Poker and reality TV
Is Vanessa Rousso's appearance on Big Brother going to be good for poker? Probably not.
Normally I am excited when a poker player appears on a widely broadcast mainstream television show. However, the news of Vanessa Rousso appearing on the US version of Big Brother did make me roll my eyes a little.
It's nothing against Vanessa herself. She is very intelligent, very talented at poker and has a very interesting life outside of the game. She will be a great contestant on the show. It's the show itself which doesn't excite me.
It’s not the first time known poker players have appeared on shows like this. Maria Ho was on the Amazing Race and John Robert Bellande was on Survivor. Even more famously, Annie Duke came runner-up in the Apprentice and was subjected to this angry rant by the late Joan Rivers:
Both those clips sum up what the public perception is of poker players, and no doubt what the TV producers want to get out of them on the show. They are hoping for a Machiavellian type character who is both untrustworthy and skilfully manipulative, in the hopes it creates high drama and gives us someone to hate.
Rousso’s biography on the Big Brother website suggests as much:
“Vanessa isn't easily intimidated and is used to keeping her emotions in check, which will help her keep her eye on the prize. She's perfected the art of bluffing and knows that she can manipulate her Houseguests however she sees fit while living in the Big Brother house.”
We are not all dishonest
Generally speaking, if that’s what TV producers are looking for when they put poker players on reality shows, they are going to be disappointed. Despite being great readers of people at the table, most poker players are relatively shy away from it. Although there are some notable exceptions (scammers), most poker players are pretty honest people in real life and not the 'bluffers' we are perceived to be.
The main reason, however, that I can’t get excited by this show is quite simply that I think 99% of reality TV is pure garbage (and about as far from reality as it gets). I can’t see poker coming across in a positive light here, because I can’t see anything coming across well on a show where the main objective is to humiliate people who want to be famous.
Much better when we see poker players crushing shows like Jeopardy, or guest on the Joe Rogan Podcast, where we get an insight into some of the amazing minds in this game. Poker really does attract some of the most talented and remarkable people, and in my experience reality TV is quite the opposite.
Are you looking forward to this show? Do you like reality TV? Can a poker player win a show like this? Let us know in the comments.
