Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube

GSmith13 · June 2015

Hello, I have just watched the latest highlights show on SkyPokers YouTube channel, I left a comment on the video with some of my thoughts, and thought I would also copy it here to get the opinions of other regular players.

Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEbcnNFupbk

And my comment:

Hello,

I play under the alias GSmith13 on SkyPoker, and I am the player who won the tournament in this video. I have to admit that I am pretty disappointed with the video for several reasons. First of all, this is not the starting stacks that players had entering the final table, and play begins from just the first elimination. Now I understand that a lot of the footage has to be trimmed and every hand cannot be shown, although I have noticed a trend with these highlight shows, that all you seem to show is all ins when two players have big hand vs big hand, and a lot pots that are even bigger than these all in confrontations are missing. I don't understand why this is this case, as it makes no sense from a business point of view. Surely it would be more interesting to viewers to show other big pots and bluffs, rather than just the standard all in situations, as this will show dynamics building for some spots in the tournament, which is much more exciting from a viewers perspective. From an organisation that is clearly trying to head into the direction of increasing its interest from a social media stand point, including YouTube, I find this video relatively poor. If you are going to put more effort in producing YouTube then content, then why do the videos have to be so short? This video could have been 30-40 mins long, and have much better content, that would attract new players to the site. For anyone that doesn't already play, I cant see this video making them sit up and think 'wow this look fun, I might have a go myself', which is surely the main focus.

I would also like to comment on the SkyPoker show that is on Skysports 4 every Tuesday. Now I wasn't a big watcher of the old show on channel 861, but would tune in occasionally. I understand why this show was cancelled, as it was probably pretty unnecessary to have such a frequent show to attract more customers, considering it was a specialised channel dedicated purely to poker, and a lot of the general public, whether they have an interest in poker or not, wouldn't have know about its existence. Although the spot on Skysports 4, will reach a lot of people, who may or not already have a passion for the game, and will certainly open up the game to people who have never played the game. I think one of the strongest selling points of the old channel was that it gave the opportunity for the average player to have their hands shown on TV. This is a huge USP that no other site that I know of has, and yet the shows now just consist of guests playing on ipads and the occasion hand they play shown. I personally feel that someone who has never played before isn't going to find this very interesting at all, and will probably change the channel relatively quickly.

I could easy write more to discuss both topics, although I am currently playing. I would be interested to know if any others share my opinions on the subjects touched upon.

unknown_username · June 2015

In Response to Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube:

Hello, I have just watched the latest highlights show on SkyPokers YouTube channel, I left a comment on the video with some of my thoughts, and thought I would also copy it here to get the opinions of other regular players. Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEbcnNFupbk And my comment: Hello, I play under the alias GSmith13 on SkyPoker, and I am the player who won the tournament in this video. I have to admit that I am pretty disappointed with the video for several reasons. First of all, this is not the starting stacks that players had entering the final table, and play begins from just the first elimination. Now I understand that a lot of the footage has to be trimmed and every hand cannot be shown, although I have noticed a trend with these highlight shows, that all you seem to show is all ins when two players have big hand vs big hand, and a lot pots that are even bigger than these all in confrontations are missing. I don't understand why this is this case, as it makes no sense from a business point of view. Surely it would be more interesting to viewers to show other big pots and bluffs, rather than just the standard all in situations, as this will show dynamics building for some spots in the tournament, which is much more exciting from a viewers perspective. From an organisation that is clearly trying to head into the direction of increasing its interest from a social media stand point, including YouTube, I find this video relatively poor. If you are going to put more effort in producing YouTube then content, then why do the videos have to be so short? This video could have been 30-40 mins long, and have much better content, that would attract new players to the site. For anyone that doesn't already play, I cant see this video making them sit up and think 'wow this look fun, I might have a go myself', which is surely the main focus. I would also like to comment on the SkyPoker show that is on Skysports 4 every Tuesday. Now I wasn't a big watcher of the old show on channel 861, but would tune in occasionally. I understand why this show was cancelled, as it was probably pretty unnecessary to have such a frequent show to attract more customers, considering it was a specialised channel dedicated purely to poker, and a lot of the general public, whether they have an interest in poker or not, wouldn't have know about its existence. Although the spot on Skysports 4, will reach a lot of people, who may or not already have a passion for the game, and will certainly open up the game to people who have never played the game. I think one of the strongest selling points of the old channel was that it gave the opportunity for the average player to have their hands shown on TV. This is a huge USP that no other site that I know of has, and yet the shows now just consist of guests playing on ipads and the occasion hand they play shown. I personally feel that someone who has never played before isn't going to find this very interesting at all, and will probably change the channel relatively quickly. I could easy write more to discuss both topics, although I am currently playing. I would be interested to know if any others share my opinions on the subjects touched upon.
Posted by GSmith13

Congratulations on your win.

I like the video, I love the Sky presenters and the chemistry that exits between them.

I wish you had something positive to say.

LARSON7 · June 2015

The video seemed quite decent.

It's the only Skypoker youtube programme I've watched, and wouldn't have seen it had you not posted it.

Not to sure how these things work with viewer numbers, but so far it's only had about 15 views.

If there is no real interest in these types of segments then no doubt Sky will stop them.

While you may be disappointed with the video, surely for you it's better than having nothing at all.

30-40 mins would be far 2 long imo, people don't especially enjoy watching poker, unless of course they are involved somehow.

MattBates · June 2015

I cant see a long vid being popular. If people want to watch something longer they would be more interested in a live game or something with more $ ftw like Sunday Million.

bbMike · June 2015

Please settle the debate, is it Graham or Granny? And did you enjoy your Ovaltine?

Essexphil · June 2015

I have watched the video, and compared it to one I have kept on the old 861 (for sentimental/motivational reasons).

I appreciate that you have said that you didn't watch the old channel much-I have to say that this was very similar in style/content to the old channel's coverage of the super roller.

I am not a huge fan of the current Sky Sports show for reasons I have said elsewhere, but I think that this criticism is a little unfair. I would be interested in seeing more in-depth, but most people would not. Perhaps Sky could show a "one hand at a time" for the winner (from first to last hand), just once, to see if it was popular

MattBates · June 2015

In Response to Re: Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube:

I have watched the video, and compared it to one I have kept on the old 861 (for sentimental/motivational reasons). I appreciate that you have said that you didn't watch the old channel much-I have to say that this was very similar in style/content to the old channel's coverage of the super roller. I am not a huge fan of the current Sky Sports show for reasons I have said elsewhere, but I think that this criticism is a little unfair. I would be interested in seeing more in-depth, but most people would not. Perhaps Sky could show a "one hand at a time" for the winner (from first to last hand), just once, to see if it was popular
Posted by Essexphil

When I was last on the show we did a section where a number of hands were shown throughout a roller that I had won a few weeks previous. I don't know if viewers thought it was good or not. It wasn't every hand just selected hands. I didn't have input into the hands that were selected so it was fun for me both to remember what I had done and also think about what I would do in an ideal world.

Would winners want to do an in depth analysis and give away lots of free info to opponents?
Would it be popular to a significant number of viewers or would it just be good for winners friends and family and a few opponents?
Also how long would the coverage take if it was first to last hand in say a roller win?

MilitantG · June 2015

In Response to Re: Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube:

In Response to Re: Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube : When I was last on the show we did a section where a number of hands were shown throughout a roller that I had won a few weeks previous. I don't know if viewers thought it was good or not. It wasn't every hand just selected hands. I didn't have input into the hands that were selected so it was fun for me both to remember what I had done and also think about what I would do in an ideal world.
Posted by MattBates

That was a great show. Is that recording available on the sky poker channel?

Frank53 · June 2015

In Response to Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube:

Hello, I have just watched the latest highlights show on SkyPokers YouTube channel, I left a comment on the video with some of my thoughts, and thought I would also copy it here to get the opinions of other regular players. Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEbcnNFupbk And my comment: Hello, I play under the alias GSmith13 on SkyPoker, and I am the player who won the tournament in this video. I have to admit that I am pretty disappointed with the video for several reasons. First of all, this is not the starting stacks that players had entering the final table, and play begins from just the first elimination. Now I understand that a lot of the footage has to be trimmed and every hand cannot be shown, although I have noticed a trend with these highlight shows, that all you seem to show is all ins when two players have big hand vs big hand, and a lot pots that are even bigger than these all in confrontations are missing. I don't understand why this is this case, as it makes no sense from a business point of view. Surely it would be more interesting to viewers to show other big pots and bluffs, rather than just the standard all in situations, as this will show dynamics building for some spots in the tournament, which is much more exciting from a viewers perspective. From an organisation that is clearly trying to head into the direction of increasing its interest from a social media stand point, including YouTube, I find this video relatively poor. If you are going to put more effort in producing YouTube then content, then why do the videos have to be so short? This video could have been 30-40 mins long, and have much better content, that would attract new players to the site. For anyone that doesn't already play, I cant see this video making them sit up and think 'wow this look fun, I might have a go myself', which is surely the main focus. I would also like to comment on the SkyPoker show that is on Skysports 4 every Tuesday. Now I wasn't a big watcher of the old show on channel 861, but would tune in occasionally. I understand why this show was cancelled, as it was probably pretty unnecessary to have such a frequent show to attract more customers, considering it was a specialised channel dedicated purely to poker, and a lot of the general public, whether they have an interest in poker or not, wouldn't have know about its existence. Although the spot on Skysports 4, will reach a lot of people, who may or not already have a passion for the game, and will certainly open up the game to people who have never played the game. I think one of the strongest selling points of the old channel was that it gave the opportunity for the average player to have their hands shown on TV. This is a huge USP that no other site that I know of has, and yet the shows now just consist of guests playing on ipads and the occasion hand they play shown. I personally feel that someone who has never played before isn't going to find this very interesting at all, and will probably change the channel relatively quickly. I could easy write more to discuss both topics, although I am currently playing. I would be interested to know if any others share my opinions on the subjects touched upon.
Posted by GSmith13

Frank53 · June 2015

In Response to Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube:

Hello, I have just watched the latest highlights show on SkyPokers YouTube channel, I left a comment on the video with some of my thoughts, and thought I would also copy it here to get the opinions of other regular players. Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEbcnNFupbk And my comment: Hello, I play under the alias GSmith13 on SkyPoker, and I am the player who won the tournament in this video. I have to admit that I am pretty disappointed with the video for several reasons. First of all, this is not the starting stacks that players had entering the final table, and play begins from just the first elimination. Now I understand that a lot of the footage has to be trimmed and every hand cannot be shown, although I have noticed a trend with these highlight shows, that all you seem to show is all ins when two players have big hand vs big hand, and a lot pots that are even bigger than these all in confrontations are missing. I don't understand why this is this case, as it makes no sense from a business point of view. Surely it would be more interesting to viewers to show other big pots and bluffs, rather than just the standard all in situations, as this will show dynamics building for some spots in the tournament, which is much more exciting from a viewers perspective. From an organisation that is clearly trying to head into the direction of increasing its interest from a social media stand point, including YouTube, I find this video relatively poor. If you are going to put more effort in producing YouTube then content, then why do the videos have to be so short? This video could have been 30-40 mins long, and have much better content, that would attract new players to the site. For anyone that doesn't already play, I cant see this video making them sit up and think 'wow this look fun, I might have a go myself', which is surely the main focus. I would also like to comment on the SkyPoker show that is on Skysports 4 every Tuesday. Now I wasn't a big watcher of the old show on channel 861, but would tune in occasionally. I understand why this show was cancelled, as it was probably pretty unnecessary to have such a frequent show to attract more customers, considering it was a specialised channel dedicated purely to poker, and a lot of the general public, whether they have an interest in poker or not, wouldn't have know about its existence. Although the spot on Skysports 4, will reach a lot of people, who may or not already have a passion for the game, and will certainly open up the game to people who have never played the game. I think one of the strongest selling points of the old channel was that it gave the opportunity for the average player to have their hands shown on TV. This is a huge USP that no other site that I know of has, and yet the shows now just consist of guests playing on ipads and the occasion hand they play shown. I personally feel that someone who has never played before isn't going to find this very interesting at all, and will probably change the channel relatively quickly. I could easy write more to discuss both topics, although I am currently playing. I would be interested to know if any others share my opinions on the subjects touched upon.
Posted by GSmith13

Do remember, there is a lot of *RNG* stuff sky don't want any future players to see! So they are careful as to what they show!
Of course they are not going to show how many times aces are cracked, or 9-3 flopping out a full over aces, and how often chip leaders suck out! Also, do remember, Sky Poker, is lovely and fluffy and pink, and players here are such gentlemen who don't mind losing.
Anyway back in the real world..... lol

unknown_username · June 2015

In Response to Re: Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube:

In Response to Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube : Do remember, there is a lot of *RNG* stuff sky don't want any future players to see! So they are careful as to what they show! Of course they are not going to show how many times aces are cracked, or 9-3 flopping out a full over aces, and how often chip leaders suck out! Also, do remember, Sky Poker, is lovely and fluffy and pink, and players here are such gentlemen who don't mind losing. Anyway back in the real world..... lol
Posted by Frank53

Now thats Frank.

MattBates · June 2015

In Response to Re: Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube:

In Response to Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube : Do remember, there is a lot of *RNG* stuff sky don't want any future players to see! So they are careful as to what they show! Of course they are not going to show how many times aces are cracked, or 9-3 flopping out a full over aces, and how often chip leaders suck out! Also, do remember, Sky Poker, is lovely and fluffy and pink, and players here are such gentlemen who don't mind losing. Anyway back in the real world..... lol
Posted by Frank53

Is it possible you say this because you cant win online and its easier to blame the site (and insult people at the tables based on your other thread) than it is to work at your game and try and improve?

gerardirl · June 2015

I think Frank needs a hug....come here Frank, come closer....big HUGGGGG.

Now the world is fluffy and pink

Now gimme your chips

.

rainman397 · June 2015

Good afternoon everyone.
Has anyone mentioned the £2.20 @2.20 deepstack yet.
All the best.
Rainman397

MattBates · June 2015

In Response to Re: Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube:

Good afternoon everyone. Has anyone mentioned the 32.20 @2.20 deepstack yet. All the best. Rainman397
Posted by rainman397

You increased the buy in so people respect your raises?

rainman397 · June 2015

Good afternoon Mr Bates.
Post now corrected, are you busy this afternoon lol.
All the best.
Rainman397

stuarty117 · June 2015

Maybe Frank should enter the 2.20 at 2.20 so he can show us all his skillz

NChanning · June 2015

I was in the video and I think it was my suggestion that the final table of the Sunday Roller could be analysed and put up on the YouTube channel. I was also in the video, so I guess I ought to reply.

Taking the points in your first paragraph only for now, I'll come back to the other points later...

I think you are right, it's not perfect and I'm not 100% sure that these particular videos (covering the final table) tick all the boxes. On the one hand Sky Poker TV are trying to make short videos that get shared on social media and that might attract people to the site and on the other hand they'd like to make content that is interesting to existing customers. There is a clear difference between a short promotional thing and something that engages for a long time...I do think some of the short things like Vegas tips, A-Z and the like can do both.

These final table recaps vary from 16 to 24 minutes and clearly it's not possible to get every hand in that time. I read your post the other day and I watched it back and counted eight hands covered. That means we did five bust outs and three others. My guess is the final table went for more like 80 hands so we showed around 10% (that is just a guess and I could be a bit off). If my guess is right then covering all hands would make the video almost an hour and a half long. To be honest with you I'm not sure how many casual observers who were not playing on that table would sit through that. The Super Roller is a fun tournament...I personally love the fact that it doesn't get 1000s of runners and that if you do have to stay up past 2am you get paid for it, but a casual viewer might look at £4500ish for 1st and not feel that is something they want to spend ninety minutes watching.

The social media department at Sky Poker say that more than 100 seconds is enough to get people giving up on any You Tube video and if people watch only half way through it's bad for you on Google rankings.

Currently 250 to 500 people watch each video on You Tube although I understand that when people watch via Facebook the counter thing does not register them so it could be nudging 1000 on a popular one. I think those numbers are quite high really and I guess that making the videos three times as long would have a detrimental effect.

In terms of style that is the first of those I've done and Anna and I both went for light-hearted, rattle through it quickly and try and make it educational but not boring. We didn't discuss before and we did it in one take. If anyone has any comments on the style of it feel free to post them, we are all simply trying to do the best job we can.

In relation to your post though do you really think making the videos nearer to 35 mins (which would mean we could squeeze in 12 hands instead of eight) would really be a massive boost to getting new sign-ups? Even if a popular one from this series gets 1000 views I just don't see these particular videos as very important in terms of getting new sign-ups.

robertod · June 2015

I left the iron on last night. That was lucky...

Phantom66 · June 2015

I used to really enjoy the "winners journey" content.

It was even better when a top player (or even Ric Orford) was there to explain their journey, Chris Moorman, Neil Channing etc (sorry Matt missed your appearance).

Now though given the constraints of TV airtime and the prioritisation of content aimed towards attracting new sign-ups I completely understand why the feature is not on the show.

As for the merits of putting it on YouTube...I probably wouldn't watch it unless -

a)I was on it (vv unlikely)
b) I knew someone on it (getting within the realms of possibility)
c) A top place finisher was available to be involved in the commentary/analysis.

If we assume that is a "typical" attitude for old and new players alike, I would suggest the following:

In terms of covering the roller - would it be a fairly easy task (ie for 1 back room techy) to upload a video to you tube that was purely a replay of the top table? Wouldn't attract many viewers but it should be cheap/easy to do and players/railers of players who needed to go to bed would no doubt check it out. Could act as an incentive for some to play and record their top binks for posterity and no doubt players would like and share the content on social media and attract their friends who may not use the site at all to have a look.

I would only invest in the added cost of studio + presenter + analyst time for the FTs where a participant is there too.

NChanning · June 2015

In Response to Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube:

Hello, I have just watched the latest highlights show on SkyPokers YouTube channel, I left a comment on the video with some of my thoughts, and thought I would also copy it here to get the opinions of other regular players. Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEbcnNFupbk And my comment: Hello, I play under the alias GSmith13 on SkyPoker, and I am the player who won the tournament in this video. I have to admit that I am pretty disappointed with the video for several reasons. First of all, this is not the starting stacks that players had entering the final table, and play begins from just the first elimination. Now I understand that a lot of the footage has to be trimmed and every hand cannot be shown, although I have noticed a trend with these highlight shows, that all you seem to show is all ins when two players have big hand vs big hand, and a lot pots that are even bigger than these all in confrontations are missing. I don't understand why this is this case, as it makes no sense from a business point of view. Surely it would be more interesting to viewers to show other big pots and bluffs, rather than just the standard all in situations, as this will show dynamics building for some spots in the tournament, which is much more exciting from a viewers perspective. From an organisation that is clearly trying to head into the direction of increasing its interest from a social media stand point, including YouTube, I find this video relatively poor. If you are going to put more effort in producing YouTube then content, then why do the videos have to be so short? This video could have been 30-40 mins long, and have much better content, that would attract new players to the site. For anyone that doesn't already play, I cant see this video making them sit up and think 'wow this look fun, I might have a go myself', which is surely the main focus. I would also like to comment on the SkyPoker show that is on Skysports 4 every Tuesday. Now I wasn't a big watcher of the old show on channel 861, but would tune in occasionally. I understand why this show was cancelled, as it was probably pretty unnecessary to have such a frequent show to attract more customers, considering it was a specialised channel dedicated purely to poker, and a lot of the general public, whether they have an interest in poker or not, wouldn't have know about its existence. Although the spot on Skysports 4, will reach a lot of people, who may or not already have a passion for the game, and will certainly open up the game to people who have never played the game. I think one of the strongest selling points of the old channel was that it gave the opportunity for the average player to have their hands shown on TV. This is a huge USP that no other site that I know of has, and yet the shows now just consist of guests playing on ipads and the occasion hand they play shown. I personally feel that someone who has never played before isn't going to find this very interesting at all, and will probably change the channel relatively quickly. I could easy write more to discuss both topics, although I am currently playing. I would be interested to know if any others share my opinions on the subjects touched upon.
Posted by GSmith13

Just to answer your 2nd point, (I promised I would just took me a while), I need to first of all point out that the reason there is no C861 any more is very simple. Sky Betting and Gaming was a wholly-owned subsidiary of BSkyB and they sold 80% of the business to some investors called CVC. BSkyB did not sell the TV Channel and Sky Betting and Gaming do not own the licence to run a shopping and gaming TV channel. That was it, simple as that.

You do correctly point out that on 861 the shows often featured players who were playing on Sky Poker and the possibility of getting themselves and their hands featured on TV while playing was a big USP of Sky Poker for some people. You then say that you've watched the new show but you don't like it and you don't think others will as it's just a bunch of people sitting around playing on iPads.

I'm confused here... Those people are playing on Sky Poker at the Master Cash tables and anyone who can afford to play 25p/50p is very welcome to join them. I do appreciate that not everyone can afford to play 25p/50p and I can see some benefits to featuring different types of poker and different stakes, but with the show being two hours and the fact that it's on Sky Sports 4 where it attracts lots of new to Sky Poker viewers I think spending time constantly explaining what game is being played is a bit of a waste of the valuable time and consistency means that, the same as if you tune in to Countdown or Newsnight or Strictly Come Dancing the format is the same and you know what you are going to get.

Opinions on SkyPoker YouTube

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