This article talks about the past, present and future of poker as a spectator sport - http://pokerupdate.com/features/i-see-your-bet-poker-as-a-spectator-sport/

My question is - What would you guys like to see from televised Poker going forward?

It seems like there's no good new Poker T.V out there right now.

Obviously Black Friday and the downfall of Full Tilt had a major impact, but even before that it seemed like T.V Poker was lacking the excitement that it had even a few years ago, like it'd become a bit dull & in need of some fresh new ideas and entertaining faces.

HSP like it was in season 5 and 6. Best TV poker by a mile.

I'd love to see more durrrr million dollar challenge but obviously that's not gonna happen. Maybe the same format but with Isildur sponsored by Pokerstars. That would be great.

I hate tournament poker. It's slow, boring, a luck fest and mainly features average or bad players. But yeah if that's what fish enjoy watching then that's what they'll keep showing.

Edit: more Big Game would be awesome. plz make it happen pokerstars

I'm a fan of stuff like Live @ The Bike cash game where they show every single hand and have a great mix of education and make it entertaining.

In future I hope ESPN had full coverage of the Main Event again and shows all the hands. I just wish the camera angles would be better though. I hate how they zoom in to where you can see peoples nose hairs.

Without sponsors, most of these poker shows just don't pull enough eyeballs to be worth it.

"BULLDOZER! AH HOO AHH I play this game to win, i don't play to lose." Tv poker is lacking emotion. I understand during game play you don't want someone yelling and celebrating after every hand; however it really does make for good tv. TV poker is missing it's prime trash talkers Mike the mouth miss hearing him berate someone. Everyone these days just wants to be calculating which is boring tv. Just ask yourself what would you Youtube first someone solving basic math or an argument over nothing.

I agree I don't think there was anything quite like the good high stakes poker cash games.

Hopefully in the future the main event coverage will have technology where you can view ALL of the hands. Technology is already out there FWIW, with electronic tags in cards which send data to a computer.

Yeah it's a shame, perhaps after U.S. legislation one of the big casinos will be able to make something happen? Surely Stars will give it a go at some point in the future too?

Yeah I agree on the entertainment thing, nothing funnier than watching a Phil Helmuth blowout compilation, I think it's probably time for some new entertaining faces though, although off the top of my head I can't really think of any new proper characters to the game...

A big game, 8 handed, with 3 loose cannons

Or

reality tv from bobbys room, have camera in there, and get daily editted highlights the next day

I have logged in more hours of Poker on TV that I care to admit.

For me it is ALL ABOUT THE HOST. A great host brings the emotion, and can make it enjoyable to watch.

Norman Chad. He is awesome, and brings excitement, his quick wit (although he probably rehearses his material) and pop-culture references are great.

Antonio E. and Daniel N. Although we only see them rarely, they have been great commentators with their knowledge of situations and analysis. When Antonio was covering ME this year without hole cards known, he was amazing, and his insight was second to none.

Gabe Kaplan and his side kick (forgot his name) on HSP. Although Gabe is a good poker player, but NOT great, he has played in these games and gives good insight. Gabe needs someone for back-and-forth banter about the game.

Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patton. They are good on WPT, but they are NOT funny like Norman Chad. Sexton knows what he is talking about, but not sure about Van Patton's comments sometimes.

Poker After Dark was horrible and boring, and why? Because the host was boring. If all you hear 90% of the time is chips being shuffled, then you might as well watch an infomericial and buy a new set of knives or non-stick pans.

Agree with all who have said that the more players at the table who are talking the better, especially loose cannons.

Mike the Mouth, Phil H., Antonio and Daniel are awesome to watch AND listen.

Drrr, Gus, Phil I. and even Texas Dolly we are just watching because they are playing better than any of us can ever play.

I personally think the problem is that I think these guys may have taken a hit in money earnings with everyone watching how they play on TV.

Next exciting televised game will be the Aussie Million's cash game going on right now, however I'm not sure what's to come after that? :S

Cash games for sure, preferably where they show every hand so you get a better feel for it. Players obv need to be entertaining and adding some rich fish to the mix is bound to bring action.

cash game

DEEP. Minimum 250bb. No cap. Straddling just makes the stacks shorter. I want to see poker, not allin fests.

one hosts that makes jokes when the players are being quiet, but doesn't talk over the players when they are talking to each other.

one host that knows strategy. he doesn't say anything advanced, as to not educate the fish, but he doesn't say anything stupid.

players that actually play high stakes poker. also they must not be tight. we need to see sick bluffs and hero calls. Not pot control and folds. If they talk a lot that is a plus I suppose. But I would much rather see sick plays than a lot of talk. If they do not talk, the commentators will fill the void by making fun of them for our entertainment.

The Big Game. Just like the first few season of HSP it fell like I'm watching a friendly home game (everyone is having a good time) but with serious money on the line.

i liked poker after dark cash games mainly coz they showed every hand and we as a viewer cud see the table dynamics and actually make sense of some weird plays. the one with ziigmund ,ivey , antonius , durrr was the best action i saw ever.

the newest season of HSP is pretty bad unless you dont mind watching billinoinaires making extremely questionable plays against pros every episode.

WPT has gone to crap with all the commercials and "features". The on camera Cast is still good, but the editing and hand selection is just awfull. I watch the WPT "live" online streaming final tables now, all hands, decent commentating by Dunst usually, card cameras used wisely. But I am a geek about it I certainly admit!