[jeff125va]

Just wondering if anyone got this this year. I did last year and it was interesting to watch, but it took me about a week to finish it, and without seeing the cards it just wasn't worth it, IMO. Not to sit through that many hours anyway. Plus I had found out who won (not that it was any surprise last year).

Anyway, just wondering if it was any better or different this year in terms of the coverage. I might be more inclined to get it the next day if they did it with the hole cards. I've never known if the announcers add their commentary after all the editing has been done (I would presume so) or if they're watching live in a locked room of some sort watching the pocket cam.

 

[creesh]

I watched much of it live. I have to say it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. It was scary how accurate Phil Gordon and the other guest pro commentators were at guessing the hands. That is one thing that's definitely missing from the hole cam coverage. If you are like to play poker, it was well worth the $20.

The ESPN taped coverage just shows the big hands and gives you little sense of the different styles of play that actually decide who has a good chance to win the tournament. Yes, all of their commentary is recorded well after the fact.

By the way, the other host (non poker pro) was really bad. He must have screwed up at least 5 times per hour (calling bets wrong, identifying the wrong cards etc.). It was kind of funny after a while.

 

[jeff125va]

Yeah, I guess there are advantages and drawbacks to both. I think they only had a single hour of the final table last year for the regular broadcast, barely enough time to show just the bust-out hands.

 

[teknikel]

I haven't watched it all but, I really liked the PPV. Yes, hole cam would make it perfect, but listening to Phil Gordon and whoever they had with them analyze as if they were playing is brilliant and a great way to learn.

I can't wait to see what cards Yang was playing early on. Cuz he just suckered them in really well (though his betting wasn't conventional, it worked up until as far as I saw).