Irish Open Discussion - originally: "Irish Poker Championship Starts on TV Tonight"

smurph · 11-02-2008 12:52PM

When our table got broken, I was given a ticket which got me moved to the same table as Ciaran O'Leary, he was the biggest "Profile" player left in the tournament, then 20minutes later our full table got moved onto the feature table.

I think that the feature table should be random, not hand picked....
Only my view.

dinjo99 · 11-02-2008 01:11PM

I agree of course that it should be random. However calling anyone scum should not be tolerated on a public forum.

Am I correct Mods?

doke · 11-02-2008 01:11PM

Hawk Eye wrote: »

Another example is when they wanted to get some local donk with lots of chips to sit the tv table so armed with a notepad they scoured the room and got someone off my table again not on big blind. Everyone at the table was naturally pissed off cause he was chip leader by a mile and spastically spewing off chips. When Neil Channing argued this sham saying that it was players putting up the prizepool etc said donk was brought back to the table even though he was microphoned up ready to go on lol.

Was about to post something similar but you beat me to it. Clearly we were at the same table. You had to feel a little sorry for the guy though: he seemed well pissed off to miss his shot at You're a Poker Star.

My game seriously deteriorated when they moved Maud Mulder to our table. And on the first day of the Deepstack, they put Jen Mason right beside me. Clearly there's an ongoing conspiracy to get me off my game by always putting the best looking woman in the tournament at my table.

I hope the RTE thing shows up on Youtube because my VCR failed to connect with the flop yesterday, and I was looking forward to seeing Smurph's moments of glory.

LuckyLloyd · 11-02-2008 01:14PM

This post has been deleted.

doke · 11-02-2008 01:58PM

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Good god Maud Mulder is hawt. Professional female hockey players ftw.

Indeed. Very personable too.

There's something about hawt athletic females that really sets the pulse racing.

I'm also convinced Neil Channing deliberately checked down the nuts to her in one hand for no other reason than to keep her at the table. But then, what other reason would you need?

AdMMM · 11-02-2008 02:10PM

There's something about hawt athletic females that really sets the pulse racing.

I'll treat ya so

.

Regards the IPC, I'm just about to go watch it now. I'll burn it to a DVD and upload it in the coming days.

Trippie · 11-02-2008 02:24PM

ah alison stokke, quite tasty

binary101 · 11-02-2008 02:43PM

dinjo99 wrote: »

"It not a coincidence that Nicky Power was next in, yer man Donal (scum IMO) just had a look quick glance round a few tables and picked out Nicky cause he's known around the circuit."

Hawk Eye,
Your point may or may not be valid but I really think it is outrageous that you would come on a public forum and call anyone scum. Dónal will probably not come on to defend himself as i believe he is in Africa doing charity work for a year.

Please have the decency to withdraw or else I hope you are banned from the forum.

I second that.
Normally, I just lurk on this site because it is an enjoyable read but I felt the need to create an account and come on to defend Donal because he is a decent, honest individual and even the most vehement PE-haters (and lets face it, there are a few here) are likely to agree.

Dinjo, you are right, Donal is in the Gambia for a year to assist his wife in her voluntary work for VSO. He flew back for a week to TD this tournament.

I'm sure all events strive to have a random seating draw for their feature table but let's not be naive here. There is PartyPoker, the independent TV production company,RTE, and the event organisers and they all have different interests and I'm sure it is difficult for the TD to find the right balance for all these interests when making decisions mid-event. I don't this problem would be unique to the IPC.

Personally, I see no problem with selectively picking players for the TV table. Taking Nicky as an example, he is a good player and a good writer and a positive net contributor to the game. I think its great that he gets some deserved TV exposure.

Finally, regarding the posts about the "local donk" who got miked up and then brought back to his table - his name was Keith McFadden and as I remember he had the Day 1 chip lead which he held all the way to the FT. I think he finished 5th or 6th. An unorthodox playing style for sure but donk sounds a little green-eyed.

Here's part of the T&C's when you sign up for boards.ie:

"By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws."

bohsman · 11-02-2008 03:04PM

Donals a good guy other than being a complete tilt head and I would not be able to work with him as a boss.

Rigging of the TV tables is a complete sham and I know of one boardsie who demanded a refund a year or two ago when he saw the seat draw for the tv table at the start, they admitted it was rigged and moved him off it. But then paddy power (liam flood) do this for the Irish Open aswell, remember a few threads on how people got moved last year.

Hawk Eye · 11-02-2008 03:17PM

I retract calling him scum it was just an off the cuff remark, Ive never even spoken to him. I just feel he's cheating every player in the tournament and think he should show a bit of dignity and stand up for himself if he's been told by the powers that be to rig the table draw. After all he's probably the highest profile TD in Ireland and I expected better at the IPC.

Ollieboy · 11-02-2008 03:19PM

Firstly they all rig there TV tables, it's to create a fan base for the event and also increase the interest in it. WSOP is a example of this. TV coverage is good for the game in general.

Donal is a good guy and loves his poker. I think Hawkeye should retrack the above statement asap and leave it at that. I'm sure he was also direct by other people to have interesting people on the TV table in the first place.

The main reason the rigging of a TV table is totally unacceptable is simple. The players pay the fee to play, they dont get paid by the TV companies to use there image etc. They end up creating a free TV show for companies to make money off, this is totally unacceptable and will not continue in the future. I'm sure no football player would be on the telly without getting paid for it. So if players are going to be used to create a product, they should be bought into the event at least. Even give them decent food at the break would help.

All players should protect there image rights, the problem is the media hungry players out there that dont protect it and will do it just to be on the telly etc. Also, nobody wants to miss out on the chance of winning a event.

I think its totally unacceptable that if you qualify for a live event through a online sat, you basically sign away your image rights. Any legal action taken against these companies should win in the European courts etc.

Tar.Aldarion · 11-02-2008 03:21PM

It was odd to see a guy that gave me programming tutorials on it at the start drinking, lol...

PPP-Pit Boss · 11-02-2008 03:30PM

I can see your point at TV table not being random but I have you honestly ever seen a large poker event with a completely randomized feature / tv table? There is nothing in the rules that states that the feature table selection has to be randomized.

I know you are going to argue against me but sure you know how I like a jolly good bashing for my opinions.

The cost of televising an event like this is enormous. The purpose of televising an event like this is publicity / brand advertising.
When you are watching golf on tv.. who do they show?
When you are watching tennis on tv do they show you the semi-pros who put up a rather uninteresting show of the game?
In any televised sport / leisure game do they focus on the less interesting and well known players.

The fact is, if televised poker consisted of a table full of amateur unknowns, nobody would watch it, ratings would be rubbish and you would have more chance of Dustin winning the Eurovision than getting the program aired on national tv again.

And that is not the only reason, the company is only partially involved in these shows being made. The broadcaster has a considerable input alwell.

Finally we will try to randomise the IO featured table this year within reason, but there are a number of rules that restrict the practicality of this:

1. Players are permitted to wear sponsors logos (without a ".com") on their shirts only. These logos will be no larger than 10cm * 7cm on the left breast pocket and no larger than 8cm * 3cm on each sleeve.

2. Players may wear sunglasses, hats or other headgear provided there is no visible branding and the players speech and ears are visible.

5. Players general appearance and sponsors shirts must be neat and clean. These shirts must have sleeves and collars (polo shirts and t–shirts will not be permitted) and must not be white. Sponsors must be aware that their players will not be allowed play on the feature table in unsuitable clothing. Tournament Organiser’s decision will be final. Substitute shirts will be provided if available.

7. No more than one third of the feature table players may be sponsored by the one company.

While doing this we are trying not to disrupt the tournament flow as much as possible. Selecting players who are going to have to change their clothing before sitting at the table is likely to cause such a disruption.

It is not "Rigging". And I would add we did not have a seat selection for the IO feature table we waited until the first table broke to seat it.

So there is my fifteen and a half cents.

Hawk Eye · 11-02-2008 03:32PM

binary101 wrote: »

I second that.
Normally, I just lurk on this site because it is an enjoyable read but I felt the need to create an account and come on to defend Donal because he is a decent, honest individual and even the most vehement PE-haters (and lets face it, there are a few here) are likely to agree.

Dinjo, you are right, Donal is in the Gambia for a year to assist his wife in her voluntary work for VSO. He flew back for a week to TD this tournament.

He sounds like a stand up fella with all this charity work, again sorry if I offended anyone by my comments.

binary101 wrote: »

Finally, regarding the posts about the "local donk" who got miked up and then brought back to his table - his name was Keith McFadden and as I remember he had the Day 1 chip lead which he held all the way to the FT. I think he finished 5th or 6th. An unorthodox playing style for sure but donk sounds a little green-eyed.

It definitely wasn't McFadden as he was on the table next to mine with Sexton and Rob Taylor. I tend to categorise players very quickly over just a few hands and "donk" is just a word I use. Sorry if this offends people.

patmac · 11-02-2008 03:40PM

|.Murderer.| wrote: »

I'll treat ya so .

.

If i die I want to come back as that pole.
Re: Donal. I also agree that the comment was uncalled for and as a punter I always found him amiable and approachable.

Hawk Eye · 11-02-2008 03:47PM

Ollieboy wrote: »

Firstly they all rig there TV tables, it's to create a fan base for the event and also increase the interest in it. WSOP is a example of this. TV coverage is good for the game in general.

Pretty sure ESPN dont rig the tv table they usually pick the most likely table to make good tv or if you look at the day 1's they just have the past champ and a load of randomers. There would be outrage from all the pros if it was any different as they're giving up a ton of equity having good players on the table obv.

ArmaniJeanss · 11-02-2008 03:54PM

PPP-Pit Boss wrote: »

When you are watching tennis on tv do they show you the semi-pros who put up a rather uninteresting show of the game?

OK, so Federer will be on Centre Court for every match. The difference is that he will playing against the person he was randomly drawn against. They won't have hand-picked an opponent for him in each round.

And your golf example is poor because whilst the draw is rigged so that some of the stars are put together in a 3ball for TV purposes, they are not directly competing against each other in the sense that they can't knock each other out of the competition.

Ollieboy · 11-02-2008 04:21PM

PPP-Pit Boss wrote: »

I can see your point at TV table not being random but I have you honestly ever seen a large poker event with a completely randomized feature / tv table? There is nothing in the rules that states that the feature table selection has to be randomized.

I know you are going to argue against me but sure you know how I like a jolly good bashing for my opinions.

The cost of televising an event like this is enormous. The purpose of televising an event like this is publicity / brand advertising.
When you are watching golf on tv.. who do they show?
When you are watching tennis on tv do they show you the semi-pros who put up a rather uninteresting show of the game?
In any televised sport / leisure game do they focus on the less interesting and well known players.

The fact is, if televised poker consisted of a table full of amateur unknowns, nobody would watch it, ratings would be rubbish and you would have more chance of Dustin winning the Eurovision than getting the program aired on national tv again.

And that is not the only reason, the company is only partially involved in these shows being made. The broadcaster has a considerable input alwell.

Finally we will try to randomise the IO featured table this year within reason, but there are a number of rules that restrict the practicality of this:

1. Players are permitted to wear sponsors logos (without a ".com") on their shirts only. These logos will be no larger than 10cm * 7cm on the left breast pocket and no larger than 8cm * 3cm on each sleeve.

2. Players may wear sunglasses, hats or other headgear provided there is no visible branding and the players speech and ears are visible.

5. Players general appearance and sponsors shirts must be neat and clean. These shirts must have sleeves and collars (polo shirts and t–shirts will not be permitted) and must not be white. Sponsors must be aware that their players will not be allowed play on the feature table in unsuitable clothing. Tournament Organiser’s decision will be final. Substitute shirts will be provided if available.

7. No more than one third of the feature table players may be sponsored by the one company.

While doing this we are trying not to disrupt the tournament flow as much as possible. Selecting players who are going to have to change their clothing before sitting at the table is likely to cause such a disruption.

It is not "Rigging". And I would add we did not have a seat selection for the IO feature table we waited until the first table broke to seat it.

So there is my fifteen and a half cents.

There's only one big problem with your view, Sponsor add Millions to the Golf Tour, so do the TV companies and etc and etc they even get free golf balls and dont pay for there round of golf. Nearly no MTT in the world as any add money except the poker Millions or other TV events. Any money that the IO costs PPP is well earn in TV coverage and free media advertising. But i dont want to single out PPP here, they are all the same, Pokerstars, Party etc.

Ollieboy · 11-02-2008 04:34PM

Hawk Eye wrote: »

Pretty sure ESPN dont rig the tv table they usually pick the most likely table to make good tv or if you look at the day 1's they just have the past champ and a load of randomers. There would be outrage from all the pros if it was any different as they're giving up a ton of equity having good players on the table obv.

Of course its rig, the point that they can pick any table makes it rig.

I remember when I played in 2006, I couldn't believe the action on the TV table and if the big name got knock out, he was replace with a big name player. This year I dont think it was as bad, as they had 2 or 3 tv tables, so more option for catching hand action, also they show so few hands in the tv coverage anyway, makes it easier for them

BigCityBanker · 11-02-2008 04:43PM

In fairness your gonna want big name after big name at the TV table. It was harldy surprising that I replaced Devilfish on the TV table last year at the IO. I was probably the only one left in the tourney at that stage with a similarly high profile.

El Stuntman · 11-02-2008 04:45PM

BigCityBanker wrote: »

In fairness your gonna want big name after big name at the TV table. It was harldy surprising that I replaced Devilfish on the TV table last year at the IO. I was probably the only one left in the tourney at that stage with a similarly high profile.

one bad boy for another

karlh · 11-02-2008 05:02PM

El Stuntman wrote: »

one fish for another

FYP.

carrigeen · 11-02-2008 05:50PM

I always presumed tv tables were rigged in favour of named/professional players which I dont have a problem with.

To be honest I think its +ev , taking the ipc which started last night I was quite happy to be at a table down the back of the room looking up at the named players it means my table is that bit easier. While there were big names around the room the majority were in the front tables. The other point is there are people who i would like to see getting recognition (for example I think its good for Nicky to get on (maybe not on that hand

) but you know what i mean also for other people like Rob etc I think it would be good if they are featured going up against the pros.The outright winner is a fine player and I am looking forward to seeing how he plays on TV . As I said I hope this continues as I want zero profile and am happy to play at slightly weaker tables.

I did a small stint at ther IO tv table last year as I had won the paddy last the year before and had no problem with this as they had sent me to vegas in fairness to them.

Overall for the game as well I think its important we project it right and last nights production looked good to me if you were a nuetral/novice and would not have looked as good it we had no named players. Anyway the good news is the named players dont last that long anyway:D

PPP-Pit Boss · 11-02-2008 05:52PM

Hawk Eye wrote: »

they just have the past champ and a load of randomers.

Does the RNG throw him up everytime?

mdwexford · 11-02-2008 06:03PM

Not being allowed wear a t-shirt on the TV table is ridiculous imo

AdMMM · 11-02-2008 06:04PM

Going back to the coverage of the IPC, I like Jesse as a commentator, but Fintan got on my nipples! Also, for an event that had plenty of time for post-production, there wasn't enough hole cards being shown. There were several occassions where we were treated to a lovely split screen of the two players staring at one another but we didn't have a clue what the hole cards were!

LuckyLloyd · 11-02-2008 06:16PM

This post has been deleted.

Russh · 11-02-2008 06:17PM

patmac wrote: »

If i die I want to come back as that pole.
Re: Donal. I also agree that the comment was uncalled for and as a punter I always found him amiable and approachable.

Can everyone please post this picture with their posts.....:)

EDIT: That didn't work....

Samson · 11-02-2008 06:19PM

PPP-Pit Boss wrote: »

1. Players are permitted to wear sponsors logos (without a ".com") on their shirts only. These logos will be no larger than 10cm * 7cm on the left breast pocket and no larger than 8cm * 3cm on each sleeve.

Restricting the size of sponsor logos makes sense for obvious reasons.
However, why no ".com"?
Do you realise this is a sovereign european state, where US law does not apply?

LuckyLloyd · 11-02-2008 06:20PM

This post has been deleted.

Irish Open Discussion - originally: "Irish Poker Championship Starts on TV Tonight"

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