Quote:
Originally Posted by CalKid
I find Tonka entertaining but don't you guys think his recent plays are really questionable? I don't play tournaments all that often but to me his shove in the super tuesday today looked really bad.
Such a shame that Tonka hasn't had a deep run in one of the bigger tournaments in a while....
I only watch Parker Talbot's stream once in a blue moon now. If he runs super deep in a semi-size tournament he'll get my view. His stream has suffered because of changes and this is to be expected. Tonkaaaa's stream is a growing stream and I will freely admit it's a top 3 Twitch poker stream.
The disconcerting problems are many. I see troubling signs starting to surface. The first was the viewers buying poker stakes into Tonkaaaas tournaments. Obviously this is an +EV move for Parker because his viewers are paying a high markup to see potential cashes & final table sweats. It's kind of like a freeroll in a sense. It's one of the reasons why Tonkaaaa isn't a nit. Of course this is more exciting for viewers because this play style isn't boring to watch. For example, compare Tonkaaaas decision making to another streamer like BParis who is a very tight player. Both are winning players, but watching BParis' steam is literally like watching paint dry.
Another important note is Tonkaaaa is most assuredly getting burnt out from grueling 10+ hour streaming sessions of poker. I don't care if you're the sickest MTT grinder streaming and playing winning poker isn't the cakewalk everyone thinks it is. This is one of the main reasons why Negreanu, Isildur, Hellmuth, Haxton, Polk, Selbst quit after trying their hands at streaming on Twitch. It's hard work!!
Even though I'm not a "Team Never Lucker" I do give Parker credit. Unfortunately from what I've seen as of recent it looks like his stream is likely to suffer. He found a girlfriend from Sweden and seems to devote weeks of his time to her. I think Tonkaaaa's come to the point where he's made enough money to quit streaming if he chooses. He's probably banking hard on YT videos and streaming 1-2 weeks a month will be enough. His 888 sponsorship is another win so I can see his clothing, Twitch,YT, 888 revenue are passive forms to generate enough for him to stop streaming on a daily basis.