Don’t Base Your Game on Televised Poker

All of us have watched poker on TV at one point or another.  Whether it is the WSOP on ESPN, High Stakes Poker, the World Poker Tour, or the PokerStars Big Game, we have watched some type of Texas Holdem poker on Television.  However, how much can a person really learn about playing poker on TV.  In reality, you will not learn as much as you may think.  Here are a couple of reasons why.

Don't base your poker game on what you see on TV.

TV Poker is Highly Edited

When you watch poker on TV, especially shows like the WSOP on ESPN, you have to remember that you are watching a highly condensed version of poker.  For example, the 2 1/2 hour program was the WSOP Main Event final table last year was the highlights from over 20 hours of play at the table.

Poker, especially poker tournaments, is a long game.  It is truly hours of boredom with moments of excitement.  Televised events will take selected big hands and present them to viewers.  When this is done, many times you will not see the little nuances that go in the game.  Did the guy that shoved short with 8-3 in middle position do so because he was desperate or was he taking advantage of his image.  Did the guy that got his pocket kings paid off show a couple of bluffs during the past hour that were not on camera?

TV Poker is Not Always Played Like Live Poker

When some players get to play on Televison, they change their style to reflect something that is more entertaining.  As such, they may make a lot of inexplicable moves that people think are accepted play.  In reality, they are just trying to make good TV.

The World Poker Tour has a tendency to use an accelerated blind structure to allow the final table to end at a reasonable hour for the production crew.  This has been complained about many times in the past by players, but most want the fame and fortune of winning the event, so they tolerate it.  This also affects how one will play.

When watching Televised poker, you need to remember that you are really seeing a highlight show in most cases.  You might be able to pick up some information about situational play, but you need to be careful basing too much of your play on what you see on TV.  Buy a book or instructional DVD or even subscribe to a training site.  These tools will be much more helpful on improving your game than trying to emulate Daniel Negreanu based on what you see him play on TV.

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