Hello Skypoker fans and forum viewers, I have indeed left skypoker. It has been an absolute delight to see the community grow. Much respect to the Skypoker bosses for the chance they gave me and I will always be greatful to them. When we started broadcasting in Feb 2007 the standard of play was simply shocking across the site, Skypoker had vision and their remit was to school the amateur player hence our jobs as analysts was to keep the analysis simple and directed towards the new player. Fast forward 5 years to a site where the best players on Skypoker are literally world class and a large percentage are BIG winning players, couple that with the standard of the skypoker regs who can mix it with anyone in the uk. I think we can safely say SkyPoker got it right. Congratulations to you the players for building the community it has been a pleasure to have been a very small part of it. I will be playing alot of live poker around the uk during the next few months before the cricket season starts so if I wasnt "too" honest about your play over the last few years please come say hi and if I was too honest Id be delighted to buy you a pint. Flop well Ed Posted by giddzo
good luck with the live game ed....it was always a good show whenever you were on due to your honest opinions....... you do still owe me a pint though....from that first ever sky live game at the broadway in brum(i seem to recall you spent most of the day sat at the bar) and as i was out about 3rd out....................gl,dave
Ah sorry to hear you've perma-left fishface... Kinda hoped you were off one another of your Paula Hamiltonesq jaunts ;o))
Hope the new venture with Jenny-fish et al is going well!!!!
Some of the shows with yourself and Orford are the funniest on 865 ever..
I'll be throwing a TKP hosted forum team game later this year so will send you the info on FB.. might be a nice opportunity to come and have a few pints with the forumers and say a proper goodbye!!!
This is a no-win situation, I'm afraid. Again & again, when we have had Guest Analysts on the Show, players have Posted on the Forum - "can we see more of these Guest Analysts, please"? And so Sky Poker listened, & now there will be regular, scheduled appearances (not Guest appearances) by the likes of Scotty, Redmond, Stu Rutter, Thewy, & a few others recent Guests, (again, by popular request & demand) for whom Contracts are currently being signed... With 3 Live Shows per week, there is not room for everyone you'd like to have on the Channel, it's that simple, cake & eat it comes to mind. If every Analyst & Presenter we ever had were retained forvever, they'd get a Show every 3 Months, & for the Presenters in particular, that's not a sustainable model, as they have a living to earn. I note several references to the current Presenter & Analyst Team, & also that some folks still don't know the difference..... I can only say this. NONE of us are Guaranteed any Shows, we get given Shows, or we don't, there is NO contractual committment from Sky Poker to ourselves, none whatsoever. We all have a "Service Agreement", which states that Sky Poker MAY use our Services as & when they see fit. Personally, I'm delighted (& a little surprised) to have survived for 5 years, but equally aware that it may all end tomorrow. This is absolutely bog-standard in the TV Industry, there is nothing unfair or unusual about it, it's how the business works, we are ALL freelancers, & both parties can continue or not, as they feel fit. Sadly, many of the Posts in this Thread seem to misunderstand the role of the Analyst. It is wider - MUCH wider - than Hand Analysis. Promoting, & promoting well, the business as a whole, sensible Bankroll Management, Community Support, & much much more, counts for just as much with Sky Poker as Hand Analysis. Pleasing some of the people, some of the time, is do-able. All of them, all of the time, not so much..... Posted by Tikay10
Tikay,
First things first you mention posts on the forum saying “can we see more of these Guest Analysts, please” Did any of the posters say in place of Ed Giddins? I can well understand why Redmond is in demand, the guys a class act but Stu Rutter?? Scotty is just starting out, he seems to be doing very well for himself lately, a permanent member of Sky Poker Team and now an analyst, obviously someone in a powerful position at Sky can see the real potential in Ryan.
I for one am not confused about the Presenter & Analyst roles, the presenter is usually fluffy, the analyst is often fluffy, maybe I am a little bit confused after all. I'll try again, the presenter at every given opportunity talks about films and the analyst at every given opportunity talks about football or tells us some old tale about anything but poker or another talks about railways, bridges and Omaha, it's no wonder is it that some are a little confused about the roles.
You are going for “entertainment” and forgetting about the poker, a good friend of mine sky+'s Mastercash and fast forwards over the blah, he tells me he can watch the whole thing in well under an hour, maybe you should rename the show ABP - Anything But Poker!
But here's the thing, Ed did entertainment very, very well, are you disputing that the shows he did with Rich were the most entertaining 865 has ever produced? But he combined entertainment with real analysis, maybe he was too honest for some but many others gained from his insight. I take your point re promoting the business as a whole, sensible bankroll management, community support, & much much more, but come on are you saying Ed was unable to discuss these issues given the opportunity? They might count for just as much with Sky Poker as Hand Analysis but we the customers are watching the show to be informed and entertained are we not?
Re bankroll management you get it wrong most times in any case, if you’re not a winning player it's a budget not a bankroll!!
Maybe it's better Ed has gone, worryingly Mrs Stien is more than a little put out at the loss of eye candy!! But in all honesty this is a very poor decision, one that makes no sense to many, none of you maybe guaranteed any shows but lesser analysts got plenty of work whilst the best analyst on the channel got fewer shows and now none at all, this strikes me as a little odd and a very strange business decision indeed. Trust me, 865 is the worse for Ed's departure.
I watch about 50% of the shows but I always made a point of watching when Ed was on. I was delighted when he was on a few months ago but it appears it was a one off while others were at an SPT.
I like other analysts but I felt that learned most from Ed. Trev Harris is the only one who now tells it 100% as it is. Others tend to coat it in candy - maybe good to keep players sweet but doesn't improve the standard so much.
PS I also watch when Sarah Champion is on for different reasons!!!!
Even tho this thread is going in a different direction, away from Ed Giddens and his (former) position as Analyst - I just want to clarify that my position on TSP is not permanent.
Like all members of TSP I am on a 3 month rolling contract and have to do enough every quarter to justify my place on the team. I believe that all TSP members are on the same contract.
Even tho this thread is going in a different direction, away from Ed Giddens and his (former) position as Analyst - I just want to clarify that my position on TSP is not permanent. Like all members of TSP I am on a 3 month rolling contract and have to do enough every quarter to justify my place on the team. I believe that all TSP members are on the same contract. Posted by scotty77
scotty we know yr guna b a newbie on sky poker as an analist but it sounds like yr jumpin the thread it was said u was on contract wiv afew other tsp players. so theres no room for ed. its mad they would cancel ed giddinds for a player that wins a tourney. ed giddins was ace for sky. he says it how it is. mostly rite, no big sky player would question him
In Response to Re: Ed giddins : scotty we know yr guna b a newbie on sky poker as an analist but it sounds like yr jumpin the thread it was said u was on contract wiv afew other tsp players. so theres no room for ed. its mad they would cancel ed giddinds for a player that wins a tourney. ed giddins was ace for sky. he says it how it is. mostly rite, no big sky player would question him Posted by dogcharlie
Team Sky Poker and the Sky Poker analyst roles are seperate entities.
Just to be clear that the contract for TSP is a on 3 month rolling basis and the analyst role is as TK described earlier on in this thread. Any misinformation can spread easily and I want to be open and clear about my roles and responsibilites to Sky Poker...ideally this thread would get back on track but feel that I have to address things as I don't want people to get the wrong idea.
And I don't think anyone is questioning the high quality of analysis that Ed brought to the show
In Response to Re: Ed giddins : Team Sky Poker and the Sky Poker analyst roles are seperate entities. Just to be clear that the contract for TSP is a on 3 month rolling basis and the analyst role is as TK described earlier on in this thread Posted by scotty77
so yr on a contract with redmond etc..... either way yr contracted & the real analysis aint ie mr giddins. sorry but i think ed gidds is a class act @ talkinm through hands
Comments
Err.....a basic knowledge of poker is required.
you do still owe me a pint though....from that first ever sky live game at the broadway in brum(i seem to recall you spent most of the day sat at the bar) and as i was out about 3rd out....................gl,dave
Tikay,
First things first you mention posts on the forum saying “can we see more of these Guest Analysts, please” Did any of the posters say in place of Ed Giddins? I can well understand why Redmond is in demand, the guys a class act but Stu Rutter?? Scotty is just starting out, he seems to be doing very well for himself lately, a permanent member of Sky Poker Team and now an analyst, obviously someone in a powerful position at Sky can see the real potential in Ryan.
I for one am not confused about the Presenter & Analyst roles, the presenter is usually fluffy, the analyst is often fluffy, maybe I am a little bit confused after all. I'll try again, the presenter at every given opportunity talks about films and the analyst at every given opportunity talks about football or tells us some old tale about anything but poker or another talks about railways, bridges and Omaha, it's no wonder is it that some are a little confused about the roles.
You are going for “entertainment” and forgetting about the poker, a good friend of mine sky+'s Mastercash and fast forwards over the blah, he tells me he can watch the whole thing in well under an hour, maybe you should rename the show ABP - Anything But Poker!
But here's the thing, Ed did entertainment very, very well, are you disputing that the shows he did with Rich were the most entertaining 865 has ever produced? But he combined entertainment with real analysis, maybe he was too honest for some but many others gained from his insight. I take your point re promoting the business as a whole, sensible bankroll management, community support, & much much more, but come on are you saying Ed was unable to discuss these issues given the opportunity? They might count for just as much with Sky Poker as Hand Analysis but we the customers are watching the show to be informed and entertained are we not?
Re bankroll management you get it wrong most times in any case, if you’re not a winning player it's a budget not a bankroll!!
Maybe it's better Ed has gone, worryingly Mrs Stien is more than a little put out at the loss of eye candy!! But in all honesty this is a very poor decision, one that makes no sense to many, none of you maybe guaranteed any shows but lesser analysts got plenty of work whilst the best analyst on the channel got fewer shows and now none at all, this strikes me as a little odd and a very strange business decision indeed. Trust me, 865 is the worse for Ed's departure.
I like other analysts but I felt that learned most from Ed. Trev Harris is the only one who now tells it 100% as it is. Others tend to coat it in candy - maybe good to keep players sweet but doesn't improve the standard so much.
PS I also watch when Sarah Champion is on for different reasons!!!!