Hi tikay 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 , and by the In my humble opinion, your shelf life has plenty in it yet cos you got so much to offer.
The very fact that a player is able to feature on TV during a poker tournament is a big incentive for players to join Sky Poker. From a business point of view that is important to Sky to draw in new players to the site. Whether the final minutes are shown is not really that important other than to the few players remaining. The vast majority of players will have gone out before that point anyway. So whether the final minutes are shown or not the attraction of possibly appearing is still valid to most players. The important factor is whether the structure, as it is now, is what the players want. I think it's obvious that the structure is right as it now stands, and should remain as such. As the playing numbers increase so the viewing numbers will increase, and it may be possible to extend coverage when that point is reached.
Hi tikay 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 Posted by acebarry10
Behave!
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.
Hi All, 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)
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. Posted by Tikay10
The structure is now superb and hopefully will stay as it is, proper poker.
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.
My own view is that I would of liked to see the final table finish on TV which was understandably not achievable. I do think full TV coverage is vitally important, thats just my view.
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.
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.
My own view is that I would of liked to see the final table finish on TV which was understandably not achievable. I do think full TV coverage is vitally important, thats just my view. 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. Posted by RichiSwift
Which Tourney Rich? - let me know, & I'll Post the Final Table Results up for you.
I'm happy to arrange to do that for any Final Tables which "miss" being Televised if they run on too long.
Hi all 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) Posted by acebarry10
Do-able, just of the press of a button - but I hope they don't.
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....
Hi all 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) Posted by acebarry10
Very difficult, for lots of reasons, both personnel, & technical. It's increased from 3 hours to 4 recently, remember.
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"......
Hi all 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) Posted by acebarry10
Do-able, but not optimal. Research suggests 8pm is the ideal time to start. Hence the change.
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!
In Response to Re: the new format, what's the point! : The structure is now superb and hopefully will stay as it is, proper poker. 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 Posted by THESWISS
Not a question, but I liked it so much I repeated it......;)
How about keep the new structures as they are and keep the new 4 hour tv show as it is and just show the final table highlights (about 20 mins or so) at the very start of the next live tv show? Or at the very least an update on who won and who final tabled?
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.
In Response to Re: the new format, what's the point! : The structure is now superb and hopefully will stay as it is, proper poker. 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 Posted by THESWISS
I'm not sure running the Show until the Event concludes is possible. It is deffo NOT possible on Simulcast nights, and on other night's, there are issues which make it almost impossible. It would be my preferred option - 100% - if I had my way, but it's just not that easy.
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.
Comments
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.