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So happy its not bingo anymore.
Err....
Well, yes, the Suits will be discussing this, & they may, or may not, seek, or listen, to my little bit of input.
My view is unequivicol, & I shall be writing to them to express it. You are all free to do so, too, if you so wish. You know who to write to - Sky-Des, Sky-Berie, or Sky-Rich.
Sky Poker is an Online Cardroom, & the TV Channel is a component of that Cardroom. The TV Channel exists to help the Cardroom achieve it's ends, & it does that well. But to change Structures to suit a TV Show would make no sense at all to me.
Last week was, in my opinion, a watershed for the Cardroom, it was the best week, ever ever ever on Sky Poker.com.
Was that because the Structures were better, or because the Guarantees were bigger? A bit of both, I expect. But we do know that the Main Events had record numbers, almost every night. Why? Well, it was either because....
1) The Structures were better
2) The Guarantees were better.
Or a combination.
We DO know it was not because the TV Channel did anything different - because they did not. They did what they do, & they did it superbly - but not differently. So the sudden & huge extra numbers were not down to the TV Shows.
So the tail cannot wag the dog.
Honestly, I feel incredibly strongly about this.
At last, we had good - no excellent - Structures, & this is the only way for the Cardroom to grow. Which is the whole idea!
I can now shout from the rootops, to the many many people I know in poker - "Guys, come to Sky Poker, we have GOOD Structures, & big Guarantees".
I would happily accept a "less good" Structure on a Thursday without argument, because Thursday has such a massive viewing audience via Sky Sports simulcast, which in turn feeds through to the Cardroom.. But I'll be gutted if the Structures are modified to suit the TV Show on Saturdays & Sundays. I'd accept it, of course I would, I'm low-maintenance, & just try to do my job well.
But as a player, I will now play every Main Event on Sky Poker that I'm able to, because with thse Structures, I can make it pay, & enjoy myself, & feel I've had value for my Entry Fee.
By the way, I did Thursday's & Saturday's Show, & in neither of them did we manage to show the conclusion. There was much nice comment on the Forum about how good those two Shows were - respect to Rich Orford & Sarah Champion, & the Producers, Chris & 'Ling for that - but not a squeak, not a single word, complaining that we had not shown the conclusion. There has been negative comment - in this Thread - about not seeing the end of Sunday's Tourney, but it's a question of who matters most - the players, or the viewers? Who do Sky Poker most need to satisfy?
I'm sure my views will get a bit twisted, too bad. I LOVE the Channel, & the Show, & it's changed my life doing Live Shows for Channel 865, I adore every moment in that Studio, I do. I hope it continues (for me) for a while yet, too, though at my age, I have limited shelf-life as an On-Screen Analyst, folks don't get revved up by old peeps on telly. But the whole business model is about improving the Product the Cardrom offers, & 865 needs to fit round that somehow.
These views are my own personal views, as a player, not as a representative of the Site or Channel.
i personally like to see the final table and the eventual winner get congratulated on the tele,but i LOVE the new structure so much more and hope it will stay.If it does i would suggest missing the start of the tourney on tv so that the end can be shown,just my opinion.
Yes, it was a bit long, sorry! - but I happen to incline to the view that the subject is extremely important.
I was made up when the new Structures arrived, & the players proved they loved them, by playing in record numbers.
So the solution to the "problem" - (not being able to show the conclusionof the Tourney) needs to be engineered with some care.
Seriously though I do agree with the points that you make and although I would LIKE to see the final table played out to the end its not a deal breaker. I would much rather miss the end of the tournament on TV than have the structure of the games changed back to the way they were before.
Keep up the excellent work and LONG may you be here (NO ageism on Sky Poker)
Thanks Kiwi!
FWIW, I assume I am not eligible for the Posters Freeroll.
It is a VERY important debate though.
What do we want - better structures, or a TV Show which always shows the Final? Both would be ideal, but that's a big ask.
As a Player, I know what I want.
In my own personal opinion, both, so long as Sky profit from it, and doesnt become too dear to run the show past 4 hours, and of course the analyst can last that long
The Presenter & Analyst have no issues whatsoever in going beyond 4 hours, the job is the easiest (& most enjoyable) job I've ever had, but there are other issues which make it a no-no I believe. 5 or 6 hours in the Studio is a cynch for an Analyst, (I spent my whole working life doing 14 hours a day, 7 days a week) but there are others, who have more awkward jobs, to consider.
But I'm more concerned with ensuring we keep the new improved Tourney structures.
Can i ask for a little bit of patience on this subject.
Why, well last week was wholly new, structures, times and an increase in guarantees.
This week those guarantees go back down to normal, so we may get a better picture of how the new times and structures will effect the televised shows this week.
Sky Poker, in my opinion, suffers from being the ONLY poker site that reacts so quickly to the wishes of its playing members, and it is my hope that they show a "little" restraint from changing things back because of one thread.
The majority of players agree that the structures and earlier start time are a good thing, but they also would like to see the end of the tourney, and no doubt Sky Poker WILL address this soon.
col
As we all know the new format for the main event has got a lot better structure, it has meant that we miss the Final Table when the event is broadcast on 865/simulcasted, obviously the new structure is great and therefore should be kept, so what are the posibilities? decrease the blinds by 1 min?, extend the show to cover the Final table? start the main event at say 19.30, but televise it from 8pm?, just 1 ot two ideas to be hrown in the mix, we know those fantasticaly wonderful Sky Suits will make the correct decision (Buttering up helps in my opinion)
The only way to show the final table live is to run the show until 1am or limit the players to approx 600. However another possible better way could be to start the 8pm show with 5 minutes of final table highlights from the night before. This way you recognise the winners properly and yet still finish the show at Midnight. It could even be as brief as mention the players who made the final table and congrats to the winner.
Ed
I am always fully behind anything new SKY want's to try and I think we all are. So good luck with this and go SKY!
I liked the 10min blinds from 7mins, so was happy with that.
I think my only issue was the TV coverage.
Anyway, the buy in is still £10+1 and that was my main concern with the change.
Would of been nice to have a post put up about who won it.
Maybe someone did put a post up and I missed it.
Because this matters so much to me - as a player - I'll try to answer as many of the Questions as possible. Bear with me please, there's a bit of a queue.
Please remember these views & answers will be mine as a player, & do not represent the views of Sky Poker.
But I'm in an odd position, as I am aware of many of the reasons why some things can or cannot be done, even though I have no influence - or only as much as ANY of you do as Players - on the outcome.
So whatever your view, for either argument - Post away, or write to the Sky Suits as I sugested earlier.
I'm happy to arrange to do that for any Final Tables which "miss" being Televised if they run on too long.
The most important thing here is the Players - they have to have the Structures they want, come what may. Or they go elsewhere.
If you say to a Player - "yeah, I know you prefer a better structure, but we need to make it fit our TV Show", what do you think their view might be?
So personally, I hope they stay as they are. And those who disagree, make their voices heard. Not TOO loud, mind....
Bizarre to recall that under the OLD structures, the Final finished at around 2.5 hours in, at 11,30 or so, & the Final Table BB Average was about 5.
Now it starts an hour earlier, & continues beyond Midnight, with extremely playable Final Tables!
As the song used to go, "what a difference a structure makes"......
The extraordinary thing is how many Players register in that last 30 minutes, too. On Friday, 98 players reg'd in the last 10 minutes, between 7.50 & 8pm!
Like tikay says i haven't got a problem with the Thursday one being quicker due to it going out on skysports, but would love the Saturday and Sunday ones to stay as they are.
It is absolutely clear to me why the guarantees have filled, it is entirely down to the improvement to the structures. They are much better value tournaments now and will therefore attract more players who are "regulars" on other sites.
whoops late edit, just realised i have repeated what the swiss said, but my comments were entirely independent.
Remember, the Crew have a 1 hour rehearsal before the Show, then 4 hours of non-stop Live Show, & that's over a 6 hour period.
Limiting the Players to 600? I hate that with a passion. The solution has to be "scaleable" (it's Page & Brin's mantra, so that'll do for me), & stifling growth is an ugly solution in my personal view.
When the Show began, in Jan 2007, the Player Cap was 300. We had 760 on Friday......The Solution HAS to be scaleable.
The Shareholders of every business have a legal responsibilityn to try to grow their business. Limiting field sizes is at odds with that.
I gotta go now, T-O-T awaits, I'll answer further questions later, or in the morning.
I really like Greg Hogg's Post, by the bye.
The Deckchair Rules.