If it's fake, why would helmuth spend 15 min. begging for insurance?

your OP is funny cuz the show you claim is fake is the real one and the show you claim as real is the fake one. well done, OP, well done.

A guy in the airport mens room the other day (no, he wasnt a senator) told me that he had heard from his wife's second cousin, who bowls with Doyle's yardman, that Doyle said that HSP is legit. So there!

Too Soon?

this can't be fake. I heard that Brad Booth bought into that High Stakes Poker TV Show with A Cool Million.

By definition, if anyone buys into that high stakes poker tv show with A Cool Million, then it certainly isn't fake.

You response is even better, b/c as you'll notice in my OP, I personally claimed nothing.

These threads are like that rumor game, you whisper something in someone's ear and then see how it morphs about 20 people down the line.

I just repeated verbatim what was said to me at a poker table. If you notice, which you didn't, I stated that I didn't believe it.

Sooooooo, there, nyah!

details or link please. I believe you b/c if you are who I think you are then you won one of the Party super steps or whatever the hell they were called. Did you buy straight into the top step? Were you backed in it? Who else notable played in it? How many of them went off total? etc.

Scotty's still bitter about the WSOP.

No way HSP is fake.

it was a live SNG in vegas consisting of like 7 of the 10 best SNG players in the world and bones, who won it.

Obviously, it's not fake. It's questionable how good the people were as players, but it would be amazing if they were that good at acting. I have never participated in anything where I didn't put up the whole buy in. I have never saved a percentage with anyone, but that kind of thing happens, though I don't know about it happening on HSP.

There was a thread last year where someone quoted Bobby Hoff saying that some of the hands were set up. I asked Bobby and he said he barely knew about the show and had never said anything.

Barry

Thank you, Barry, for your post. I'd like to add this from a column posted in Poker Pro magazine about the second season of HSP:

"Fans will witness “Sheiky” hanging around the set on the first day waiting for a seat to open up. However, Shawn had a piece of Mike Matusow, and because of this, the producers would not allow him to play while Matusow was still in the game."

I'll say it...

End of Thread.

Let's break out of this "Fake" vs. "Real" dichotomy we've been using so far. (We can blame Scotty for his loose language.)

The real questions we should ask are:

"Are there players on HSP that are swapping percentages, AND, if so, does that significantly alter the way they play, AND, if so, is this a good thing or bad thing for us?"


I wouldn't be surprised if the answers are yes to all three. Here's why:

Suppose you're a player on the show:

1 -- Given the size of the stakes, the quality of (most) the opposition, the TV/endorsement pressure to not be nitty, and the few amateurs you will want to play big pots with in a short period of time, if there's a time to swap, this would be it.

2 -- If you are heads up with someone you have swapped, say, 25% with, you will play more LAG against that person.

3 -- LAG is good for the show, good for your popularity, and good for your image at your normal game.

4 -- You'll still care about losing a big pot to someone, even if you own 25% of them, because you will still lose money. You will simply have your losses cut, from say, $100,000 to $75,000. Therefore, your reactions will be "real."

5 -- HSP may take an official stance against percentage swapping, but it may be weakly enforced. The players have an incentive to do it, and HSP has an incentive to "look the other way" because of the great fireworks swapping can produce. On the other hand, HSP has an incentive for fans to believe this stuff is not prevalent, so they will want to deny it.


So if all these side deals are going on, is this bad for us?

The up side is that a lot of action will be produced, which is fun to watch.

The down side is that the educational value for us will be reduced because the players on HSP will be making moves based on calculations that most of us won't normally need to make when we play.

From my experience, swapping percentages is for tournaments; in cash games the people I hang with have always just done 50/50 splits. Although, probably comparing apples and peaches.

I am pretty sure that I referenced this before but it might not have been here. The majority of the players are not playing on their "own" money. In some instances the Bellagio and I am sure other rooms have put up cash in exchange for face time in the hotel/casino.

This is a friggin T.V. show. It is produced...

i heard scotty nyugen is fake. apparently hes a myth fabricated by the american government to give the impression communists are all degenerates who have come to steal your gambool and your wife.

nice level