07-28-04, LearnTexasHoldem:

WPT Commentator Location

Question: Excellent site and has sorted out some queries we've had in home games.

I have got a couple of questions which hopefully you might have the answers for......

1) When it goes to heads up in Texas Hold'em am I right in thinking that the small blind is now on the button as opposed to the left? If so, do you know why this is?

2) In the TV WPT final table screenings, the two commentators are in the same room as the table and don't seem to have any sort of divide or sound-proofing - how the hell do the players not hear them? This one has been bugging me!!!!

Thanks for your help.

Alex.

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

Answer:

1. Yes the dealer button has the small blind when it is heads up play. I'm not certain why it is this way but I can guess... If you had the big blind on the dealer button preflop, then the other guy would have to act first preflop and postflop. Also, having the big blind on the dealer button would almost guarantee a call everytime since position is so critical. By spreading it out with the SB on the dealer button preflop, then each person has to act first once in the hand so I think its more of an even structure.

2. I've never been to a WPT event so I haven't seen it first hand. I've wondered the same thing too because there are a few episodes where the guys actually keep their voices down -- as if the players might hear them if they talk too loudly. I'm guessing that they are a distance away from the table, like the crowd, and that is enough.

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Jim Gore 8/10/04:

In response to the reader's question concerning the physical location of the TV announcers calling the action for the WPT, I offer my opinion that they are not actually "on the scene" calling the card play as it happens. This would require the commentators to stay behind their microphones for hour after grueling hour, a feat that is hard to imagine for any broadcaster. I submit that the WPT and WSOP announcers go into the studio after the editing crew has trimmed the footage down to a segment's worth of top hands and record their view of the action days or weeks after the outcome has been decided. Anyone who has listened to ESPN's WSOP coverage can easily detect that a significant portion of the snappy banter is obviously scripted. Just another little white lie in the effort to produce as slick and entertaining a show as possible.

Big Time Bill 8/10/04:

During one of the telecasts, I noticed one of the commentators walking around in the crowd while the "live" narration of the event was taking place.

Conclusion: The narration of the commentators is added after the filming of the event.

Andre 8/10/04:

A few months ago, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal which mentioned the fact that the WPT comments are done well after the show has been recorded. In the beginning, the players were very apprehensive about showing their hands to the camera. The recording is, therefore, done by a single technician nearby in a locked room. That's why you can clearly see the commentators in the same room during some of the episodes such as the Aviation Club de France. They don't look at the hands and provide commentary until later.

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