World Series Of Blackjack

[clemon79]

So I'm surprised to see that nobody's posted about the blackjack show yet. Are people really still crying in their O'Douls over all of this?

Let me go into this by saying that I HATE Matt Vasgersian. HATE HATE HATE. He annoyed the hell out of me on Sports Geniuses, he offended me when he took over the XFL coverage after then then-WWF canned Jerry Lawler, he irritates me doing the 989 Sports spots for Sony, and I held my breath and hoped and prayed he would have nothing to do with NBC's coverage of Arena Football. To that extent at least, so far, so good.

I was also pretty certain, if you'll recall my past posts on the subject, that blackjack would not work as a TV product, not the way poker does. Not even the way Magic: The Gathering does. (And it doesn't.)

So I'm surprised to stand before you today and say that the only thing keeping me from becoming a big fan of the WSOB is that no-talent-ass-clown Vasgersian.
The tournament format is more interesting than I thought it would be, does in fact have some strategy to it, and fits neatly in an hour show (pretty much...they do skip a few hands here and there, but not more than 10, I don't think...I didn't count) In addition, whoever designed the bottom-of-the-screen FoxBox did a great job - you can pick up the progress of the hand with but a quick glance.

In fact, most of the things that annoyed me about the show could be traced back to Matt. The chief example is his making a big deal out of that guy on the end trying to "read the dealer" to see if she had a "made hand". Here's a hint: THERE'S NOTHING TO READ. SHE IS BEING PAID TO DEAL THE GAME, AND COULD CARE LESS IF YOU WIN OR LOSE. Then, of course, half the time he announced that she DID have a made hand, she didn't. But Matt still thought he was a brilliant strategist. Cowcookies. Now, if he was just making an excuse to stare deep into her eyes, I could get behind that, she was hawt.

So, will I watch again? I'm not sure. I hate Vasgergian that much. But that's not to say I won't recommend the program to the poker enthusiasts here...I'm actually kinda jazzed to fire up Bicycle Casino and play in a tournament on that now.

[Jimmy Owen]

I thought it was pretty interesting, It's a pretty good way to pass the time and a novice card player might be able to pick up some strategies by watching the pros.

[Mario500]

Easy there, fellow! Just keep your mind focused on the players and the cards during your next viewing of World Series of Blackjack. By the way, the newly coined acronym "WSOB" can possibly be confused to be a term for TV stations run by "you know what". (Wink)

[goongas]

I was surprised how bored I was watching it.  I thought it would be more interesting.

[DrBear]

For what it's worth, I liked Vasgersian when he was doing TV play by play for the Brewers and I thought he showed restraint - he was the only one who came close to it, anyway - on the XFL. Never saw Sports Geniuses.

As for the "tell" in the blackjack, that could be trying to see if the dealer was tipping her cards enough to give away what she had. (Mark of a lousy dealer, but it's odd to be dealing on TV.) It happens sometimes; I've seen it from my days at the local casino. If so, Vasgersian may have been trying to protect the fair dealer by not explaining what the player was looking for. (And I didn't see it, so it's 50-50 I'm wrong.)

[aaron sica]

I found WSOB to be interesting as well, and as Chris Lemon stated, the FoxBox-like graphic at the bottom is very nice...

I don't know enough about Poker to watch any of the Poker shows, but blackjack is easy to pick up and learn the object...I learned Blackjack from a TI 99/4A game called "Blackjack and Poker".

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Mar 16 2004, 12:29 PM\'] So I'm surprised to see that nobody's posted about the blackjack show yet. Are people really still crying in their O'Douls over all of this? [/quote]
 You give those people too much credit, Chris.  Most are barely off of Similac.

In fact, most of the things that annoyed me about the show could be traced back to Matt. The chief example is his making a big deal out of that guy on the end trying to "read the dealer" to see if she had a "made hand". Here's a hint: THERE'S NOTHING TO READ. SHE IS BEING PAID TO DEAL THE GAME, AND COULD CARE LESS IF YOU WIN OR LOSE.

I'm gonna disagree.  The dealer might exhibit the smallest tell based on looking at the hole card.

I'll watch again since there is absolutely nothing else on TV at 10 PM on Monday nights worth watching.  It doesn't hold a candle to the World Poker Tour but it was a worthwhile hour of TV.

[Particleman]

I thought it would be more interesting to watch than what I actually experienced.  I love playing card games but watching it on TV doesn't capture my attention.  Maybe since GSN is so much more "reality attuned," perhaps adding a strip element to the game would grab some new viewers.

Although I hate reality TV shows, I'll try to give them another try with GSN's new lineup.  So far, the cards haven't quite done it for me.

[PeterMarshallFan]

It wasn't too bad. The changeover from Game Show Network to GSN before the show was utterly crappy though, IMO.

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'PeterMarshallFan\' date=\'Mar 16 2004, 02:55 PM\'] It wasn't too bad. The changeover from Game Show Network to GSN before the show was utterly crappy though, IMO. [/quote]
 That's something I've been wondering but no one said. What exactly took place during the "changeover"?

[PeterMarshallFan]

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Mar 16 2004, 03:59 PM\'] [quote name=\'PeterMarshallFan\' date=\'Mar 16 2004, 02:55 PM\'] It wasn't too bad. The changeover from Game Show Network to GSN before the show was utterly crappy though, IMO. [/quote]
That's something I've been wondering but no one said. What exactly took place during the "changeover"? [/quote]
 The old GSN station ID began, faded to black and white about halfway through, then disappeared in a "turned-off television" manner. Then the hideous new one began.

A simple "Thank you for 9 years of Game Show Network" would've sufficed....

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Mar 16 2004, 12:22 PM\'] I'm gonna disagree.  The dealer might exhibit the smallest tell based on looking at the hole card.
 [/quote]
 But why? The dealer has no money stake in the game, so all she cares about when she's checking that card is whether it gives her blackjack or not, so she can properly execute her job duties. It's not like she's gonna get excited inside over seeing a 19 or a 20, because her job doesn't change whether she has a made hand or she has a 12. She has no reason to react. At all.

[Particleman]

[quote name=\'PeterMarshallFan\' date=\'Mar 16 2004, 03:05 PM\'] [quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Mar 16 2004, 03:59 PM\'] [quote name=\'PeterMarshallFan\' date=\'Mar 16 2004, 02:55 PM\'] It wasn't too bad. The changeover from Game Show Network to GSN before the show was utterly crappy though, IMO. [/quote]
That's something I've been wondering but no one said. What exactly took place during the "changeover"? [/quote]
The old GSN station ID began, faded to black and white about halfway through, then disappeared in a "turned-off television" manner. Then the hideous new one began.

A simple "Thank you for 9 years of Game Show Network" would've sufficed.... [/quote]
 You know, it was kind of sad seeing the changeover.  By no means am I "totally devistated" by any stretch of the imagination; it's just the last of GSN as I got to know it.  I was thinking, "oh well, we'll never see that spherical air hockey game ever again."  :-)

[CaseyAbell]

To be honest, I barely noticed Vasgersian, one way or the other. I thought both commentators did a serviceable, unobtrusive job, rather different from the loud "they'll be talking about this hand for fifty years" puffery that Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten lavish on the Travel Channel pokerfests. Matter of taste, I guess.

In general, I thought GSN concentrated much more on the gameplay than the Travel Channel does. Part of this is a simple time constraint. When you've only got an hour minus commercials, you can't do nearly as much eye-candy/player-interviews/human-interest-segments/plugs-for-the-casino filler as when you have two hours minus commercials. Or when you have seven hours minus commercials, as EPSN did on the WSOP shows.

The show certainly held my interest to the end much more than the poker sagas usually do. After all, you can usually guess who's gonna win on the poker shows well before finis. At the very least you've got a fifty-fifty shot.

OTOH, I thought GSN could have used a live audience, or more exactly, a loud audience. Yeah, I know the cheerleading on the Travel Channel gets annoying at times, but it does spruce up the atmosphere. GSN's show more than occasionally seemed to be proceeding in a very little-used library.

All in all, a good effort with interesting gamplay and useful graphics. I'll definitely drop by for another look.

[DrBear]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Mar 16 2004, 02:06 PM\'] The dealer has no money stake in the game, so all she cares about when she's checking that card is whether it gives her blackjack or not, so she can properly execute her job duties. It's not like she's gonna get excited inside over seeing a 19 or a 20, because her job doesn't change whether she has a made hand or she has a 12. She has no reason to react. At all. [/quote]
 I have read from some of the experts on the game that some dealers will hesitate if they have a card that is close to a blackjack - say, a 10 and 4 and they have to look twice to see if the 4 is an A. This is especially true if the deck is rich in 10s and face cards; you assume there's a 10 wiht whatever; if she hesitates then goes ahead, you might think she has 14, a very beatable hand. It's not quite a giveaway, but if you're sensitive to such things, it could help.