.
Nobody, anyone, ever, helps explain how Omaha works better than he does. He's incred. Just takes a deck of cards, deals everyone an Omaha hand face up, then BOOM, he has a way of explaining it so that you instantly get it. I must have showed that trick to 100 Omaha newbies, & they all improved immediately. And none of them ever complained of a bad beat again, ever.
He rattles on a bit, but I love him to bits.
Watch & learn.
His name is Simon Trumper.
Here he is, by coincidence, with Paul Jackson. That's Paul's best jumper, by the way.
And here's Simon in the Caribbean, St Kitts, with Rob Yong's young lady. Oioi!
Thursday, Channel 861.
I never even knew he had a Show tonight.
I'm sure both of his fans will enjoy it.
I'm hoping we can get him again, & I have put his name forward to the 861 Suity people.
However, after the 6-Max UKPC, Alex plans to travel extensively overseas, so I hope 861, if they want him, get him soon.
Patrick Leonard, this Sunday? Unforch, due to some Passport problems, he has had to cancel his planned trip to London, & so won't be on the Show this sunday. (He lives in Budapest).
However, Rob Yong WILL be on Sunday's Show. BOOMIO
Yes, he sported a pony-tail in those days.
I'm sure Simon won't mind me telling you that he suffered from alopecia (which I originally thought, wrongly, meant "bad breath"....), but yes, he looks better now.
Anyway, he'll be on 861 tonight. sans pony-tail.
I can tell you they get along just fine. Both go back a long way, they used to play at Grosvenor Reading back in the day, as did so many other of the old-timers, including The Camel (Keith Hawkins), Graham "Give Me The Money Honey" Pound, & dear old Bob Coombes.
It was to Bob Coombes whom I ridiculously donated my chips in the first ever EPT Deauville, when I was on the cusp of making the Final Table, on my way to fame & fortune. Instead, it all went rather badly wrong.....
The winner of that EPT, wayyyy back in 2005, was a splendid young man who I've kept very much in touch with, we still communicate regularly, a chap named Brandon Schaefer.
Brandon sort of disappeared from public view, before suddenly popping up in 2012 & winning a WSOP bracelet.
Where had he been? Therein lies a wonderful story, penned by another special friend of mine, WSOP Comms Direrctor Nolan Dalla.....
http://www.wsop.com/news/2012/Mar/3831/BRANDON-SCHAEFER-WE-SALUTE-YOU.html
There you go, an interesting question, which tweaked the memory buds, & produced - I hope - an interesting reply. Ish.
And for the record, the Guests have not, do not, & never will, receive an appearance or Guest Fee.
Probably a good time to mention that......
There will NOT be any "Live" Shows on Ch 861 during week commencing 11th August, so the Tuesday 12th, Thursday 14th & Sunday 17th Live Shows will NOT take place.
This is because Team 861 will spend all week up at the Sky Poker UKPC 6-Max, recording a TV Show for later transmission in 4 or 6 parts on Sky Sports, Challenge TV, You Tube & in due course, Ch 861.
Well as you suggested, these figures, for commercial reasons, are not made widely available, as that would be exploitable, & subject to much misinterpration, as it is not quite as simple as "how many", & the measuring tools are quite complex.
Firstly, what exactly does "how many viewers?" mean?
Well meaurements are taken of how often, & long, the Show is viewed....
Live, via TV
Repeat showings.
Online
Then they measure for HOW LONG each viewer watches. The lowest increment is 3 minutes, then gradually increasing. From that, a pattern of watching emeges, "flickers", or those who watch for longer periods.
Encouragingly, the viewing figures seem to have near-doubled in the last 12 months.
Most watched? It's quite hard to determine a consistent pattern, but broadly.....
The Sky Poker Cash Games (all platforms)
Sky Poker UKPC (all platforms)
Betting Preview Shows (861 only)
Sky Sports Simulcasts
Various "regular" 861 Shows.
As to the stuff that goes on Sky Sports, it depends what it follows, & what it is up against.
If it is on Sky Sports immediately after a highly rated Event (say, Monday Night Football) it gets much higher ratings. But if it clashes with, say, World Cup Football, or "Bridges we Love" then that impacts the numbers.
Seasonal variances, too, more peple watch TV in the winter, or during bad weather.
Clearly, anything which gets on Sky Sports is good for viewing figures, hence all the effort that goes into getting stuff on Sky Sports. (Cash Games, UKPC etc).
Interestingly, after Shows air on Sky Sports, Sky Poker usually gets its stuff shown on Challenge, where the viewing figures are quite spectacularly high. Who'd have thunk?
Nope, they dont get a fee. Depending on where they are from, they may get a taxi fare, or even a Hotel Room for the night on occasion (midnight finish is awkward for public transport), but nope, no fee at all.
Orford? Well if he gets paid, there is no justice, but I fear he does. Too much, obv. If the Gent who complained that Guest Fees could be pit to better use had mentioned Orford, I'd have been with him every inch of the way.
Sadly, due to illness in his immediate family, Simon Trumper will NOT be on tonight's Show.
However, because we saw his outrageous bluffs, and his ability to raise or 3 even 4 bet with air DID HIS GAME SUFFER
BECAUSE OF TELEVISED PLAY ???
We live in incredible times.
Something ive always wondered.
Do these pros or semi-pros have a set working day ? do they sit at 7pm until 11pm ??
Also do they set target wins or loses for a days play i.e. win £500 or £1000 or lose £500 or £1000
or do they work it at a weekly rate ?