Why it's time to bring back High Stakes Poker
Barry Carter makes a plea to GSN to bring back the iconic show and suggests some new names that would make it worth watching.
It has been rumoured that GSN might be bringing back the classic poker show High Stakes Poker. Please don’t tease me GSN, please say it’s true.
As someone who has been around poker for a long time and who works in the industry, televised poker can get very samey. With the exception of the live streamed coverage of poker tournaments (Which is the best thing about TV poker right now), I tend not to watch the shows any more, and I know a lot of other people who feel the same.
High Stakes Poker is different. It has always been a 'stop everything' show. It’s, in my opinion, the greatest poker show of all time.
It was a show that bridged the gap between the casual audience and the hardcore fans. New poker players were entertained by the characters and the sheer size of the pots, hardcore poker fans got to see some really interesting hands by the best in the world. The technical analysis was never amazing, but when Gabe Kaplan commentated it was always incredibly funny.
The secret world of high stakes
However, the real appeal of the show was what happened between the hands. More than anything, High Stakes Poker was an insight into the secret world of elite players. The way they talked to each other, the banter, the arguments, the table games, the prop bets, the way they built games around rich businessmen.
As poker fans we all want to know what it is really like in Macau or Bobby’s Room, and High Stakes Poker was our sneak peek.
I think there is a real thirst again in poker for a show like this today. In recent years the mainstream media has taken a real interest in the underground world of big money poker – Phil Ivey’s edge-sorting cases, Dan Bilzerian, One Drop and Molly’s Game. Now is a great time to build a show around that.
Old faces, new blood
It’s interesting because a lot of regulars on High Stakes Poker have since faded into obscurity or shame – Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Erick Lindgren and Howard Lederer are all no longer the bulletproof high stakes legends we thought they were for a variety of reasons. Any of them returning to the show would be interesting for sure.
Then you have the new blood who could give this game a shot in the arm – Daniel Colman, Viktor Blom, Dan Bilzerian and the German Super High Rollers could all add something unique to the show (Maybe even Molly Bloom as a hostess?). I doubt it would ever happen, but the ratings would be immense if Tobey Maguire ever got talked into playing.
The show has always been fantastic to watch, and now it really feels like there is a renewed interest in poker, even if it is just the tabloid/gossip side of the game. It would likely be a totally different show in a post-Black Friday era of poker, but as long as it remained true to the previous ethos of shining a light on what happens in the games we only dream about, it will still be the best poker show on TV.
Was High Stakes Poker your favourite show? Who would you like to see on it if it returns? Let me know in the comments box.
